Together, my commander and I crack the door open. Cold air rushes in, sending my hair flying and goose bumps appearing over every inch of exposed skin.

The sea.

I catch glimpses of silvery gray between the foothills. The rough waves churn the water white in some places. Keeping one hand firmly on the siding, I lean out as far as I dare and try to see where we are headed. I squint as the wind blows directly in my eyes.

“The tracks turn north ahead.” I pull myself back inside. “The front of the train will veer sharply left, giving us a blind spot. That’s when we should go.”

“Are we close to Ramsgate?” Rowan asks.

“Skies, I hope so,” Sethran says. “We’ve made it farther than any other team could have in this time.”

We’re the city’s best hope right now. I share a look with Ro, who appears to have realized this, too.

My ears grow numb to the sounds of the train as we wait—the push-pull, then screaming and shrieking—that for a moment I think I’m going deaf when the rhythm changes as the train enters into the turn.

“We’re slowing down,” I say.

Sethran nods. “Then it’s time we get off.”

It’s agonizing, waiting for the machine to slow. Restless, I get up and look out the opposite side of the train car.

“Look!” I shout over the din. Immediately, Rowan rushes over, and I try not to notice how close our faces are as she looks out.

“Skies alive,” she whispers.

Even this far out, the human’s city looks like twice the size of the Heliana. Spires point like jagged teeth into the sky. Smoke billows from their spouts in grayish black plumes. A haze wraps the city and blurs the air.

“Look at the sky,” she says. “Nothing’s flying over it.”

“The birds must know something we don’t.”

“Or they know exactly what we do,” she replies. “The humans poisoned the sky here. They poison everywhere they go.”

“Callen,” Sethran says. “You first. Get ready to jump.”

I do as commanded and crouch by the door, bracing my body for the impact. The grasses below will provide some cushion, but not a lot. I wait, heartbeat after heartbeat, as the train continues to slow down. I watch the clumps of pale grasses and yellow flowers disappear from sight in a blur.

Then I jump. I do my best to roll and weaken my fall, but the impact rattles my body. My wrist lands awkwardly, and I can feel the blood rushing to the site and the swelling kicking in. As Ox tumbles to a stop a few yards from me, he scans the surroundings to see if we’ve been spotted.