When the explosion spread through the corridors, Rowan was thrown backward in the system room. The screens went dark for a moment, then the entire security map changed. Doors began opening and closing on their own. The red markers disappeared, and some corridors turned gray. Rowan got to his feet quickly. This was no longer a system that could be controlled. Elara had not broken the system. She had begun rewriting it.
When Kael reached the main floor through the stairs, he saw the orange light at the end of the corridor ahead of him. For a moment, the bond inside him pulled so hard it nearly dropped him to his knees. Elara was there. But half of what he felt did not belong to her. This time, he did not deny it. He clenched his fist and ran.
