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Maybe it was a trick. In a few hours, she could very well turn into a pile of radioactive goo and melt into the concrete.

The visual was entertaining, at the very least.

All Khalani knew was that 250 miles lay between them and the nearest underground city, Hermes.

“How much farther? My feet are killing me,” Serene, the expressive thief who used to live in the prison cell next to Khalani, huffed. Her vibrant blue hair was knotted and dusted with grit, and the pale scar across her face shone brighter in the sunlight. If anything, it only enhanced her unique beauty.

Serene was more than a friend. She was the laughter you tried to contain and the inner voice of confidence when you falter.

She was the closest thing Khalani had to a sister.

At the front, Brock glanced over his shoulder. “That’s the tenth time you’ve asked today.”

“So? It’s just as true now as it was the first time I asked.”

“We keep walking until the sun goes down,” Brock reiterated. “We’re not stopping just because you’re tired and sluggish.”

“You know,” Serene started, “I liked you a lot better when you didn’t speak.”

“Ineverliked you, period.”

Serene cursed Brock under her breath as he turned decisively and kept moving forward.

The Death-Zoner appeared more at home amid the destruction. Having traveled the surface before, Brock was their only guide, and she prayed he’d be able to lead their vigilante crew to Hermes.

Khalani never believed any of them truly deserved to be imprisoned in Braderhelm. But if they weren’t criminals before, they certainly were now.

Breaking out of prison was one thing.

Murder was different.

But was it truly murder if the person they killed wasn’t human?

She shifted closer to Serene, trying to clear that line of thought before it buried her in an endless void of unanswered questions.

“If you want, I can help carry your pack for a while,” Khalani offered.

“No way.” Serene waved dismissively. “If anything, that’s what themen on this road should be offering.”

Serene’s gaze flickered to Derek, whose rich, dark skin glistened with sweat. Derek was more reserved than the others, a talented scientist from Apollo and the first friend Khalani made in Braderhelm.

“My hands are already full,” Derek replied, tightening his arm around Winnie’s waist.

Winnie was the Keeper of the Ordinances in Braderhelm, an avid lover of history, and practically her second mother.

During their prison escape, Winnie had been shot in the shoulder—a horrific sight she would never forget. They changed the bandage as often as possible, but blood stubbornly seeped through.

Khalani refused to believe that Winnie would be anything less than okay. But she couldn’t shake the eerie feeling when the paleness in Winnie’s cheeks didn’t recede, even under the scorching sun. She tried to offer her extra water, but Winnie gently brushed her away.

“Don’t you worry, Khalani dear,” Winnie insisted the previous night. “It would take much more than a stray bullet to get old Winnie down.”

Winnie was too stubborn for her own good, but Khalani recognized the trait well.

Only the stubborn and deadly survived on the harsh surface.

“And you, tiny nuts?” Serene swiveled her head to her older brother. “What’s your excuse?”

Adan, one of the top engineers in Apollo, wore a coy grin as he turned, his bronze hair falling over his forehead. “Oh, sis. I’d never presume to do a woman’s task she couldn’t handle herself.”