Crowds milled by the fleet of Hovers. Guardians and Horns postured around each other, occupying the same field but standing separate, groups of gray and black. Their voices were low and warning, snarls before the bite. Funnels of Aether flashed in all directions, scoring bright lines down the night sky, but the Komodo sat under a pocket of less-threatening currents—for now.

“Where’s Perry?” she asked as they moved into the throng. She couldn’t see over the heads around her.

Roar scanned the field, shaking his head. “I don’t see him. He’s probably in a Hover already with Cinder. But I know who can tell us.”

Sable.

A sudden cry rose from the crowd, and the earth began to tremble, vibrating beneath her feet. She looked up, wondering if she’d misjudged the Aether. Blue and fire-red tempests swirled above, but she didn’t see any funnels forming.

“The Komodo!” Soren yelled.

Aria didn’t understand. People scattered away, shouting as they searched for cover. As the crowd around her thinned, she saw the Komodo—saw segments of it. The command center had disengaged into individual units. Black and hunched and beetle-like, each huge segment rolled on their tracks, the roar of their engines shaking the air.

Aria’s head whipped to the other end of the clearing. The Komodo units were surrounding the runway. On top of each one, she saw gun turrets rising up, their barrels aiming at the Hovers, and snipers now stood in perches along the rooflines.

Hess. He wasn’t going to let Sable take them without a fight.

Aria grabbed Soren’s arm. “This is your father’s plan? To shoot us?”

He shook his head. “Not us. He has to send a message to Sable.”

“We’re all together, Soren! Look around you.”

“It could work! But he better be prepared to—”

“Sable!” Hess yelled.

At the sound of his father’s raised voice, Soren took off running. Aria followed, threading through the crowd, hoping Roar was still behind her.

She broke through the press and arrived at the edge of a circle of people. Hess stood at the center. Alone.

He wore full military dress. He held a gun, and he was also wearing a Smarteye.

“Sable!” he yelled again, searching the people around him. “I know you’re here! Pay attention! Watch what happens when you force my hand!”

An explosion sent Aria flying backward. She fell to the dirt, the wind rushing out of her lungs, stunning her for an instant that went on forever. She rolled into a ball and slammed her hands over her ears as she gasped, struggling to recover her breath. The sound of the explosion had blown out her eardrums, and pain lanced into her skull. She couldn’t hear herself coughing. She heard nothing but the rush of her own blood, her own heartbeat.