Andi and Klaren had known it from the start.

Still, she’d hoped there would be another way.

Behind Nor, Andi could see her crew still fighting. The world seemed to move in slow motion as Breck lifted her rifle, shooting past Klaren’s armored body and the electric shield that spanned from one edge of the satellite to the other, looking for a weak spot in the line of enemy soldiers. Dex knelt, shooting from a low point beside Gilly. Lira paced, waiting for her chance to move forward and swing with her fists.

More bullets sprayed against Klaren’s shield.

One broke through, slammed against the back of the satellite’s paneled wall.

“Oh, dear,” Nor said, laughing. “So close to the end, for your crew.”

Breck fired, and one of Darai’s soldiers fell. She’d found a break in his armor, locked onto it, the brave gunner. Andi saw Gilly and Dex perk up, following suit as they aimed for the same spot Breck had found on other soldiers.

A few of the enemy soldiers rushed forward, sprinting toward the solid shield wall. The moment they touched it, their bodies collapsed, seizing until they went still.

For a moment, Andi felt hope, but it was quickly crushed. The enemy numbers were too many. The satellite had become a dam, ready to break. Soon, the Godstars would choose a side to win and a side to fall. It would be determined the moment Klaren’s shield shattered...and Andi knew which side would lose.

It was nearly time.

She’d held off for as long as she could.

“Release Valen and Nor,” Andi said again. “Release the minds of everyone in Mirabel, or I will kill him.”

“You can’t get to him, child,” Nor said with a laugh, her eyes still white as bone, still rolled back in her head.

Andi swung the small blade, but Nor was too quick.

She whirled, almost knocking it from Andi’s grasp with her foot.

They circled, lunging at each other.

They were matched, move for move.

Andi had to find a way to reach him, free him from the pod before it was too late.

“The clock is ticking,” Nor said. Behind her, the two-headed scientist clapped her hands, and inside the pod, Valen was practically aglow as his veins filled with cold fluid. His mouth hung open in a silent scream.

“You know that one soldier’s shield won’t last long against the onslaught, and there’s no way out of here with my soldiers guarding the exit. When Klaren’s armor fails...” Nor smiled. “Everyone you love will die.”

Andi chanced one more glance back at her crew.

The shield was breaking down, little by little.

Nearly thirty soldiers still remained. And even if they fell, Darai would just send more. Her crew would never make it out of here alive.