They were together, in these tense moments, where skin hummed with the promise of what was to come, and where monitors glowed red, showing the creeping cracks, the landscape turning to crystal at the edges of the cracks.

“I’m going to wrap up here, shut everything down, maybe, so it’s safe no matter what happens. Then I’ll just watch.”

“Kenzie…”

“I’ll give you guys calls on your cellphone. Between the time the people on the second rung and the people on the first rung start passing out. Promise.”

“I worry,” I said. “You’re going to turn around and go to Chicken Little.”

“If I was going to do that I would have done it already. If I was planning to do it later, I’d use projections and tech and do you really want to spend the time you have remaining chasing me?”

“That’s pretty damning,” Rain said. “That you’re already thinking that way.”

“I’m always thinking this way. But if you really want to make me feel better about all of this… I’d like to look after Breakthrough.”

“Look after how?” I asked.

“Ashley’s freaking out. Byron’s sitting on the roof and hasn’t been dosed. Um, and Natalie’s driving and it’s a little shaky with the state of the roads, I’m keeping tabs on her car’s dashboard.”

“Damsel is freaking?” I asked.

“They’re having a hard time dealing with her. Here. Take this.”

I gave the screen one last look before I hurried off. 32%.

⊙

“You’re afraid!” her voice rang through the large hallway.

Wardens stood in a loose formation at either end of the hallway.

“I’m the most terrifying thing in the world to you, and it’s all your own doing!”

“Ashley,” I called out.

Damsel spun on her heels. She almost lost her balance.

Her bladed hands were extended out in either direction, facing the two groups that had her surrounded. Holding her arms outstretched seemed to be a task, and she was breathing hard, the hands faltering, raising up again. When she took a step, it was with a bit of a limp.

“Oh, Antares. You petty, stupid little thing,” she said.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Oh, I’m on my way up, rest assured. It’s so convenient when all of your enemies decide to die. What more could a lady ask for, hm?” She raised her chin. “And in the aftermath… who’s left to stop me from ruling?”

“Conveying the presence you need to rule is like being cool in high school,” I said. “If you talk too much about how cool you are, you’re going to convince people of the opposite.”

“And what would you know about poise or presence?” she asked. “Look at you. Haggard, bloody.”