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The woman’s laughter was cold and mocking as she pivoted her attention to Khalani. “You’re quite amusing. There are only two tribes on this side of the river, the Desert Spring and the Sinners. We both know you’re not from the Desert Spring, so you must be withthem.” She spat the last word, taking a deliberatestep closer.

When the woman raised her gun, Takeshi snapped, “I strongly advise pointing that somewhere else.”

The woman paused, glancing over her shoulder. “And why is that?”

“Because if she gets another scratch, you’d need a much bigger gun to survive.” Takeshi’s chin lowered, his eyes filled with a dark promise of retribution.

The red-haired woman chuckled but Khalani noticed the renewed tension in the set of her small frame. “How touching.Youare the only one I can see Ansel enlisting as a spy. Varo was one of my best soldiers. No one had ever beaten him in hand-to-hand combat, and you bested him easily.”

The accompanying silence made it difficult to breathe as Takeshi stared at the woman like he was biding his time to ensure she’d be greeted with the same deadly fate.

But even though Takeshi was strong, he was tied up like the rest of them, and their weapons were gone.

“You have to believe us.” Khalani’s voice rang across the dim room, trying to regain the woman’s attention. “We’re not from here. We came from Apollo, one of the underground cities. We’re trying to get to Hermes.”

At the mention of Hermes, the woman spun around, her eyes widening.

“Hermes?” she echoed with disbelief.

“Yes. Do you know it?” she asked, her heart thumping wildly in her chest.

The two men behind her shifted uncomfortably.

“Under-Dwellers,” one of them snarled.

The woman raised a hand for silence, her gaze narrowing.

“The Under-Dwellers never leave their precious bunkers.” She tilted her head. “How do you know the way?”

Khalani’s eyes instinctively slid to Brock. The womanfollowed her gaze and walked toward him with deliberate steps.

Brock silently watched her approach. Blood trickled from his nose and he licked it like an untamed animal.

“And who are you?” the woman asked.

“The one who’s going to kill you,” Brock replied calmly, his gaze simmering with vitriol.

“Do you know how many insignificant men have made the same threats to me, only to be gutted by the end of my blade?”

“Good. My favorite part will be slicing your ugly face before I do the same to you.”

The two men surged forward, but the woman held up a hand, stopping them. She waited a long minute and chuckled.

“Your confidence is impressively foolish given your position. I shall only ask one more time. How do you know the way to Hermes?”

Brock lifted his chin defiantly.

Heavy silence wrapped around them, tighter than the ropes biting into their wrists.

The woman regarded him for another moment before rising. “Pity. Let me see who I shall play with first.”

She glanced at Khalani and Takeshi, then slowly walked by Derek and Adan, drawing a sharp blade from inside her cloak.

Khalani shifted, her core tightening as the woman closely studied Brock’s reaction. He remained stoic, his face betraying nothing, but when she moved toward Serene, the air around him seemed to vibrate, the muscle in his neck jumping.

“You’re a pretty one,” the woman commented, her voice a delicate whisper.

She knelt, brushing a stray lock of hair from Serene’s face with the edge of her knife. “I do so hate having to destroy nice things.”