“Did they… do they have Commander Reyes?” Logan asked.

  Em shook her head. “No, the message is coded.” Logan scrunched his brow, and Em patiently began to explain. “First, he’s letting us know that although things in Cytos are a mess that they’re still sorting through, there’s no immediate threat from Grayson at this time.” Em then pointed to the second paragraph. “Gustov and his men will be leaving from the north, heading south on the first-quarter moon… that’s in five days. And you can see here, the mention of 21:30 is more information. Twenty-one shuttles, each can hold thirty people.”

  At the top of the message, I noted the time it was sent was 08:23, not late in the evening as mentioned.

  “So, then what is the part about Commander Reyes?” Logan said.

  “They’re letting us know we should be looking for her there as well… that she’s not with them or, I suspect, not in the city at all, if they’re asking us for help.” Simon shoved his hands in his pocket. “If we’re to return with all we desire, that would include her among the others.”

  “So, now what?” Logan asked.

  I turned my attention away from the tablet with a grim smile on my face. “Now, we figure out how the hell we’re going to get everyone out and not die in the process.”

  I sat alone in the small room Em and I shared. She’d gone out at dusk to scout our location and check out the city. Even though the Sweepers seemed friendly enough, we’d been burned before and knew better than to blindly trust people.

  My back was pressed against the wall, and I tucked my knees tight to my chest. I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking. They vibrated in front of me, twitching until I squeezed my fists shut tight and tucked them under my arms.

  I couldn’t sleep. I knew I should, but I couldn’t even force my eyes to close. Something deep inside me was screaming a constant reminder: everyone you love always leaves you.

  My chest was tight. Even though my body was exhausted, I kept my eyes open. Because when I closed them, I kept seeing the same image… only now instead of the girl falling, it was Caspian. Over and over again, I watched as we cut the rope, his eyes widened in shock, pleading. And then he was clawing at the air, trying to get back to me, as if he could swim on a current of nothing, but he just kept falling.

  And then he was gone.

  SIENNA

  “We should kick them out, let them fend for themselves.”

  I kept my body still as I listened from my spot near the fire, my back to the hushed voices a few feet away. It’s not like I hadn’t heard the words before, spoken to my face, but still they whispered as though I couldn’t hear.

  “We aren’t doing that,” Tynan said firmly.

  “They have destroyed everything, Tynan, our family, our friends—all dead. Yet you still defend them?” his sister yelled, no longer caring who heard.

  “I don’t defend them, Petra, but I’m not going to send them out and have their deaths also on my hands.” Tynan’s voice was strained, but the command in it was clear.

  “We’re running out of food. Soon, you will be sending us out there, so they may live,” Petra snarled.

  “We’ll find a way—we always have,” Tynan said, softer this time, his tone unsure.

  “And look where that’s gotten us,” Petra said, pushing past her brother and stalking off.

  I wanted to say something, to apologize, but one look at her cold face and I knew it would be a wasted effort. I said nothing as she passed and went into her tent.

  I shifted onto my back, taking my time turning around.

  “I’m sorry for her words,” Tynan said, as he took the seat beside me. Theo and Gunner had gone with some of the Guardians to ensure the tunnels were all closed off and secure. They’d all been taking shifts checking the intrinsic underground system for any holes or ways in.

  The healer had made a brace for my broken leg, so I could walk on it without too much pain, but I was slow and definitely couldn’t run. If they sent us back into that forest… there was no way I would survive.

  “She’s not wrong.” I shrugged, wincing at the pain of the movement. My shoulder had been popped back into place, but my entire back and arm ached with each breath and movement still.

  “We have spent a long time in this mountain taking care of each other, so much so that we’ve forgotten we were meant to take care of others as well.” Tynan’s gaze fixed on the flames dancing before us. “You did not ask for this burden any more than we did.”

  We weren’t given a choice when they sent us into the Void but neither were they. Many of them were born here and had watched their parents die or known they would not return. And now, we had taken away the small bit of freedom and order they had fought so hard for.

