Through the chaos, I see Six push Ella and Crayton behind a large pile of fallen rock. She looks over at Eight and me, and the next thing I know we’re lifted off the ground and floated over to the rest of the group. When Six sets us down, she says, ‘All of you, just stay here while I turn invisible and check things out. Fix him up, Marina.’ She winks at me. Her voice tells me we’ll be okay if we all remember what we can do. The only way we’ll survive is if we pull together.

‘I’m trying,’ I say, but she’s already invisible. Below my hands, Eight’s lungs struggle to keep up with my Legacy, and his face drains of color. I can feel his insides shifting, almost as if resisting my powers. That’s not it, though. It can’t be. He’s just more wounded than I thought. Or, my Legacy is fading. But that is not an option. I begin to panic and I fight the sick feeling in my stomach. I need to focus on him, and not let myself get distracted by what is happening around us.

I hear gunfire and the distant screams of Mogadorian soldiers. I can only imagine what Six is doing out there. She is a merciless warrior when she needs to be, incredibly dangerous to any who threaten her – or us.

‘How is he?’ Crayton asks, hovering over Eight and glancing back and forth between the pain on Eight’s face and the panic in mine.

Ella grabs Eight’s hand and gets him to focus on her. ‘It’s okay. It’s going to hurt, Eight, but then it will feel better. Trust me.’ I watch her calming words wash over him and he begins to nod through his grimaces.

We hear a deafening crash overhead, and the cave’s ceiling comes alive with cracks that spread fast and wide. The dome is a jigsaw puzzle of pieces that threaten to break free at any moment, and suddenly the first one falls, a stone the size of a car plunging down towards us. I don’t want to withdraw my healing touch, but I have to remove my hands from Eight’s side in order to focus all of my energy on deflecting the stone away with my mind. When I lay my hands back on Eight’s wound, it feels like I’m starting all over again. I take whatever solace I can from the cave drawing. It may show him dying, but it does not show him dying here, this way.

‘Where’s Marina’s Chest?’ Ella asks. ‘Maybe there’s something in there that can help.’

Crayton stands. ‘Both Chests are on the other side of the cave. I’ll get them.’