“Why can’t I see?” I asked. My voice echoed oddly, and now that I focused, I could hear people moving around us.

My team shouted in relief over the comm, but Torran’s mental voice cut through the noise. “You lost your helmet and we’re still in the tunnels. Havil healed some fractures in your ribs and neck before we moved you. You’ve been unconscious for about ten minutes.”

“And the telekinetic?”

Torran’s arms tightened. “She brought the tunnel down behind her. The two humans didn’t make it, but she escaped.”

“Oh, shit,” Kee breathed.

Her voice came over the comm, so I had no idea where she was relative to me. That didn’t prevent me from craning my neck, trying to see. “What?”

“I left a couple of cameras behind in the tunnel, just in case the kidnappers came back. They didn’t, but a dozen Valoffs in imperial guard uniforms did.”

It took my brain far longer than it should’ve to connect the dots. The kidnappers were trying to frame us for the kidnapping.

Or the empress was.

That’s why the telekinetic wanted me. If the hero of Rodeni had stolen the empress’s grandson, then it would be easy to sway public opinion toward another war. After all, if Cien wasn’t safe, then who was?

“Move,” Torran shouted. The easy swaying turned into a harsh jostling as he broke into a run. I wanted down, but I wasn’t sure my legs would work, and even if they did, I couldn’t see a damn thing.

We slowed, near what I hoped was the door into the underground bunker. The door opened and the sound changed.

“Wait,” Kee hissed. “There are more guards outside the monitoring station, at least three. They haven’t overridden my surveillance mods yet, so they likely think the building is empty, but it’s only a matter of time until one gets curious and sees our rope.”

“Torran, can you bluff my team past them?” I asked over the comm. He was a high-ranking general and Cien’s uncle. In the dark, and with minimal contact, my team might pass for Valoffs if Torran kept the soldiers off balance. Without a helmet, though, I was fucked.

Torran didn’t answer. Instead, he asked, “Nilo, can you get Tavi’s team out?”

I didn’t catch Nilo’s response, but Torran’s arms tightened around me. I assumed that was a no, then.

I steeled my courage. “Take my team with you and leave me hidden in one of the rooms in the bunker. Once it’s safe, you can come back and get me, or I’ll crawl out on my own.” Being left alone in the dark would be a nightmare, but I’d faced worse.

“We’re not leaving you here,” Lexi said, no give in her voice.