SpaceTech couldn’t control this much nature. The fact that SpaceTech thought they could maintain a base here long-term was the height of arrogance. How very like them. I just hoped I was far away when the lava tore this place apart.

I glanced through the grating under my feet. My mouth went dry as I watched the surface grow closer. My breath sounded harsh and ragged, echoing inside the helmet, as Tyler’s words came back to me. About how the suit wasn’t built for prolonged exposure.

He was right. There was no way they could be.

This suit wasn’t going to be enough. I gripped the railing of the elevator to keep from turning around. From pressing the button to take me back up. Because I didn’t have a choice but to keep moving forward.

So I’d keep moving forward. One step at a time.

“You’re going to be fine.” Tyler’s voice sounded inside my helmet.

Maybe. But maybe not.

Six in. Three out. Three in. Six out. Four in.

The cage shook as it jerked to a stop, and with the weight of the suit, I nearly lost my footing, but Tyler held me steady for a second before stepping out onto the surface.

When I didn’t move, he yelled back at me, “Come on, girl. No time for dillydallying. Let’s get this done and back in the bay quick as we can.”

I’d done some stupid things in my life, but this was definitely going to go down as the most iced thing I’d done. It wasn’t like it was by choice though. So that was something.

I gave myself one more moment to count my breaths before swallowing down my nerves and stepping into the inferno.

Chapter Twenty

“Over here!” Tyler’s voice shouted at me through the helmet’s com.

We’d been at it for what felt like ten hours, but I knew from the readout on the inside of my helmet it had only been an excruciating hour, forty-two minutes, and fifty-three seconds. The temp inside my suit had slowly risen to 125 degrees Fahrenheit, and I wouldn’t be surprised if my blood were close to boiling at this point.

I was used to heat, but not like this. The helmet made me feel like I was suffocating. It was a miracle of technology that the glass—or whatever it was made out of—hadn’t fogged. My breath was hot against my face, and I wanted out of this suit. Off this planet. I wanted to be anywhere but here.

A blast of yellowish-white steam hit my legs, and I looked down. The black crust had started to crack. “Shit!”

“Damn it, girl! You gotta watch where your feet are!”