Page 65

Darkness.

Then pain.

Then blinding light as my eyes flutter open.

My first coherent thought is surprise that I'm thinking at all.

The strain of the final protocol had been so intense, so consuming, that survival seemed unlikely at best. Yet here I am, awake and alive, every cell in my body aching with the memory of channeling power far beyond my designed capacity.

"She's conscious," someone says nearby.

I blink, clearing away the fog that clouds my vision. I'm in what appears to be a makeshift medical facility, not Resonance's well-equipped central chamber but something hastily assembled. Portable equipment hums softly around me, and the walls look like canvas or some other temporary material.

Where the hell am I?

A face appears above me—familiar, concerned. Dr. Reid, looking decades older than when I last saw him.

"Zara," he says, relief evident in his voice. "Can you understand me?"

I try to speak, but my throat feels raw, as if I've been screaming for hours. I manage a raspy "Yes" that barely sounds human.

"Don't try to move yet," he instructs, adjusting something on a nearby monitor. "Your body is still recovering from severe cellular strain."

Memory floods back—the crystals, the resonance network, the crushing pressure as Haven children collapsed one by one around me. Then Adrian Lin's unexpected appearance, completing our circle at the most desperate moment.

"Did it work?" I ask, voice marginally stronger.

Reid nods, a tired smile touching his face. "The protocol was successful. The adaptive offer has been extended globally."

"The others?"

His expression tightens. "Eight survivors, including you. The strain was substantial, to say the least."

Three dead. Three of my fellow Haven children gave their lives to extend this offer of adaptive choice to humanity. People I barely knew, yet connected to in ways that transcend normal understanding.

"Lily?" I ask, sudden fear clutching my heart.

"She's alive," Reid assures me. "Her perceptive abilities actually helped her channel the resonance field more efficiently than most. She's recovering in the next tent."

Relief washes through me, followed immediately by more questions. "Where are we? This isn't Resonance."

Reid's expression darkens. "Unity forces breached Resonance's perimeter during the protocol. We were forced to evacuate once transmission completed."

"Evacuate? Where's everyone else? Where's—" I stop, sudden panic rising as I realize who I haven't seen. "Where's Trent? And Vex?"

Reid looks away, and dread pools in my stomach. "Dr. Reid. Where are they? "

When he finally meets my gaze again, I see something I never wanted to see—pity.

My stomach falls straight through me.

"There were...complications during the evacuation," he says carefully. "Unity forces broke through faster than anticipated. The defense teams covered our retreat, bought time for us to get the Haven children to safety."

No. No, no, no.

I struggle to sit up despite the protest of my aching body. "Where are they?"

Reid places a restraining hand on my shoulder. "You need to rest?—"

"Tell me!" My voice cracks with the force of my demand.

He sighs heavily. "Vex was wounded covering our retreat. Last report indicated he was alive but unable to disengage from the battle."

"And Trent?" I press, though something in me already knows the answer isn't good.

Oh god, oh god…

"Captured," Reid says quietly. "He was part of the final defense line that held Unity forces back long enough for our transports to clear the area."

The words hit like an explosion, obliterating my heart. Trent captured. Vex wounded and possibly dead. While I was unconscious, fulfilling the destiny my mother designed for me, the two men I care about most were sacrificing themselves so I could escape.

"How long?" I manage to say, voice cracking.

"You've been unconscious for almost eighteen hours," Reid answers. "We're approximately eighty kilometers from Resonance, in a temporary camp established for the survivors."

Eighteen hours. Unity would have transported Trent to a processing facility by now. And Vex...if he survived the battle, he'd be in Unity custody as well.

"We need to go back," I say, pushing against Reid's restraining hand with new determination. "Now. Before they're moved to a permanent facility."

"That's not possible," comes a new voice. Naomi enters the tent, her mismatched eyes somber. "Unity has completely occupied Resonance. They've brought in significant forces far beyond our capacity to engage."

"I don't care," I say, finally succeeding in sitting upright. The world spins momentarily, but I fight through it, panic surging through me. "I'm not leaving them behind."

"No one's suggesting abandonment," Naomi says, her tone gentler than I've heard before. "But rushing in without planning would only result in more captures."

