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Chapters (48)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. ONE
  4. TWO
  5. THREE
  6. FOUR
  7. FIVE
  8. SIX
  9. SEVEN
  10. EIGHT
  11. NINE
  12. TEN
  13. ELEVEN
  14. TWELVE
  15. THIRTEEN
  16. FOURTEEN
  17. FIFTEEN
  18. SIXTEEN
  19. SEVENTEEN
  20. EIGHTEEN
  21. NINETEEN
  22. TWENTY
  23. TWENTY-ONE
  24. TWENTY-TWO
  25. TWENTY-THREE
  26. TWENTY-FOUR
  27. TWENTY-FIVE
  28. TWENTY-SIX
  29. TWENTY-SEVEN
  30. TWENTY-EIGHT
  31. TWENTY-NINE
  32. THIRTY
  33. THIRTY-ONE
  34. THIRTY-TWO
  35. THIRTY-THREE
  36. THIRTY-FOUR
  37. THIRTY-FIVE
  38. THIRTY-SIX
  39. THIRTY-SEVEN
  40. THIRTY-EIGHT
  41. THIRTY-NINE
  42. FORTY
  43. FORTY-ONE
  44. FORTY-TWO
  45. FORTY-THREE
  46. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  47. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  48. Copyright
Document

SIX

I NEVER ACTUALLY LOST CONSCIOUSNESS from the stun gun blast, but I must have come close. The world swam around me in a disorienting mess. The next thing I knew, I was huddled on a hard bench, Rune crouched beside me, terror in her eyes. “Kenzie!” she cried, her fingers sunk into my neck as she prodded for my pulse. “Come on, Kenz. Talk to me.”

I swallowed painfully. “I’m okay,” I said, or tried to. It felt like I had a mouthful of bloody cotton. A few years earlier, I’d had dental surgery. The laser seal went wrong, and they sliced part of my mouth. All the damage was repaired before I opened my eyes, of course, but they’d packed my cheeks with cotton to absorb any blood, and I’d awoken with this same awful sensation.

Rune vanished, reappearing momentarily with a glass of water. I fumbled for it, but my fingers were sluggish and clumsy, and she had to hold it to my lips. The first few swallows tasted of copper, and the taste didn’t improve as the blood washed away, but at least the dry, swollen feeling dissipated. “Thanks,” I said, sitting up. Rune caught my arms, helping me ease myself to the edge of the platform. I leaned against her, accepting her support even as her worry washed over me. My stomach gave a sickening lurch. Would Rune hold me like this, give me that gentle smile, if she ever found out what I’d done to Matt?

We were in a holding cell, even worse than the one on Sanctuary. There was only a single bench. An exposed toilet and sink sat at the back of the cramped space. Rune held a plastic tumbler. Clear reinforced bars separated us from a series of other cells, but I didn’t see any guards, or any other prisoners. “Cage?” I asked. My voice sounded steady, but inside I reeled. This was my first time on this side of the prison bars. My hands trembled as I gulped the rest of the water.

Rune shook her head. “I tried calling for him and got no response. Either he can’t hear me, or he can’t answer.”

I digested those possibilities. Rune leaped to her feet and paced back and forth across the room. “Your hands are free,” I said, and in the same breath realized it was true of me, too.

She nodded toward the hallway outside our cell. “Massive dampeners in the ceiling. No one’s powers will work in this area. Not even a comm device will function unless it’s on a special channel. Standard security in a lot of prisons that don’t have Omnistellar’s fancy chips. It wouldn’t be practical to keep prisoners cuffed indefinitely.”

I dropped my head to my hands. This plan had failed abysmally. The ship was still broadcasting its signal, Yang didn’t recognize the hell descending on her planet, and Cage, Rune, and I were all in prison. “Will Mia and Alexei come through?”