So I did.

That’s what it takes to become a Federation soldier. You do what you’re told.

Afterward, when I asked him if he would now spare my father and sister, he started laughing. He laughed until he wiped a tear from his eye.

“I just wanted to see if you would do it, boy,” he called over his shoulder before walking away down the prison hall.

I swallow hard at the memory, shame filling me all over again. That is General Caitoman. I wonder what he’ll do to us if he catches us here tonight.

Adena glances to where I am hiding and signs, “You have everything I gave you?”

I nod once, my hand moving to the pouch strapped to my belt. Inside, wrapped snugly, are at least a dozen small spheres filled with chemical concoctions that Adena has stolen over the months, meant to explode when ignited. My job tonight is to place them strategically along the train tracks. The next morning, the striking of the train’s wheels rolling against the cylinders will set them aflame. One by one, they will light up in a spectacular show, damaging the track beyond repair. If done correctly, it should set the Federation back by months.

In the chaos, I’ll attack the Karensan patrols while the others work to free the prisoners in the cars. If we move quickly enough, we can get out of there before the Federation hunts us down.

Everything that happens next is about buying time.

I creep closer now, moving from the trees to the stacks of rails that tower around the construction site. Their workers have stopped for the night, leaving the area patrolled only by a couple of guards, and I can crouch in the shadows to get a good view of the train station. My eyes linger on each of the soldiers.

Seeing those scarlet uniforms always leaves me with a strange, nauseating familiarity. I can’t help but remember how that coat felt against my skin. The weight of the blades and rifles at the belt, the weary impatience at night duty. Now I find myself searching their faces, as if I might stumble across someone I once knew. Some old acquaintance.

But they are all strangers.

We wait there until the guards rotate, leaving a small window of time where no one is looking out from the guard towers. In the dark, I see a ripple of movement through the train yard as Jeran makes his way toward the closest tower to him. Even knowing that he is there, I still lose him in the shadows until I finally notice him settle into position in the shadows underneath the tower, a spot that gives him a wide view of the rest of the train yard.

Once more, something stirs in my mind, the heartbeat of someone familiar on the other end of the bridge.

I pause, frowning again. My hand comes up to rub the side of my temple.

Talin?

She can’t be in Newage. They took her to the capital months ago. But my breath still turns shallow in my chest. The wild hope stirs awake in me, and I search the grounds for a sign of her. But I see no one.