Bullets fire at me from somewhere high on the balcony. I glance up, my eyes narrowing, to see snipers positioned between the banisters, their weapons aimed down at me. They cringe at my stare, then back away from the edge. At the same time, I hear the unmistakable growls of Ghosts emerging from the shadows of columns around me. Their milky eyes roll at me, and blood drips down their chins.

Everything around me moves like I’m in a dream. The Ghosts seem to float, dragging through the air, as they move. Their muscles crack, bleeding and raw. I am on the warfront again, Corian at my side, fighting for survival. Through my link with Red, I feel currents of his own fury as he fights farther down the hall, pain rippling through him with each strike from the enemy Skyhunter.

One of the Ghosts near me lunges, its fangs seeking out my arm. I dart to one side, then launch into the air and fatally cut its neck with my wings. If it bit my flesh, would I transform eventually? Can a Skyhunter like me turn into a Ghost? Then its blood spills on the floor around me, and I turn my concentration toward the others. Their screams echo through the room. Another bullet flies from somewhere above and hits me in the upper back. I flinch at the strike—even though it doesn’t penetrate my body in the same way as it does a normal human—I still feel the pain, followed by the sharp smell of my own blood. I cut through another Ghost, then launch into the air and hurl myself at the banisters. As I reach the balcony, I arc my wings protectively around myself.

I smash through the banisters. The guards lose all their nerve at the sight of me, and flee. As I stare at them racing down the hall, Constantine’s voice comes to me through our bond, haunting and cold.

It’s such a shame, Talin.

His words send a chill down my spine. I look around me, as if I can see him.

You were my strongest Skyhunter.

The halls are bathed in that ominous red from the sky through the glass ceiling. I start running again, trying to pinpoint Constantine’s location through our link as I hang on to his words.

What will you do when my new Skyhunters tear you apart? he asks me.

They won’t, I answer. Because by the time they arrive, you’ll be dead. They’ll have no one to fight for.

You won’t bring down this Federation alone, Talin.

I am not alone. My teeth clench into a grim smile. But you are.

Constantine doesn’t answer that. But as I reach the end of the hall and draw near the stairs, his voice comes back to me. Suddenly, I feel like I can sense his heartbeat strong and unrelenting here.

I turn my eyes up to the glass ceiling, then to the staircase that winds high, ending through a door that leads out onto the roof.