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uncomfortable with the feeling. Awe? For Mantis? In her memory’s eye, he was still a skinny kid leading a small gang, fearless and full of ugly truths that he’d throw at her, mindless of her gun and position.
    Why was she impressed now? He’d always been something else. Driven. Smart. Ready to give up everything for his cause.
    And his people. He’d stood in front of her, ready to take a bullet for his gang even back then.
    Had he really thought of everything? Hera eyed him. “What about the electric pillars in the sea?”
    “You were right. Their function seems to be protective. They can be turned on around the island of Dakru to stop an invasion from the sea, but also to prevent passing over the bridges.”
    Excitement danced like electricity on her nerve endings. “Did you find out how to operate them?”
    “Well, this is where it gets tricky.” Mantis turned into a side street in silence and Hera kept her mouth shut, eyes darting right and left, checking the rear-view mirrors for possible signs of pursuit.
    “Tricky, how?” she finally prompted when they’d made it to the connecting road between towns.
    “Some pillars are out of order. Some have been switching on and off like broken store signs.”
    Hera pressed her lips together. She’d never forget how one such electric pillar had almost killed Sacmis three years back. That had been the day Hera’s eyes had been opened to the truth of her world.
    “You have not answered my question,” she said. “Have you found a solution? Can we use the pillars?”
    “Leave that to me, lady.” His dark eyes were now serious and opaque, hiding secrets. “Concentrate on finding the war machine. I’ll protect Dakru.”
    “You sound so sure.”
    “I am.”
    Hera cut him a sharp look. “Why?”
    He shook his head. His youthful face was lined with fatigue. A dark bruise marred his arm below the elbow. As well as the thin white line on his chin, he sported more scars, old and new, on his hands and face.
    “I know my people.” A flame lit in his eyes, shining from inside. His brows knitted, shading his gaze. “They’ll make it work.”
    In spite of her doubts, she swallowed her knee-jerk sarcasm. She believed him. May the gods help her, she trusted him to get it done and save them all.
     
     
     
     

 
    Chapter Three

     
     
    Elei sat with his back against the cold wall of Iliathan’s basement and watched him tap on his keyboard for what felt like years.
    The room was warm and Kalaes was snoring softly, arms crossed and dark head bent. Alendra had curled up on the floor like a kitten. Elei wished she’d curled up against him, but didn’t know if he was supposed to move to her side. He wished she’d take the lead, like she’d done at the bar in Istros, let him know what she wanted, what he should be doing.
    He felt lost, the only thing clear in his mind the need to touch her and hold her. She was only a few feet away but she might as well be beyond the blue horizon.
    His chest felt tight. Come to think about it, his eye throbbed. He rubbed it. Throbbing like hell, in fact, but no colors flaring, so why?
    Kalaes stirred, raising his head. He grimaced. “Ow, five hells,” he muttered. “My eye. Damn parasite.”
    Pressing his mouth thin, Elei got up and checked the high windows for any shadow, listening for any sound. Iliathan was hunched up in front of his monitor, half-dozing. The room was closed, the air stuffy, heavy with their breath. Maybe that was the reason Rex had stirred.
    He waited, listening. Something else... Ah, there it was. A slight buzzing reached his ears. With it, the room burst into neon colors.
    Helicopters overhead. Hells. Elei drew his Rasmus, his head pounding, his mouth dry.
    “What’s going on?” Kalaes climbed to his feet, gaze sharpening. “Are we under attack?”
    “Don’t know,” Elei ground out, catching a pulse of red from the corner of his eye. Alendra’s chest. She was sitting up, a hand on the grip of her