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"I'm sending an encrypted SOS to the academy," Ariana announced, her fingers flying over the shiny console. "If we're going in hot and hard, we'll need backup."

"The Kronock could intercept," Vyk warned, though he made no move to stop her.

"No choice," she replied grimly. "If the ship's too damaged to get airborne again, we're stuck without any way off. Besides, our presence is no longer a secret.”

The thought sent ice through my veins. The last thing any of us wanted was to be trapped in enemy territory without any way to leave.

"Entering atmosphere in thirty seconds," Ariana called out. "This is going to get rough."

Torq muttered something under his breath that sounded like a string of colorful Drexian curses.

"Fiona will not react well to the SOS,” Vyk growled, though I caught the flicker of tenderness beneath his gruff exterior. “There will be no way to stop her.”

The ship began to vibrate violently as we hit the outer atmosphere. Friction heated the hull and bathed the cockpit in an orange glow. Smoke began to seep through ventilation shafts, carrying the bitter taste of burning steel.

I glanced at Morgan beside me, struck by how beautiful she was, even in the face of danger. How many others had I watched crumble under less pressure?

"Brace yourselves!" Ariana shouted as the ship lurched downward, the controls fighting her every command. "Engine one failing!"

I pulled Morgan's head to my chest, shielding her with my body as best I could while still restrained in my harness. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” I whispered fiercely in her ear, echoing my words from earlier.

She nodded against my shoulder, her breath warm against my neck.

The viewport filled with swirling clouds the color of bruised flesh, occasionally parting to reveal glimpses of the planet's surface rushing up to meet us. Steel-gray landmasses jutted from murky oceans, while twisted spires of stone reached skyward like grasping fingers.

Alarms shrieked as systems failed in cascading sequence. Ariana fought the controls with everything she had, but she was not winning the battle. We were falling too fast and too hard.

"Impact in ten seconds!" she called out. "Hold on!"

I tightened my grip on Morgan, my other hand braced against the bulkhead. The ship screamed around us, metal wailing as atmospheric drag ripped at the damaged hull.

Through the front of the ship, I caught a glimpse of the barren expanse that was pockmarked with craters belching steam. No sign of Kronock structures and no indication of the prison that supposedly held my brother.

Were we too far off course? Had our intelligence been wrong? Would we die on the barren planet before we even had a chance to complete our mission?

The thought of my brother languishing in a cell somewhere while I failed him sent a stubborn surge through me. No. We would survive this. We would find him. We would all go home.

As the surface of the planet rushed up to meet us, I closed my eyes and pulled Morgan closer.

Chapter

Six

Morgan

My head throbbed, each pulse of pain matching the rhythmic flash of emergency lights blaring through my eyelids. I blinked, trying to orient myself as I remembered the horrific descent.

Then my strategic training kicked in, overriding the terror that had consumed me moments before. Assess. Analyze. Adapt.

Well, I was alive, and as I stirred in my safety restraints, it seemed I was unhurt. The ship's interior was also intact, though tilted slightly. No visible flames or hull breaches, which was amazing luck. Plus, the emergency systems were functioning, which meant we still had power. I flexed my fingers and toes, confirming no injuries beyond what would surely become impressive bruises.

Across from me, Commander Vyk was already up and moving around the ship with a few deep groans. Torq followed suit, unhooking himself and checking his weapons as he stood. Amoan from beside me pulled my attention to Tivek. He blinked rapidly, consciousness returning as he turned toward me.

"Are you injured?" he asked, his voice hoarse but steady.

The memory of his body covering mine during impact sent an unexpected flutter through my chest. I pushed it down ruthlessly. This was neither the time nor the place for such reactions. Besides, he'd only been doing what any decent officer would do.

"I'm fine," I managed. "You?"