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Where was Cristo? Had Bryna brought enough people to defeat Cristo’s numbers? Was the race already over? Was Savita…?

Kel couldn’t bring herself to finish the thought.

Ahead of her, Bekn and Coup skidded to a halt as the door to the diamond hall came into view. Or, at least, where it should have come into view. Kel couldn’t see the white door, or even the walls beside it.

Kel yanked Coup and Bekn around a corner, out of sight.

The sound of freed phoenixes and the compound’s alarm had hidden what lay ahead.

Chaos consumed the entire hall. Cristo’s guards tangled with the Fume in a web so intricate that Kel couldn’t tell black uniforms from black leathers.

White lightning shot from sancter rifles, ricocheting around the hall and striking people through with electrical burns that made Coup’s CAPR injuries look mild.

She didn’t dare fire her own rifle for fear of hitting the wrong person.

“ Ashes ,” Bekn cursed.

Kel’s brain was whirling in a hundred directions, trying to spark the smallest flint of an idea, when a hand touched her arm.

She spun around and lifted the sancter, expecting to see one of Cristo’s guards. Instead, Dira and Rahn stared at her.

“Put that thing away before I hit you over the head with it,” Dira whispered, the smallest smile on her lips.

Kel lowered the sancter. “Did you have any trouble?”

“There was one guard hiding in the aviary, but we managed to tie him up,” Rahn replied.

Dira glanced around the corner. “How are we meant to get through that?”

There must have been hundreds of people streaming past; Kel couldn’t believe that so many cultists had managed to congregate in Vohre in mere hours, all by Rahn’s command. There was no way to tell which team would have the most people left standing.

The thought made Kel queasy.

She took a deep breath, and turned to Rahn. “Do you think he’s started the race yet?”

“I’m sorry, Kel,” Rahn answered, fidgeting. “I don’t know.”

Kel didn’t have time to stew on the unknown. She peeked below Bekn’s arms. The screams and lightning shots had shifted, ever so slightly, toward the other end of the hall. They still blocked the door—but there was as clear a path as they’d get.

“The fight’s shifted. We can get to Sav,” Kel urged, voice weak as she pointed down the hall. “If she just sees me, she’ll know something’s wrong.”

Coup squeezed Kel’s hand. “You’re not getting yourself killed.”

Dira nodded. “It’s safer if we wait until the fight’s finished.”

Rahn, surprisingly, shook her head. “No—Kel’s right. The Fume might have the numbers, but they’re not trained. Cristo’s guards might still win. If his people are distracted, this might be our only chance to get to Savita before… the race is over.”

Coup’s lips tightened. “And how are we going to open the door? It’s locked—and I can’t imagine one of his guards will let us in.”

Rahn reached into her trouser pocket. She pulled out a small, white card. “We don’t need him. I have a copy of his skeleton key.”

Coup let out a breathless laugh. “How did you manage that?”

“He gave it to me ages ago. He trusts me.”

Guilt clawed at Kel’s stomach. She half-turned to her teammates. “You don’t—I can try to sneak in on my own and get Savita. None of you have to—”

“Oh, shut up,” Dira snorted. The others quickly echoed her words.

Kel smiled weakly. No matter how slim, she refused to waste this chance.

Staying low, the Howlers dashed toward the lightning.

Kel had been right—Cristo’s security was moving down another corridor, their backs facing her.

Bodies littered the floor, a barrier between the live soldiers and the Howlers.

Red blossomed across battered corpses. Kel would have armed their allies with enough sancters to light up the sky, if it meant saving Savita—but she still felt heavy, seeing so many broken people strewn across the floor.

Staying low, Rahn and Kel stepped over bodies and picked their way toward the hall’s door. Sensing Coup at their backs, Kel spun around.

Offering him the sancter, she said, “I can’t hold it steady.”

Coup took the rifle without a word. He moved to her right as the three of them edged forward, Dira and Bekn watching their backs. The walls were too thick to hear anything from within the hall—but Kel could imagine Sav shrieking, calling to her.

One of Cristo’s guards turned around, and the five Howlers skidded to a stop. Coup fired the sancter, sending waves of brilliant, charged air toward the uniformed woman. Her rifle fired at the roof as she stumbled back.

They were mere breaths from the diamond hall’s entrance when two more guards happened to turn their way. Coup fired off quick rounds of blinding electricity at one of the guards, but the other already had their sancter raised.

Straight at Rahn.

With Coup distracted, the Howlers had no weapon to fire with. The narrow-eyed guard cocked his rifle, and Kel bent down, ready to push Rahn to the ground—

Just as Dira leaped through the air and struck the man across the head with her bat.

The guard fell into another of his comrades, and Dira made quick work of them, too. She then moved back to her position behind the group. As if nothing had happened. As if she still couldn’t bear the sight of Rahn.

Kel had always known her best friend was bred for Cendor, and now she knew she didn’t need to worry about the Howlers’ future. From an army or each other, they could protect themselves.

As they reached the entrance, Rahn scrambled for the security card in her pocket.

Kel half-expected nothing to happen. Cristo was too smart. He couldn’t possibly trust Rahn enough to—

A light flashed green overhead, and the door clicked open.