this thick, heavy, hurting silence, but I don’t know where to begin.
Everything Betraskans do, everything we believe, everything we are is about family. And between losing Cat, leaving Tyler behind, and now Kal’s betrayal, it’s getting harder and harder to keep my gaze focused on the future. It feels like I’ve been shot, but I’m still moving. I’m on automatic, but now that the dust has settled, I just don’t know what to do next.
The bridge feels too big—it’s just the four of us now, with Shamrock on the console and Tyler’s and Kal’s empty seats to remind us of what we’ve lost. Which, given that it’s our badass pilotry, our tactical genius, and our muscle, is no joke.
Scarlett is hollow eyed. Just as I can’t summon up a smart-ass remark to keep us going, she can’t find anything in her Face’s book of tricks to make this sound better than it is. I know she’s blaming herself for not having seen this coming, but though her ability to read everyone she meets is nearly superhuman, there are still limits. For the first time I can remember, she looks … I’m not sure what to call it. Beaten? Scared?
Auri’s in her own place, her gaze distant. Everything about her has changed—even her posture. She’s not the girl we’ve known anymore. She’s utterly focused now. I thought she’d be weaker without Kal’s support, but it’s as though the heat and fire we’ve just been through forged her into something stronger.
Something unbreakable.
It’s Zila who ends the silence. She has her back to us, piloting the Zero through the FoldGate and into black-and-white safety. Now she swings around, her face as blank as it was back when we met. I didn’t realize how many small changes I’d seen in it until they went away, along with Kal. She’s closed off again, speaking carefully and evenly, her voice flat and gray.
“We must consider our next steps.”
Auri’s response is immediate and unwavering. “We need to take control of the Weapon.”
Scarlett nods. “Ideally, before Caersan uses it to blow up Earth. And we’re already three hours into his twelve-hour countdown.”
Auri glances at her, gaze burning, chin up.
“And then we have to turn it against the Ra’haam.”
“Right,” I agree. “So that means we need to get aboard it, yeah? Past a massive Syldrathi war fleet on high alert, ready to unload its many, many guns on anything that looks remotely unfriendly.”
Zila inclines her head. “This is an accurate summary.”
“Do we have any advantages?” Scar asks. She’s reaching for what Tyler would do, I think. Trying desperately to fill the hole her twin has left behind.
“They will certainly not be expecting us.”
I wish Zila were making a joke right now, flexing that newfound sense of humor of hers. But she’s just stating the obvious. They won’t be expecting anybody to do anything this foolhardy, to take on odds this long. Because it’s suicide.
“Auri can flatten them with her brain bullets,” I offer. “Put that in the advantage column, I guess?”
Aurora doesn’t even smile.
“This is true,” Zila agrees, equally grave. “However, displays of devastating psychic power would certainly draw attention among the Syldrathi armada. If we wish to maintain our advantage of surprise, we will need to blend in.”
Auri’s gaze flicks to Zila. “We need a Syldrathi ship.”
I frown. “Where are we going to …”
My voice fades as I catch the look in Scarlett’s eyes. I can see the intelligence behind them, the smarts she keeps hidden behind a mask of sass and indifference. She told me once she never even wanted to join the Legion. That she only signed up to look after Tyler. And she feels her brother’s absence worse than any of us, I know. But suddenly she’s filling his shoes just fine.
“Raliin Kendare Aminath,” she says.
Maker’s breath, of course. The Waywalker elder we rescued on Andarael told us to find him if there was a way he could repay his debt to us.
Scar looks across at Zila, and our Brain nods, her fingers flying across the pilot’s console. “We can be there in four hours,” she says. “Shall I set a course?”
Scarlett nods. “Burn as hard as you can.”
· · · · ·
Each of us finds a way to occupy the next four hours. Zila’s at the controls, checking the readings over and over. Auri disappears to her room and closes the door. Scarlett pulls up files in Syldrathi and starts reading.
Me? I got nothing except trying to fix Magellan, and to be frank, hearing