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We skirted the base of the hill, moving from the sunlit side into shadow. The temperature dropped immediately, and Isuppressed a shiver. The environmental suit adjusted, but there was always a lag.

The ground here was covered in small rocks that shifted treacherously underfoot. I slowed my pace, not wanting to twist an ankle when we were so close to our goal.

"I think I see the saddle," I said, pointing ahead where the hill we were circling dipped down to meet its neighbor.

Tivek nodded. “That must be where Deklyn’s ship and the others are. We’re almost there.”

Relief surged through me. We'd made it. No sign of Kronock. If we could reach Deklyn’s ship in time, warn them about the trap, maybe we could still?—

My next step landed on nothing but empty air.

One moment I was running, the next I was falling. My stomach dropped as my arms windmilled uselessly in open air. The shock was so sudden that I couldn't even scream. My mind registered only a split-second of bewilderment before instinct took over, and I tried to twist in mid-air to meet the ground.

The impact sent shockwaves through my palms and up my arms as I landed in something between all fours and crouch.

Beside me, Tivek hit the ground with a grunt, his Drexian reflexes allowing him a slightly more graceful landing.

"What the—" he started.

I groaned, letting myself roll onto my back. My wrists throbbed from absorbing the impact, but nothing felt broken. The drop hadn’t been as far as I’d expected, perhaps only a couple ofmeters. I lay there for a moment, catching my breath, then raised my head to look up at the opening we'd fallen through.

It wasn't a sinkhole or natural formation. The edges were sharp, too freshly hewn. My eyes widened as my gaze moved beyond the opening above us.

"Tiv," I whispered, my voice hardly more than a breath.

He turned to follow my line of sight, and I heard his sharp intake of breath.

Was I really seeing this?

Chapter

Twenty-Six

Tivek

Irolled onto my side, instantly alert, my body tensing for combat. My eyes scanned the edges of the pit we'd fallen into, searching for the telltale glint of Kronock weapons or the reptilian silhouettes of enemy soldiers. Was this part of their trap? An ingenious way to capture anyone attempting to flee?

But something felt off. The pit wasn't particularly deep. A proper Kronock trap would be at least twice as deep, with sharpened stakes or water at the bottom.

"Tiv," Morgan whispered beside me.

I followed her gaze upward and felt my jaw clench so hard my teeth ached.

Deklyn was standing at the edge of the pit. And mygrekkingbrother was grinning.

"I didn't think I'd catch you," he said, that familiar cocky smile spreading across his face. "I was hoping for Kronock."

I stood up slowly, brushing dirt from my environmental suit and extending a hand to help Morgan to her feet. My eyes never left my brother's face as I silently cataloged all the creative ways I might make him regret this.

"You made this?" I asked, my voice deceptively calm.

Deklyn shrugged, looking entirely too pleased with himself as he lay on the ground and hung his arm down into the pit. "Had to set up some quick defenses when I landed."

Vyk appeared beside him, his broad shoulders blocking out the morning light as he joined my brother in reaching down. Morgan took Deklyn's offered hand while I accepted Vyk's, then both of us were hauled up briskly from the pit.

Once on solid ground again, I turned to examine the trap. It was a hastily constructed shallow trench covered with a camouflage mesh supporting a thin layer of soil and vegetation. Effective enough to catch someone running at full speed, but hardly a masterpiece of military engineering.

"Didn't have much time," Deklyn admitted, following my critical gaze. "The Kronock patrols were getting closer, and I needed something to slow them down if they got close to my ship.”