Tristan was fixed on the horizon, where he was making one of the bigger constructions of lights and lines I’d seen out of him yet.

Sveta, maybe because she’d seen me, hopped down to ground level. Her face was slick with moisture. She looked concerned, but I waved her off.

I couldn’t take concern right now. Couldn’t dwell.

“Oh, Victoria!” Kenzie piped up. She practically flew to me to get closer, and I saw her hand reach for me, felt the clawed eyehook grab me instead. “I wasn’t paying enough attention! I would have sent people to help, but I was distracted.”

Because you’re puppeteering around this body? I thought. But that was uncharitable. She had her reasons. I didn’t trust my feelings in this moment, and any scenario where I gave Chris a pass on his shittiness but snapped at Kenzie was too fucked up for words.

“I managed,” I said. I bent down, pulling off my one intact boot, then the one sock. “Where are the rest of our damn capes?”

“The Machine Army,” Kenzie said. “Um, Oberon and Auger. Skadi. The new Pouffe Titan. Custodian, but she already got here and brought capes with her. We’ve got more reinforcements coming. Some big heroes are trying to recruit when they’re not fighting. Using their ‘rest’ periods between fights to do stuff.”

Flying capes were directing ranged fire at the Ashen Titan. I missed my gun, and the impact it had had.

“Chris thinks they’re aimless right now. Is our chessmaster Titan preoccupied with strategy? Figuring out some puzzle?”

“No,” Rain said. The silver eyes of his mask looked out over toward the Titan Ophion, who was nested in his barrier, as capes tried to shoot through the gaps. “But I’m glad you guys noticed that too.”

“Build on that thought,” I said. “No why?”

“They’re not fighting.”

“Some of them are,” Kenzie said.

“Aimless I see, but not fighting isn’t right,” I said.

“They’re reacting, but they’re on autopilot. The new ones are sticking to instincts, but they’re increasingly disorganized. Nemean Titan’s just running, Ophion’s just growing his monsters and defending himself, Cinereal is walking and building up her ash. Custodian is just an asshole, I think. I think…”

He trailed off.

I looked at the Titans. Confirming what he’d said.

“…she might have gotten my message.”

“What did you say, Rain?” I asked.

“I said… everything, kind of. Or one thing in a million different ways, each with their own weight.”

“But what was it?” I asked.

“It was Staci Hartwick, reading a letter to me. It was Byron at group, talking about working on letting things go—”

I saw Tristan turn, looking back at us.