Page 58

FORTY-SEVEN

“ T hat was a quick change of heart,” Coup muttered, once the three guards were locked inside the cell.

Kel stuttered an agreement. But they didn’t have time to question motives—not when Savita was caught so keenly in Cristo’s grip.

Rahn glanced between Kel, Coup and Bekn, before looking at Dira. There was an unfamiliar hardness to her features.

“We need to move,” she urged.

Kel glanced down the pearly hall, wary of taking her eyes off Rahn. The corridor was empty, but she imagined others might soon stumble across the unguarded cell.

Dira shifted forward. “Tell us why, first.”

Rahn swallowed. “I thought I was doing the right thing. But seeing you locked down here…” Her gaze flickered to Dira, then Kel. “I couldn’t just leave you.”

Rahn shook her head. “I don’t know what’s right—killing phoenixes or letting people die. I trust you, and I trust Cristo. But I’ve made a decision, and that’s the end of it.”

She stared at them. Willing them to challenge her.

No one said a word.

Rahn flipped the bat in her hand. “I know how Cristo plans to induce Savita’s rebirth. If you want to stop it, we don’t have much time.”

“How?” Kel demanded.

Rahn glanced back down the hall. “Savita is one heat fluctuation away from a rebirth. The only thing that gets her excited enough to heat up is racing.”

Bekn frowned. “That makes no sense. Cristo’s going to put her in another race? He won’t be able to control the environment.”

Rahn’s throat bobbed again. “He can if she stays in the compound. In a prism.”

An image flashed in Kel’s mind, so lucid it felt like a dream. The gigantic prism she’d stumbled upon in Cristo’s hidden corridors—could he truly simulate a race in there? Would it be enough to fool Savita into causing an inferno?

Dira ran her hands over her face. She reached out, snatching the bat from Rahn, clearly not trusting the technician with a weapon.

Rahn bit her lip. “Cristo changed my future. He gave me everything. He made it seem like phoenixes were these pests that needed to be controlled. I didn’t question him. Not until I started competing with the Howlers.”

Kel rubbed her arms, goose bumps pricking her skin. Savita flashed through her mind. Flaming, shrieking, collared. Was Kel really any better?

“You don’t have to trust me,” Rahn blustered. “But if you want to save Savita, we have to move. Now. I have a plan.”

Kel didn’t trust Rahn. She doubted any of her friends did, now. But Kel didn’t have the luxury of time to hold grudges.

Silently, Rahn turned and began jogging down the white, labyrinthine hall. One by one, the other Howlers started trailing her.

They ran through a set of doors and down another empty corridor. Kel focused on the sound of her breathing, refusing to voice her pain. Savita was all that mattered.

After a few minutes, Rahn skidded to a halt.

They all tried to silence their heavy breathing as footsteps pounded ahead.

They huddled in a small corridor alcove as two figures marched past, their hushed whispers echoing through the silence.

Once they moved out of sight, Rahn tugged the Howlers back into the hall.

They passed a window, looking out into an open sky.

Evening shadows streamed through the corridor windows.

Kel couldn’t believe that she’d lost an entire day in that damn cell. Savita had lost so much time.

Was Sav already dead?

Kel shook her head, refusing to let the thought linger. Instead, she watched Rahn ahead of her.

“Where are we going?” Coup asked, after they’d hidden once more from stray workers.

Rahn urged them to the left. “Cristo has his makeshift track guarded by about half his staff. We can’t get to Savita unless we can move those workers somewhere else.”

“How do you plan to do that?” Kel panted. Alchemists , she was tired.

“With a distraction,” Rahn said, smiling wryly.

With fatigue blurring her vision, Kel hadn’t realized where Rahn had led them. They’d taken a much longer, more intricate route to avoid other workers, but even still, Kel should have recognized their surroundings. She’d walked here hundreds of times over the past months.

Behind a panel of glass, Kel could see familiar rhythms of red, orange and yellow. Four phoenixes were shifting about inside. She recognized each of them.

“Where’s the other phoenix—Lynx?” Kel asked. “There’s usually another in this enclosure.” She’d worked closely with two in particular—Gaia and Lynx, both carnel phoenixes. She’d spent countless mornings earning their trust and testing their behaviors and patterns. All for Cristo.

Rahn’s lips pursed. “Cristo’s taken about half a dozen phoenixes to the track to help simulate the race. Just enough to convince Savita it’s real.”

Kel’s stomach dropped through the ground.

As Rahn went to swipe her security pass through the gate, Kel reached out to stop her. “Cristo will know we’re here.”

Rahn paused. She glanced down at her watch, then shook her head. “I disabled the security cameras.”

The other four Howlers exchanged frowns.

“What’s going on?” Kel demanded. She took in the surrounding halls. “Where is everyone?”

There were always bodies milling about in this section of the building. Yet, aside from the scant workers they’d passed, this section of Cristo’s anthill was empty.

Rahn ignored her. “We need to free as many phoenixes as possible to cause a large enough distraction. Hopefully, the others can help the phoenixes ultimately escape the building, but we need to try to open as many aviaries as we can.”

Coup raised a brow. “The others ?”

“I believe she means us,” a voice called.

Kel spun around. The familiarity of the woman behind her—navy eyes, weathered skin and dark hair—was quickly buried beneath the memory of flames licking at Kel’s sides, a phantom knife stabbing into her hip.

Bryna’s lips quirked up. “It’s good to see you again. I’m glad you changed your mind.”