  “Once I can run, once I’m able, we’ll leave,” I said. One of the guardians had said the tonic to remove our trackers safely would be ready in a few days, and once that was out, there would be no reason we couldn’t go back into the forest once I was healed.

  Tynan’s eyes shifted to me, and for a moment I thought he might argue for us to stay, but instead he said, “Until then, rest up. You will need your strength.”

  I nodded. Only seconds passed in silence before I heard footsteps coming from one of the tunnels nearby. Tynan had a hand on his sword, but the steps were steady and normal, not the unnatural gait of a Reek. The Guardians came into view, Theo and Gunner a few steps behind. Only sixteen Guardians remained—four didn’t make it out of the explosion alive—so Theo and Gunner had both stepped in to help.

  Theo placed a kiss on the top of my head. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

  “Fine.”

  He looked me over, knowing I wasn’t fine. He took the seat beside me and laced his fingers through mine with a gentle tug.

  “Everything is secure,” one of the Guardians said to Tynan.

  “Good,” he answered, glancing over my shoulder to where Gunner studied the map sprawled across the table. “What are you looking for?”

  Gunner jumped. “What? Oh, just making sure we didn’t miss anything.” Gunner rubbed his temple.

  I followed the movement, watching as Gunner’s posture changed from the normal confident and cocky nature he was prone to. His shoulders were high and tense. His brow creased as he rubbed at his temple again before running his hand through his long, dusty-blond hair.

  Theo followed my gaze. “He’s been acting weird all day,” he murmured so only I could hear. “Said it was just headaches, but…”

  Gunner leaned against the table, listening as Tynan and his Guardians counted out the entrances and tunnels under the mountain. But I caught his glances back onto the map, farther south than the mountain.

  He winced and rubbed his temples again.

  Gunner caught my stare and held it for a moment; his gaze narrowed before he blinked it away and pushed off the table, heading to his tent and leaving Tynan mid-sentence.

  There was no door to knock on, so I just said, “Gunner?” and waited for his reply on the other side of his tent.

  “What?” he called back with more bite than I’d expected.

  “Can I come in?” I asked.

  “I’m naked,” he said, and I rolled my eyes.

  “Sure you are,” I mumbled and walked into his tent.

  He lounged on his tiny bed, arms behind his head, fully clothed. He smirked. “Sorry to disappoint.”

  I ignored his banter as I crossed my arms. “What’s going on?”

  “Geez, have you never had a headache or something?” Gunner shrugged, but his eyes flicked from mine.

  “Oh yes, many times. I think you’ve been the cause of most of them lately,” I said, and Gunner let out a half-hearted chuckle.

  We were silent for a moment, and an unusual tension hung between us, something that hadn’t been there before, not even since the first day we met. It set me on edge, the uneasiness between us, and I couldn’t stop that sixth sense in the back of my mind that set off alarm bells at his unusual behaviour.

  I moved to the end of his bed, and when he didn’t move his feet for me to sit, I shoved them off and plopped down, resting my injured leg up.

  Gunner grunted and shook his head at me, mumbling some choice words as he readjusted and propped his pillow up higher.

  “I don’t think I ever properly thanked you,” I said quietly. “For saving me.”

  Gunner shrugged. “Like I said before, you would have done the same thing.”

  “I would have, yes, but you doing it isn’t exactly typical Gunner protocol.”

  “True. I guess I see why you’re so suspicious.”

  “Why’d you come back?” I asked. He’d risked a lot coming to find me. The mountain could have come down on him at any moment, or the Reeks could have gotten through. The smart thing would have been to leave me and secure the tunnel… but he hadn’t done that.

  He shrugged again. “I guess I’ve grown fond of your annoying ways and stubborn personality.”

  I snorted.

  “I was probably concussed when I made the decision to go back for you. I took a few hits to the head myself,” Gunner said, tapping the side of his head at his temple. “I wasn’t right in the head, clearly.”

