Her eyes snap to mine. The memory I see inside them stops me cold.

Her jumpsuit is clean. New. She’s sitting in the armchair in Lyon’s office, pale and shaking with stasis tremors. His desk calendar reveals the date—one week ago. I see his lips form the words: When the time comes, promise me you’ll protect him. That you’ll make the right choice this time. It’s possible to start over, Kai. We all can.

In the memory, she nods. But it’s not me I see her picturing in her mind. Not me that’s driving her guilt or her need for redemption.

I drop her chin as the world falls out from under me.

I don’t need magic to know what she’ll do next. Kai’s going to betray me.

And when she runs, it will be to Jack.

I push her away from me. The floor heaves. I duck, shielding my head as rubble crashes against my shoulder. The wind screams through the room, shattered terrariums and cages spraying glass over the floor. A crow shrieks past me. A swarm of bees rushes toward the only exit. When I look up, the heavy wooden doors are thrown wide, swinging on their hinges.

Kai’s gone.

I grip the edge of Gaia’s desk as another quake takes hold. I reach for the staff, using it for leverage to push myself upright. With a sharp inhale, I draw Gaia’s magic toward me. It thrashes against the ceiling, fighting my control. Sparks fly as, breath after breath, I force the funnel down. It condenses into a tight ball of light as it descends toward my mouth.

Her magic burns as I breathe it in. All stingers and teeth and claws, it refuses to go down. It shreds my throat, and I fight the urge to choke it out. Groping wildly over the desk, I search for a cage. For a host. For something else to contain it before it rips me apart. The crows, bees, and flies have all escaped. But the Guards are still here. I could make one of them—

No.

I can’t risk giving any of them this much power. Any one of them could turn on me, just like Kai.

My fingers close around an orb. I shake open the lid and heave into it, spitting light from my mouth. Gasping and shaking, I secure the lid in place as Gaia’s magic hisses at me through the glass. Blood drips down my chin. I wipe it on my sleeve, sucking down painful gulps of air as the wind begins to die.