Nik strolled the rest of the way to my driftwood bench and sat beside me. “I’m right where I should be.”

My cheeks warmed, and I hated my stupid heart for the little flutter it gave. I averted my gaze, staring down at the tiny rocks near my boots rather than risking meeting Nik’s pale eyes.

“The way I see it, we’ve got two options.”

“Oh?” I thumbed the cuff of my leather sleeve.

“Either we let all the humans die, and that’s it,” he said. “Game over.”

I raised my eyes to meet his. “Or?”

Nik leaned in, like he was making sure he had my attention. It was pointless; he always had my attention. “Or,” he said, “we save as many of them as we possibly can before it’s too late.”

“By turning them into Nejerets before the Cascade Virus kills them, you mean.” Which also meant “we” didn’t include me. I slouched, just a little, my gaze wandering back down to the rocky beach. “You and Mari, team awesome, saviors of humanity.” I gave an unenthusiastic fist pump. “Go you.”

Nik guffawed. “Not exactly, Kitty Kat.” He bumped my shoulder with his. “I was thinking of you and me, actually. Figured, with your gateways and my control over At, nothing’s stopping us from taking this show on the road.” He pulled something out of the pocket of his jeans. When he uncurled his fingers, one of the At marbles containing a sliver of Heru’s ba rested on his hand. “We’ve already got an endless supply of ba, and if we went from hospital to hospital, we could make a serious dent in the spread of CV.”

Eyes wide, I looked at him. “But—but what about Mari? You made a deal.” That deal was the only reason Garth was going to live. “You agreed to help her in her research.” I shook my head. “She can’t actually do anything without you there to complete the transfer.”

“Lex can do it,” Nik said, shocking the hell out of me.

I felt my eyes bug out. “She can? Since when?”

“You’re not the only one who’s sheut is evolving and growing stronger.”

I stared at him for a few more seconds, mouth hanging open. “So she can control At like you now?”

Nik nodded lazily. “Says she’s been working on it for a while. Her abilities are pretty limited at this point, but she’s good enough to meet Mari’s needs.” He shrugged. “I think she’s looking forward to it, actually. It’ll give her something worthwhile to do . . . you know, a way to contribute to the cause even though the war keeps her stuck behind the walls here.”

I couldn’t stop staring at Nik. As he spoke, it took all of my willpower not to jump up and do a spaztastic happy dance. I pressed my palms together and sandwiched my hands between my thighs. “So you’re serious,” I said, half-asking. “You really want to do this—save the world and all that?”