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I paused. Was I okay? I nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just nervous.”

“Uh huh.” Edith cocked a brow, clearly doubting my assessment. “Well, if youweren’tokay, that would be fine, too.”

“Iamokay,” I insisted.

She put her hands up in mock surrender. “I believe you. I’m just saying that if youweren’t, no one would blame you.”

Easy for her to say. She wasn’t about to lead a suicide mission that no one believed she could do. “I know.”

“Good. Now, are you ready to get this show on the road?”

I nodded, and together, we pushed the doors open and walked into the room.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but I guess an auditorium made sense. It wasn’t that big, but the room accommodated at least fifty people. And it sat mostly empty. Only twenty of the stadium-style seats were taken with soldiers dressed in their matching clothes and regulatory hairstyles. At the very front was a huge projector screen where Giza, Bynes, and Krous stood, dressed in their uniforms, decorated to the nine with their medals and stars. And next to them stood Wes, arms crossed, muscles bulging, and looking pissed off…of course.

“You better get up there,” Edith whispered in my ear. “I’ll catch you after.”

I gulped, trying to swallow the lump forming in my throat as my heart tap-danced in my chest. I took a deep breath, trying my best to steady my nerves, and stepped down the stairs to the front. A look around the room showed blank faces, none ofwhom I recognized in the sea of glaring eyes. I tried to set my sights straight ahead, but caught Wes staring at me, his stoic mask firmly in place. The hazel of his eyes glowed and flickered, and something about them told me he was calling me forward, telling me not to be afraid. Of course, there’s no way I could possibly know if that was what he was actually thinking. He could have been mentally telling me to eff off and fly a kite. But in that moment, I just needed to believe that he was welcoming me, encouraging me to take my place beside him. And suddenly, I was struck with the irony of the moment.

Here I was, walking down an aisle, surrounded by people, all eyes on me, and I was walking to take my place next to Wes Calvernon. In a weird way, it felt almost like I was walking down the aisle at my wedding, walking towards the man who I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with. My breath caught, and suddenly, calm washed over me, all the angst melting away.

It’s funny how our brains work—interesting that the thought of marrying Wes didn’t feel so scary anymore. There was no way in hell it was going to happen, but it didn’t feel so off-putting, and that…that part was, well,weird.

As I reached the front, I stood next to him, shoulder-to-shoulder, our eyes staring at each other. It was only a moment, but something about the stare felt deeper, more intimate. I blinked, and then his hazel eyes gleamed before he shifted his feet and stared forward at the crowd. I couldn’t help it…I smiled. Something about the moment caused warmth to flutter within me.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Giza began. “Today, we’re discussing Operation Silent Night. This is a joint military effort between Dissenter and Northern forces. It will require a highly skilled team to infiltrate a Telvian prison to retrieve a prisoner of war.” The projector flickered, and the screen behind us displayed my brother’s face. Whispers mumbled among the audience as Gizacontinued. “This is Jacob de la Puente, First Son of the Telvian Presidential Family, and former General of the REG. He is being held in the Bellfire Tower.” More murmurs spread throughout the crowd, and Giza paused for another moment to allow everyone to settle down.

Bynes stepped forward this time and began speaking. “For the first time in history, we have schematics, detailed building plans, rotation schedules, and access codes of the tower. This data will increase our chances of success. However, make no mistake, this operation is highly dangerous, with low chances of success and a high chance of casualties.” Bynes allowed silence to fill the space, giving a hard, stern stare at those watching. This time, everyone stayed silent. No whispers, just dead silence.

Giza cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. “The mission will require a team of six soldiers. Of those six, four have already been selected. That means we need two more individuals for the team.” Giza breathed in deeply, “Due to the…” Giza paused, hesitating on how to say his next words, but he didn’t get a chance. Bynes stepped forward again, taking back control of the floor.

“Due to thesuicidalnature of this operation,” she declared in her nasty tone, “we are looking for volunteers to comprise the rest of the team.” She paused for only a moment before adding sarcastically, “Any takers?”

I glared at her. I knew she was against the mission, but honestly, it was like she wanted the whole thing to fail.

The room stayed quiet. The only sounds were people clearing their throats or the creaking of wood as they shifted in their seats. I looked out at the crowd, at the sea of faces, and all I saw were angry eyes.

“No offense, ma’am,” someone piped up, “but why the hell are we going to risk our lives for that asshole?” I whipped my head around to see who spoke, but I missed them.

“Yeah,” another voice added. “If he’s in the tower, his ass is grass anyway. Let him rot!” A series of voices sang out their agreement in unison.

“Why are we going to die for him?” someone asked.

“He deserves to die,” another cried, with several others shouting their approval.

“I’m not risking my life for some fucking Telvian!”

And then the room broke out in pandemonium as the voices cried out. Giza and Krous both tried to speak, trying to regain control while Bynes remained quiet, eyes intense, with the hint of a smirk on her face.

And I…I crumbled from the inside out. My cheeks felt hot, sweat beading on my brow as my heart hammered itself against my ribs, threatening to break them from the force. My stomach churned, the nausea a ferocious force within me. I tried to swallow, but the knot in my throat kept anything from going in or out, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I placed my hand on my chest, trying my best to keep control of myself, but I was losing it. Panic welled up within me as moisture built up in my eyes, blurring my vision with tears that threatened to fall.

No one wanted to help me. And how could I expect them to? How could I think anyone would sacrifice their life for Jacob’s? How stupid was I to think that this would work, that I could save him?

The thoughts kept whirling within me, kept spinning as I hyperventilated, feeling myself being consumed by the disdain in the room—the hate for me, my brother, and all Telvians—and the sheer bitter truth that this mission was doomed to fail. It all came crashing down, caving in, destroying any glimmer of hope that kept me going day in and day out. My vision flickered, darkness circling in, narrowing the light until I thought I would go blind, and—

Warmth brushed against my ear, fluttering the delicate baby hairs. “Stay with me, Mara.” A whisper…a sweet, deep, and encouraging whisper. And the tenderness, the delicate nature of it, caused me to inhale deeply and hold my breath.

Pressure, gentle but firm, fell on my lower back at my waistline. And the deep voice embraced my ear once again, the warm breath falling down my neck. “Stay with me,” it repeated. And this time, the darkness receded, giving me more awareness of my surroundings once more as I slowly regained control of my breath. I blinked, my eyelids fluttering as my heart slowly settled, and I turned to face the voice. As I did, my nose brushed against his, my eyes sweeping across the chiseled angular features I knew so well, until they met the green and golden-amber hues of Wes’s eyes.