Below, the city stretched endlessly, its skyscrapers pierced by pulsing transport tubes that ferried millions of citizens through the air like streams of light. He wouldn’t call it love—Kael didn’t let himself dwell on things like that—but if life had dealt him a different hand, maybe he’d have considered a future with her. “You’re going to ruin me one day, Lyra,” he murmured, his voice a mix of exhaustion and amusement. The contrast was intoxicating—the chaos outside, the danger that always lurked in the shadows of their world, and the control he held in this moment. “The League’s enforcers will be tearing this spaceport apart to find it.”
Kael chuckled, setting his cup down on the table beside them. “I—I can’t… Oh, gods, I’m gonna—”
“Let go,” he commanded, his voice dark and low, each word punctuated by another deep, deliberate thrust.
