“These distances aren’t exactly accurate, Delta.” Asher points to Dead River, which is positioned evenly between Powder Town and the Old Coast, despite the fact that Powder Town is nearly fifty clicks from Dead River and the Old Coast only about half that.

“So things are a bit off.” I shrug. “The brand’s been copied so many times, and everyone who wore the brand grew while carrying it. Things are bound to have spread and shifted a little.”

“But who knows by how much.”

I watch Asher’s eyes drift to the desert waste that separates Powder Town from the Verdant. How large is it truly? Doesn’t matter. I have to keep moving forward.

“Maybe if we tell the Prime, she’ll lend us some mules,” Asher offers. “She could even send the Reaper and a defense unit with us, in case we run into trouble along the way.”

I shake my head. “Show it to no one. Unless you trust them with your own life, keep it hidden. And besides, if all the rumors about the Verdant are true, we should be the first to access it. We get there first, we wield control over who can enter paradise. I don’t trust that to anyone else, not even the Prime, and certainly not the General. Plus, the Prime is busy at the moment.”

I relay my conversation with her earlier—how she refuses to take on Bedrock until the prototype is ready and she’s certain she can best him.

“I don’t need the Prime,” I tell Asher firmly. “I don’t need help from her or the Trinity or anyone in Powder Town. I just need you. The map. Us together.”

He squints at me, mouth in a conflicted grimace.

“We know the way now, Asher. We can go there ourselves, see it with our own eyes. If I shove a fistful of green earth into a jar—if I bring the General proof that the Verdant is real—he’ll let my pack go.”

“Not if you don’t also promise him access to it,” Asher points out.

“Then I will.”

“You’d allow him entry? The last green place in the world, and you’d invite in a monster?”

“No. I’d bluff. I’d promise him and his Four access to the Verdant in exchange for my pack’s freedom.”

Asher stares at the dirt. “I don’t know, Delta. I think he’ll expect that, and we’re safe here. I think we should stay put.”

“What about my pack? You left Powder Town to try to find us, but now you suddenly don’t care?”

“Of course I care. But who knows how long it will take to even reach the Verdant. They could all be executed by then.”

“They won’t be.” I tell him about what I learned from Clay, how the executions have paused and this is a perfect opportunity for us to venture north.