"They have Trent," I tell her, as if she doesn't understand the significance. "They'll process him, try to extract information about the final protocol, about the remaining Haven children."

"We know," she acknowledges. "Which is why we need to be strategic rather than reactive."

Logic tells me she's right. The part of me that was trained as a Sentinel knows immediate action without planning is suicide. But the part of me that loves Trent and cares deeply for Vex doesn't want to hear it.

"Tell me everything," I demand. "What exactly happened after the protocol completed?"

Naomi and Reid exchange glances before she nods and pulls up a stool beside my bed.

"The protocol succeeded in extending the adaptive offer globally," she begins. "But the strain on the participants was more severe than anticipated. All twelve of you collapsed immediately upon completion."

"Including Adrian Lin," I note. "How did he get there? Why would he help after betraying Haven to Unity?"

Naomi's eyes reflect old pain. "My brother's motivations have always been...complex. He betrayed our location, yes, but perhaps not our purpose. His arrival suggests he recognized that Unity's approach to adaptation was fundamentally flawed."

"Or he was playing both sides," I counter.

"Perhaps," she acknowledges. "We may never know. He collapsed like the rest of you and was evacuated with the other Haven children. He's under guard in another medical tent."

I process this, thoughts still moving sluggishly. "Continue. What happened with Unity's forces?"

"They breached the eastern perimeter approximately five minutes after protocol completion," she explains.

"Our defense teams engaged, buying time for medical personnel to evacuate the unconscious Haven children.

Your friend Trent coordinated the defense—quite brilliantly, I should add.

His Sentinel training proved invaluable. "

Pride mingles with grief at the image of Trent taking command, organizing a fighting retreat against superior forces. Of course he did. It's who he is—who he's always been.

"The defensive lines held long enough for the first transport to depart with you, Lily, and three other Haven children aboard," Naomi continues. "The second transport took Michael and the remaining survivors. By then, Unity forces had penetrated to the central compound."

"And that's when they were captured," I conclude.

Reid nods. "The final defense team, including Trent and Vex, held the landing area just long enough for the second transport to clear. They were to follow in a third vehicle, but Unity brought in aerial support that damaged their transport before it could lift off."

The image is painfully clear—Trent and Vex fighting side by side to protect our escape, watching their own chance at freedom literally go up in flames.

"Survivors of the defense team reported that Vex was wounded but still fighting when they lost sight of him," Naomi adds. "Trent was last seen near the central chamber, holding off multiple Unity operators to prevent them from reaching the escaping transports."

Of course he was. Sentinel to the end, protecting the mission above himself.

"Unity's communications, which we've continued to monitor, confirmed his capture approximately two hours after our evacuation," Reid says. "They identified him as a high-value prisoner due to his former Sentinel status and his association with you."

"Have they moved him?" I ask, tactical assessment pushing through emotional response.

"Not yet," Naomi answers. "Our intelligence indicates he's still being held at Resonance while they secure the area and process other prisoners. But that won't last. Standard Unity protocol would call for transfer to a permanent facility within twenty-four to forty-eight hours."

My mind races, calculating possibilities. If Trent is still at Resonance, there might be a chance. The facility isn't a purpose-built prison—its security would be improvised, potentially exploitable. And if Vex is alive and also held there...

"We need intelligence," I decide, pushing back the blanket covering me and swinging my legs over the side of the bed. "Current security deployments, prisoner locations, guard rotations."

"You're not fully recovered," Reid protests. "The cellular strain from the protocol?—"

"Is not going to stop me," I interrupt, testing my weight on unsteady legs. "My modifications are already adapting, compensating for the damage. I can feel it."

It's true. Even as we speak, I can sense my body healing, recalibrating after the immense strain of the protocol. My mother's design proving its worth yet again—adaptation in response to stress, just as intended .

"Even if you were at full strength," Naomi argues, "a rescue mission into Unity-controlled territory with their forces on high alert would be suicide."

"I didn't say I was going alone," I counter, taking a tentative step. My legs hold, though weakness trembles through my muscles. "I need a team. People who know Resonance's layout, alternative access points, defensive weaknesses."