  I nodded. “That makes so much more sense.”

  Gunner’s smile faded, and he looked down to the linen on his bed and picked at a thread. “Don’t get used to it. It won’t happen again.”

  His voice was startlingly quiet, and he wouldn’t meet my eyes. I nudged his side. “You can act like you don’t care all you want, but in the end your true nature shines through when it really counts.”

  Gunner’s eyes flashed to mine, and there was no warmth in them. “This is my true nature; this is who I am, Sienna. Don’t think one moment of compassion makes me the hero.” Gunner looked ready to say more, but his face twisted into a grimace, and he grabbed the side of his head with a stifled cry.

  I placed a hand on his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

  He shrugged me off. “Just a headache. I need to rest,” Gunner said between clenched teeth and turned onto his side. Before I could say anymore, he snapped, “Get out.”

  I watched him for a moment longer before pushing myself off the bed and leaving him alone. Theo was on the other side of the canvas door, arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Both of us knew Gunner wasn’t okay, but I wasn’t sure what I could do to help.

  The following morning arguing woke me up. I rolled over in the small bed and reached down to the floor where Theo had been sleeping, so I had room with all my injuries, but he was gone.

  It took me longer than I cared to admit to dress, and by the time I exited my tent, I was sure a fistfight was imminent.

  “It’s not happening, we’re not going in there,” Theo yelled.

  “Do you see any other option?” Gunner argued. The two were only inches from each other, bodies tensed and poised to fight. Theo shook, his face red. Gunner was equally as frustrated, which was surprising for him. He was pretty good at keeping it together, in fact his usual smirk pissed off people more than getting himself all fired up.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  The Guardians were stationed around the two, seemingly waiting for a fight to break out. I even noticed a few making bets on who would win.

  “Genius here thinks he has a way to get us out of the Void… for good.” Theo crossed his arms over his chest and moved to my side as I pathetically limped over. In my haste, I’d forgotten my leg brace.

  “How?”

  “An artifact!” Gunner said. “Something big enough that The Six are guaranteed to let us out of here. All of us.”

  I turned to Theo. “So, what’s the problem then?”

  “Go on, tell her where it is.” Theo waved a hand to Gunner who glared

  Gunner gave me a shrug, as if to say it wasn’t a big deal. “In Venzier.”

  “Venzier! The city filled with Reeks?”

  “Not anymore,” Gunner countered. “Most have gone into the forest after we blew a crater in the side of their stone cage. The few still left can easily be taken care of.”

  “Despite having thought of almost every detail, he’s leaving out one important fact,” Theo said.

  Gunner waved his hand. “Minor.”

  “Not minor,” Theo countered. My brows rose in question. “He doesn’t even know what’s down there. Just speculation.”

  “I’m confident something has to be down there. I’d bet my own life on it!” Gunner countered. “And if you don’t believe me then fine, you can all stay here and die in this miserable place. But I’m getting the hell out of here.” Gunner didn’t move; he knew he couldn’t do this on his own.

  So this was why he was acting so weird yesterday, not that it explained the headaches. I watched him for a moment, considering. “How certain are you?”

  “One hundred percent.”

  “And would your men help us?” I asked Tynan. “Assuming Gunner plans to include the Guardians in this escape plan.”

  “Of course we’ll all get out of here with the loot I’m sure is in there, trust me,” Gunner said.

  Tynan looked around. Petra was across from me, and she was the one I expected to speak up against this plan. But she merely gave her brother a subtle nod.

  “If there is a way to get my people out, we would risk everything for it,” Tynan said.

  Theo let out a frustrated breath. “Yesterday you were complaining about headaches and acting weird, now today you’re suddenly fine and have this brilliant plan to get us all out of here? I’m not buying it.”

  Gunner shrugged. “A little rest does the body good.”

  “I don’t trust him,” Theo whispered to me.

