Page 146 of Bonds of Starfall

One scanned the perimeter, walking closely to the base of the mountain where they hid.

Rin tensed up, and the four of them scooted back, Auren reaching for her fingers in a death grip.

A loud baying noise filled the night. Their voices drifted to her from below.

"I thought you said the area was secure?" said one of the guards.

One of the people who had exited the hangar doors stepped forward. It was a woman. Her dark hair was pulled in a tight bun behind her head. She spoke strongly. "No Nova Zone is truly secure."

The guard who stood directly below the mountain tensed, and the trilling call of the Rogue increased. The only warning, before a huge, rock-like monster tore through the forest below.

Rin bit her lower lip to stifle a gasp.

The Rogue lunged for the guard, and he didn’t even move. He was covered head-to-toe in dark clothing. It was a flash of darkness Rin saw as he moved, swift as shadows and deadly as the night.

The guard’s bare hands gripped the Rogue’s neck, squeezing. Thrashing, it bayed.

In a sickening crunch that echoed up the stone walls and wrapped around her—a sound she’d never forget—the Rogue went limp in the man’s hold. He threw its lifeless body to the ground. He stood there for a long moment, head tilting as he stared, as if awaiting more Rogues. He lifted his head. Auren’s fingers tightened on hers.

The guard stilled, and she swore he seemed to stare right at her.

Silently, he turned away, each moment seeped in precision, as he reclaimed his post, standing sentinel around the trucks.

The back door of the middle truck swung wide.

A leg stepped down—black boots, plain trousers.

And as her eyes trailed up as the man stepped fully out of the vehicle, her whole body locked up.

Brown eyes, a dusting of freckles across the nose—the same face in the photograph on her dresser.

Her blood ran cold, like shards of ice through her veins.

Another figure followed, a woman in plain trousers and a fitted blouse. Her smile was sharp and cruel. Her impeccable blonde highlights stood out in the darkness.

As Sabine and Talor Blackfall stepped into the midst of the guards, shaking hands and talking lowly, Rin could only stare.

And when Sabine Blackfall—her adoptivemother—stepped forward and spoke, she felt all the air in her lungs leave her cold and empty.

"The Aetherborns are here for us? We do not have much time to waste."

A man stepped forward, wearing a lab coat. No weapons. "Yes, Mrs. Blackfall. The shipment is here. Loaded in Hangar 3."

"Wonderful." Sabine’s voice was thin and echoey from the distance.

The same voice that had been slightly detached but never as cold as this—surprising her with her favorite cake on her birthday, helping her with her dress for her parents’ funeral…

"Are they ready to be tested?" Talor spoke up.

The man said something Rin didn’t catch. Was it the distance, or her shock, wearing her down?

In a daze, she watched as Talor clapped hands with the man. He and Sabine both were led into the hangar, the deep metallic clangs resounding from within the belly of the earth as they disappeared into the shadows.

The guards trailed after, keeping formation, while one or two watched their surroundings to ensure no Rogues would follow.

A loud whirring sound emitted, and the hangar doors slowly groaned shut, falling closed with a resounding thud that she felt in her skull.

Below, only the empty reinforced trucks and the dead Rogue remained.