“You are not alone,” Arachnid said. With each word, the droid’s red eyes flashed and the video feed flickered. Arachnid and the droid turned to pixels, then formed fully again. “Much of the galaxy has fallen to a false queen, but there are still many who have not. To the strong, to those who continue to fight for freedom—I am Arachnid. And I stand as leader for all those who refuse to bow to anyone’s will but our own.”

The droid’s knifelike legs clicked as it flexed and dug deeper into the armor. The entire time, Arachnid stood still. A broad-shouldered demon hidden beneath the color of blood.

“Find me. Together, we will build an army. Together, we will destroy the false queen.”

Arachnid took a step toward the camera, red armor clanking like a battle ax hitting bone, and Nor felt the weight of his invisible stare land on her.

“You cannot compel me, Nor Solis. I know what you plan to do. I know the horrors you will unleash, and I will stop you before it’s too late. Even if I have to drive the killing blade into your chest myself.”

The screen flickered a final time.

Then it faded to black.

CHAPTER 5

ANDI

“You know, carrying out this mission seemed a whole lot easier when we first started planning it,” Andi commented, staring at the holograms of various rescue plans that hovered above the varillium coffee table. They lit up the main deck of the Marauder, casting shadows against the walls adorned with Gilly’s drawings.

Morbid as the drawings were—most of them were made up of stick figures missing limbs or, Gilly’s favorite artistic choice, stick figures missing their heads—looking at them made Andi’s chest ache.

And not just because of the still-healing wound from Valen.

She missed her crew more than ever before. She missed seeing Breck in the kitchen with Alfie, talking about the latest and greatest recipes from around Mirabel. She longed to see Lira seated at the table in the corner of the main deck, working on homemade Sparks. Gilly would have been peering over her shoulder, eager to learn any way to wreak havoc on the world.

And speaking of Havoc...

Andi’s gaze fell on a pair of jagged orange claws that just barely poked out from beneath the sofa, ready to ensnare an ankle. Gilly’s bloodthirsty puffball of a feline had grown increasingly problematic in the weeks without its owner, destroying cables, gnawing through the foot of Dex’s cot and leaving piles of stinking waste all over the engine room.