“Say that again,” Quintus said, standing up. “You think I do not deserve a vote?”

“Not when you’re Cade’s lapdog,” Grace snapped back.

“Guys,” Amber said, tugging at Quintus’s hand until he sat down again. “This is exactly what Abaddon wants. What Marius wants. For us to turn on each other. Cade is doing his best. We’re just asking him to do things a different way, right?”

Grace set her jaw and turned away before grunting a reluctant “Yes.”

“So we have a decision to make,” Amber said. “One of us needs to go with Cade. And I think it should be one of the boys.”

“What?” Grace demanded, incensed again. “Why?”

“Because things have moved on since our time,” Amber said. “There might be something out there that’s more modern than us. Something we won’t understand.”

“Yeah, but Marius doesn’t know that. And what are the chances of Cade actually dying?” Grace caught herself and looked ashamed for a moment. “Sorry, but you know what I mean.”

Amber shrugged. “If you want to go, be my guest. Bea, Trix, do either of you have a burning desire to head into the jungles?”

“Not a chance,” Bea said, followed by a silent headshake from Trix.

“And I don’t feel safe out there with those Romans,” Amber said. “Here, there’s some semblance of law and order. Out there … I don’t trust them.”

She let the words hang in the air, and Cade felt ashamed he had not even considered the implications of being a woman alone with so many strange, uncivilized soldiers.

Grace crossed her arms and gave a curt nod. “Well, if we’re out because we aren’t modern enough, so is Quintus,” Bea said. “So it’s either Scott or Yoshi, right?”

Yoshi paled and lifted his chin to meet Cade’s gaze. “I may have asthma, but I’ll go if you need me,” he said.

Scott lay a hand on Yoshi’s shoulder. “As funny as it might be to watch you wheezing while you’re chased by a T. rex, I think you’re out of the running, man. No pun intended.”

Yoshi reddened and inclined his head.

“I’ve been hankering for a stroll through the woods anyway,” Scott said, forcing a smile. “Plus, it’ll be a relief to get out of this windowless room. Especially after Quintus had fish for dinner, am I right?”

He pinched his nose theatrically as the others laughed. The tension dissipated like a dark cloud on the wind, though the scowl on Grace’s face was not entirely gone.

Cade let it go. There were bigger things to worry about.

CHAPTER

39

They were woken at the break of dawn. There was no time for breakfast, only to gather their weapons and stagger down the tunnel, out to the edge of the jungles.

Cade had thought they would have a few days yet before the expedition left, but apparently Marius had wasted no time. Backpacks were shoved into Scott’s and Cade’s hands, and they had but a few moments to say their goodbyes.