The Null Collective escalated.
They targeted her in transit.
Vesper, Aurelio, and Valentina were en route to a joint Academy–Orsini briefing when their convoy was hit.
Not explosive.
Resonant.
Helix-frequency disrupters deployed mid-air.
The craft destabilized.
Light-bending fields malfunctioned.
Aurelio lost control of refraction.
Valentina's illusion shield flickered violently.
Vesper felt it—
A precise resonance attack targeting her density gene.
Her molecules trembled.
For the first time—
She couldn't fully harden.
The craft spun.
Kael, flying separately behind them, saw the interference spike.
He didn't hesitate.
He removed his gloves mid-flight.
Touched the interior alloy.
Mimicked reinforced composite.
Forced density stability through his own unstable field.
Pain lanced through him.
He amplified Vesper's faltering density resonance.
Across the distance.
He shouldn't have been able to.
But he did.
Vesper felt it.
His mimic frequency.
Anchoring her.
She hardened fully.
Caught the craft mid-plunge.
Stabilized.
Security teams neutralized the attackers below.
When the dust settled—
Kael staggered from his own craft.
Hands bleeding.
Vesper stared at him.
"You—"
He looked away.
"Don't."
Aurelio's voice was steady.
"You just saved all of us."
Kael did not answer.
But something fundamental had shifted.
They were no longer merely rivals.
They were connected.