  “Looks like you’re outnumbered, lover boy.” Gunner smirked, and Theo started to move at him, but I caught his wrist.

  “Why are you so against this?” I whispered to Theo.

  He kept his eyes on Gunner. “I just have a bad feeling about this. I think we should wait.”

  Theo never trusted people right off the bat, and Gunner didn’t exactly start out as a trustworthy person. Don’t think one moment of compassion makes me the hero. Gunner was wrong, he was a good person, he’d saved me. Some distant part of me knew this could go horribly wrong, but we were running out of time. We had to weigh out the odds—was this a risk worth taking? I didn’t know if Gunner was right, but the theory made sense. The artifacts The Six were looking for were more prevalent near Venzier, which meant it was very possible something big was hidden in the city.

  “Wait for what?” I asked.

  Theo finally pulled his eyes away from glaring at Gunner and looked at me. His gaze softened as it fell on my face. “For you to heal, for things to settle down… I don’t know.”

  “There will never be a right time. We both know that,” I said gently. “Look, I trust you Theo, and if you really don’t think we should risk it…we can wait. But I don’t think that will stop them from going after the artifact. Can we risk being here on our own?”

  Theo’s gaze dropped. He knew as well as I did that even if we stayed behind, they would still go. Tynan would risk it for his family, and Gunner seemed pretty damn confident.

  “No,” Theo conceded.

  I glanced at Gunner. He’d been acting so weird the night before, and he’d told me more than once not to trust him, so why was I now? I was desperate, that was why. With my broken leg I was useless, and even if Gunner tried to act like he didn’t care about anyone else, I knew he did. I trusted him, even though something in the back of my mind screamed not to, I did.

  I let out a long sigh, ignoring the doubt trying to creep in. We had no other choice but to go along with them. “I hope you have a damn good plan, Gunner,” I said over my shoulder.

  Gunner gave me a crooked smile before stalking over to the table with the map sprawled out and started going over his plan with the others.

  Theo pulled me aside gently, as I leaned on his arm for support.

  “Are you sure about this?” he asked. “I don’t know if we can trust him.”

  I glanced over his shoulder to where Gunner pointed out spots he wanted the Guardians at, and who would go into the city with him. I shrugged. “I don’t know, Theo, I honestly don’t, but if you’re with him, if Tynan is there, what’s the worst he can do?”

  He swallowed and gazed at his feet. “I don’t like the idea of you being in harm’s way when you’re not even able to stand on your own.”

  I shook my head, lifting his chin up, so his eyes would meet mine. “I will stay wherever is safe, and I won’t do anything stupid, I promise.”

  I understood his concern. But it would be weeks before I could run again, and by then we’d have run out of food. The Guardians were already unhappy with our presence and to add needing their help to the list wasn’t something I wanted to do. “It’s just you and me. We stick together, and we get out of here,” I said softly.

  He pulled me closer, and I leaned into his warmth, resting my head on his chest. “Just you and me.” He pulled back, pressing a kiss gently to my lips. “We’d better go see what his plan is,” Theo said against my lips and I nodded, letting him nearly carry me the short distance to the table where I sat on the edge and listened to the plan that just might save us all.

  CASPIAN

  We would run out of food before the week was up. The small positive was the base we continued to hide in had running water, so we’d maybe last a few more weeks. But there would come a time when we’d have to leave this place and risk facing those Reeks if we wanted to live, and neither Vic nor I were ready for that.

  She leaned against me, eyes closed, but not sleeping.

  “What was your family like?” she asked.

  I tensed under the question, floods of memories streaming in. “Simple. My dad worked in an office downtown running numbers for the city. He worked too hard, long days and sleepless nights, and eventually had a heart attack one day at work and never came home. My brother was almost eight years older than me, so we didn’t hang out much or get along that well. After my dad passed, he moved to some small town outside of Kuros, where I think he married and has a kid or two, but I’ve never met them. We don’t speak…”