“Make a hole!” Oran roared over Caledonia’s shoulder, attempting to clear her path, but it was no use. Everyone in the stronghold was trying to leave at once and there was nowhere for them to go but down.

“This way!” Nettle cried, darting out of the main stairwell and into a treacherously narrow corridor.

Caledonia ducked into the dim space, holding her breath as they rushed along. The ground continued to tremble, and she was sure that at any moment the small tunnel might come crashing down around them.

They emerged on the western edge of the stronghold, where a steep stairwell cut directly down the mountainside. Ahead, the town was unrecognizable. Lights flared at odd angles, fires burned throughout, dust and smoke created a dense haze, and gunfire popped continuously.

But who was firing? As soon as she’d thought the question, Caledonia knew the answer: whoever had planted those bombs had had more than enough time to plan a raid on Hesperus’s armory. The Bullets were using Cloudbreak’s own weapons against them.

Fury made Caledonia careless and she stumbled down the last of the stairs twisting her ankle sharply beneath her. Oran’s hand was on her elbow a second later, hauling her back to her feet. Pain speared up her leg at the movement, but she pushed through it and ran.

Their path took them into town, where they turned at the first road that cut west. The ground shook and trembled and fire coursed through the streets, jumping from tent to tent, chewing up homes and supplies. The air was laced with screams, punctuated by gunfire, and beneath it all the mountain itself groaned as the cliffs fractured and sent large boulders crashing down on the fleet below.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire was very near. Caledonia reached for her weapon, pulling it from its holster as a familiar face raced into the path ahead of them. Remi’s expression was full of glee, her eyes wild with joy as she spotted Caledonia and raised her gun.

A shot snapped through the air. Remi’s smile froze on her face and she slumped to the ground.

Pine appeared a moment later, his gun clutched in one hand. “We need to move,” he urged, lowering the pistol to his side. He turned shrewd eyes on the layers of tent and flame behind them. “There’s more of them and they’re sweeping the city.”

“Have you seen any of the others?” Caledonia asked, her eyes on Remi’s fallen body as they hurried past.

Pine shook his head. “I was barely out of the stronghold when it hit. I didn’t see anything but dust.”

“You’re supposed to be heading for Red Fleet,” she reminded him.

“I was cut off,” he answered. “They’ll go without me.”