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Voices murmured in the background.

And then Travis said, “Yeah, kind of, why do you ask?”

“Because we have a plan,” Darien said. “But you’ll need to act quickly. We spoke with Roark—he said the tower’s stuck in a Battleshort, which means the forcefield can’t be shut off, and the military plans on blasting the city with missiles at Witching Hour in two days.”

Oh shit.

Travis cursed. More voices murmured in the background.

Roman released Shay’s hand and started to pace again—he couldn’t help it. He felt like he was going to puke. He could feel multiple people—Shay, Paxton, Dean, Kylar—tracking his movements. Sayagul was, too, the dragon watching him silently from his shadow that moved across the kitchen floor.

“Why the missiles?” This question came from Max. “What’s the point of that? They just decided they want to kill the last of the survivors, or what?”

“It’s a long story,” Darien said. “But listen—I’ve got Arthur here with me, and we believe our plan is doable. Hold on—I’m going to let him talk to you, all right? Here he is.”

Darien stepped aside and went to stand by Loren’s chair as Arthur shuffled closer to the table. “Hello—Travis?” Arthur called.

A brief delay, and then Travis said, “Hey, Art.”

A few other people voiced their own greetings in the background. Roman recognized Malakai, Aspen, Dominic, Blue…

“Travis—listen closely,” Arthur began. “Roark tells me there’s a military base not far from the coast. Is that correct?”

“Yeah, we were there yesterday,” Travis said, his tone coated with curiosity.

“What I would like you to do, Travis,” Arthur said, “is break into the military base. Tanner will be able to get you in, andfrom there I am going to help you grab what you’ll need from the armory.”

A pause. Roman listened intently, hearing this news for the first time himself. While everyone had filled each other in on the shit that’d happened while they were apart, Roman, until now, hadn’t heard anything about this plan. About the missiles, and how the hell they were going to get Travis and the others un-stuck.

“And what are we looking for?” This question came from Jewels.

“A missile with a chargeable warhead,” Arthur replied.

The pause that followed was heavy. Roman could practicallyfeelthe doubt and confusion filtering down the line, and he couldn’t help but feel some of that doubt—and confusion—himself.

If Darien felt any, he didn’t show it. “This is your ticket out, Trav,” he said. He had taken up position behind Loren like a bodyguard, arms crossed over his chest. “You’re going to have to trust us and justdo it.”

The speakers crackled. Everyone in the room shared glances.

Tanner’s attention went to his computer—checking to make sure the connection wasn’t lost.

“Travis?” Darien called. “You there?”

But it wasn’t Travis on the other line anymore—it was Malakai.

“Hey, fuckface,” the Reaper said by way of greeting. “Guess who?”

Darien tipped his head back, his eyes rolling skyward.

“Thanks for the boat idea,” Malakai continued, his tone saturated with sarcasm. “It worked great—I’ve always wanted to die in Yveswich.”

Jack and Kylar chuckled.

Malakai said, “What, exactly, do you want us to do with amissile?”

Darien said, “I want you to take out the Control Tower with it.”

“Okay,and how are we supposed to charge this warhead?” Jewels asked.