off the rails moments after we entered the gates. If it wasn’t for Gram, Justine and I would have been dead yesterday.”
“Gram?” Sax’s mouth dropped open. “Did you just say Gram?”
“Yeah, I think you guys already know each other. He seems to have a habit of saving Drixonians.” I knocked on the door. “It’s Nero!” I called out.
After a long pause where I was sure Gram was peering through the cracks in the wall to ensure it was me, the door swung open.
Gram stood in the doorway, a bloodied sling hanging from his shoulder to support his left arm, and a long gash in his temple. His relief at seeing me at his door was palpable.
I opened my mouth to give him an update when I was shoved aside.
Sax wrapped his massive arms around Gram and picked him up, squeezing him to his chest as Gram sputtered.
“I never thought I’d see you again!” The big Drix hollered with a wide-mouthed grin.
I shoved at my brother’s back. “Sax, you’re crushing him.”
Sax dropped Gram so quickly the Uldani nearly fell over. I clasped his good arm to keep him upright, and he shot me a thankful smile. “I never thought I’d see you again either,” he said to Sax.
The warrior squinted into the darkness of the room, and I realized we were surrounded by a dozen or so battle worn Uldani. Most were bloodied and injured, but they all looked happy.
“Did you lose any?” I asked Gram.
His smile faded. “A few.”
“I’m sorry.”
He nodded. “Me too. But they died hearing the beautiful sound of the gates opening and the Drixonian warriors descending to help us earn our freedom.”
I let him know the Uldani and Kulks were in a losing battle, penned in from all sides. “It’s only a matter of time before they die or the last few surrender.”
“I hope they surrender,” he said. “Only so that I can make them pay for their crimes against you and the rest of us. Corruption has been allowed to reign in this city for too long.”
Sax shuddered. “Fleck, I hate being back in these walls.” He rubbed his palms together. “So, what’s the plan?”
I explained to him how Gram helped Justine and I when our future looked bleak, and that he had steadily been amassing a loyal contingent with the intent of overthrowing the royals. “Our deal was that he got us to that hub and we let him and his Uldani live in peace.”
Sax raised a nubbed brow at the Uldani. “Been working on this awhile, have you?”
“Since my father died all I could think about was getting revenge on Borhan. After you killed him, I realized this entire system allowed Borhan to do what he did. So that was when I began finding others who were as discontent as I was. We will rebuild a new Alazar without walls.”
A loud boom shook the warehouse and Sax grinned. “Sounds like we’re helping you with that wall thing.” He rubbed his stomach. “By the way. Any of you have snacks?”
Thirteen
Justine
The ground shook with explosions and war cries. I swore I could hear Gar over the din, which was crazy, because I was several hundred yards away. But his growl was unlike any other. I shivered. I stood as close to the tree line as I dared, while Mags and the other Uldani, whose name was Yirpin, stood behind me at the front of the car.
Because of the noise of the battle, I didn’t hear the rumble of a bike approaching us from behind until it burst through the trees. Mags and Yirpin whirled on the newcomer, guns out.
I caught sight of Hap’s flopping black hair and hollered at my new friends, “Don’t shoot!” I ran past them toward Hap, who leaped off the bike before it came to a full stop. The tears were already leaking from my eyes when we hit each other at full steam. The shock of the hit reverberated down my injured arm. I whimpered and Hap immediately swept me into his arms, his hands coasting over my body. “Are you okay? Where are you hurt—” His gaze landed on my loks and he went still. His gaze lifted to mine. “Jus,” he whispered in awe. “Nero?”
“Of course, Nero,” I laughed through the tears. “Oh God, it’s so good to see you, friend.”
“What happened?” he asked. “After we didn’t hear from you at the first sunup, I started to worry. Daz kept saying that the mission could take several rotations, but