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Malakai leaned forward. “Yeah, when’s this break-in happening?”

Darien said, “Tonight.”

The room wasquiet for several minutes. Now that Travis was no longer on the line, this new silence was deep and haunting.

Loren slid her gaze to Darien, who hadn’t stopped staring at his phone since the minute the screen went black. Since he and Travis had said goodbye to each other—for what might, but hopefully wouldn’t, be the last time.

Paxton looked so sad. He was staring at his hands that were folded in his lap, his eyes hidden by his mop of hair. Loren’s heart hurt for him.

And Roman… She didn’t know the Shadowmaster very well, but she did know that he was the kind of man who hid his emotions with skill. And right now…

Right now, nothing was hidden. The bleak look on his face… Gods, it was unbearable.

Ivy was the first to break the quiet. “Okay, so I hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially when your plan sounds like it’s going to work, but there’s a big problem we need to address. As soon as that tower comes down, we have no idea how far that darkness is going to spread.”

“She’s right,” Lace said. “For all we know, it could cover all of Ker.”

Kylar added, “Which leaves us with two problems.” He ticked them off on his fingers, his spider- and phantom-shaped ringsflashing in the mellow kitchen light. “Problem one: Travis and the others won’t be able to see. Problem two?—”

Roman finished his sentence. “They won’t be able to breathe.”

“There’s a Lucent Enterprises location in Yveswich,” Arthur said. “Roark would know if they have syringes there. We can speak with him tomorrow and figure out where they keep them.”

Tanner said, “Okay, so they’ll have to steal and charge the missile, get it someplace high up—somewhere they can easily hit the tower—and they’ll also have to get the syringes?” His brows jumped up.

Darien said, “It’s a lot to ask, but they have enough time.”

“Yeah, barely,” Roman said bitterly.

“Okay, but what about what I mentioned?” Ivy asked. “If they can’t see anything the minute the tower comes down, they might as well be trapped under a forcefield still.”

“I can guide them out,” Darien said.

The room got quiet. Very, very quiet. As everyone shared glances, it became obvious that they were all thinking the same thing. And Loren?—

She felt sick to her stomach. The nightmares just kept coming, didn’t they?

“Darien…,” she whispered.

Ivy was shaking her head. “The risks?—”

“Losing Max and Travis is a bigger risk,” he said firmly. “I can do it, and I’ll be fine.” When he noticed Loren staring up at him with concern, he smoothed the hair at the top of her head. She reached for his hand, and he took it into his, his fingers warming hers. “I’ll be fine,” he said again. But her heart only beat harder.

Keys clacked as Tanner typed on his laptop. “I was able to get into the Fleet system earlier, and I found a live feed of the shadow in Yveswich.” He pulled it up on the screen, and everyone gathered around to have a look.

Loren got up and walked with Darien to the other end of the table, her hand clasped in his. Sensing that she was looking at him, he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it, his breath warming her skin.

“Look.” Tanner shoved his glasses onto his head, briefly rubbed his eyes, then jabbed the screen with his index finger. “Lucent Enterprises is here.”

Loren’s stomach pitched downward.

It was engulfed in shadow.

“Which means,” Tanner said, “if they need to go in there for the syringes?—”

“I’ll get them in,” Darien said. That meant he’d have to track for even longer. Gods… She was going to throw up.

Roman said, “You seem pretty damn sure that you can do this, but that’s literallyhoursof tracking, Darien. That’s fucking insane, and you know it.”