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Even with every Kradix we had stepping up, there were still so few of us compared to the number of soldiers walking the streets. It was going to easily be twenty to one.

As I saw what we were up against,doomedwas the only word that came to mind. The dark circles under her eyes said she knew it too.

I pulled Cookie into a shadowed alcove with me.

“Stay here, but come and get me if you see any trouble. I want to get a little closer to that shop,” I said, pointing across the way. Once, a long time ago, the owner had read my future, or at least tried to warn me of it. He’d known what was coming then and had been willing to say it. It was worth the effort to speak to him again.

“Why?” she said, grabbing hold of me before I could take off.

“The man that owns the shop there might have information. He’s been helpful in the past.”

She looked and then shrugged. I wasn’t so sure if she was optimistic or too tired to fight me. I crossed the street, so focused on someone following that I nearly tripped into a person in front of me.

A man grabbed my shoulders to steady me and then said, “Oh my, Billie, is that you?”

Oh no. This was not good. I froze but then forced myself to try to act natural.

“Alaric. How are you?” I asked, falling into small talk, trying to pretend as if I weren’t one of the most wanted people on the streets of Nowhere.

“I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again,” he said, looking genuinely concerned. “Are you doing all right?”

I could feel Cookie bristling from across the street.

“Not bored, that’s for sure.” I gave a halfhearted smile.

He was staring at me, nodding. Did I make a run for it? Was he going to scream for the soldiers soon? Had I doomed myself already?

“I’m glad I’m seeing you,” I said, starting to ramble. “I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for how things went down. I wouldn’t have left you high and dry like that on purpose. I hope you got my message.” If he was thinking of turning me in, would any of what I just said change his mind? Buy me a little goodwill?

He nodded, and looked slightly repentant. So he’d gotten it and ignored me, as I’d assumed.

“Yes. I’m sorry I didn’t reply. At the time I thought it was better to stay out of the fray and let you work out your situation.”

Yep, exactly as I assumed. Jerk.

I smiled in spite of it. “I understand. It was a bit messy. Still is, as I’m sure you know.”See? You left me to hang out to dry, and I have no hard feelings. All is good.Now how to back away?

“I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Herrick has put out a message for anyone who sees you.”

“He did?” Of course he had. There was no way he didn’t have a price on my head.

“He’s made it very clear that if Kaden doesn’t hand over this place peacefully, he’s going to raze it.” Alaric was glancing around, watching as a group of soldiers passed.

I pulled my cloak’s hood higher. “He’s a liar. He wants to use this place. He’s not going to destroy it.”

“It’ll be usable for him. Just unrecognizable to anyone else,” he said in a lower voice. “Plus he’ll have so many people in and out of here, so many resources, it’ll be nothing for him to rebuild the small city we have into something more geared to his needs. This place now? It’s everything to us but nothing to him.”

“There’s nothing else I can do. He’s a madman,” I said, not ready to lay out any plans for this man.

“Look, he said something else that I feel is only fair to tell you. He said he’s reconsidered his stance since last time you met at Erquin’s and is willing to make a deal with you that might be more agreeable. He said if you don’t talk to him, he’ll make sure he kills every person you care about after he tortures them first, saving you for last after you see them all die.”

It wasn’t as if I hadn’t expected something like this from Herrick, but hearing it out of someone’s mouth was still harder. It was as if once it was voiced, the universe would help make it true.

“Are you looking around?” he said. “You can’t win. Do you want to save these people? If you don’t make a deal, they’re going to die. All you need to do is look around to know it. Everyone knows it. And every person with you will die as well.”

He waited, maybe to see if I’d tell him to stop talking. I was too afraid to speak, so I waited for him to continue.

At some point, my North Star had shifted. Instead of living for revenge, being willing to die for it, I was living for Kaden, for these people, and willing to die for them. I wasn’t sure at what point that switch had happened, when Kaden had become more important to me. Had it been like this for a while and I only now realized it as his death, all of their deaths, became imminent?