Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! If this call drops again, so help me—
“I’m calling you back from the satellite line,” says Viktor. “Get yourself someplace with better signal.”
Great. Does he expect me to climb a freaking tree?
“No sweat,” I say a second before the call drops again.Dammit!I glance around and spot a rocky outcrop that juts up above the others. Tucking my phone under my chin, I painstakingly clamber up it until I reach the top, my back pressed against the rough, flat surface. Minutes drag by as I try to find a stable position. A call comes through. Video.
Ambitious.
Viktor’s craggy features fill the screen. I see others in the space beyond him.
I grin despite everything. “Hey, kids. Miss me?”
The room behind him erupts. I catch glimpses of movement—Caleb, Elena, Dorian… all the usual suspects. Questions come over one another, relief and anger bleeding together.
I hold up a hand. “One at a time, people. I don’t have long.”
My eyes flick to where Andrei stands watch at the base of my rock perch. Making sure we’re still alone.
Viktor steps directly in front of the camera, blocking out the others. “Mara, where are you? Are you injured?”
“I’m fine.” I shift position, trying to find an angle that doesn’t make my shoulder scream. The lie is obvious from the way I wince. “Banged up, but fine.”
I search the faces behind Viktor until I find her. Ember. Safe. Alive.
Relief floods through me so sharp it stings.
“You made it out,” I say, my voice softening. “I knew you would.”
“We thought you were dead,” Ember says, her voice breaking. Luke’s hand finds hers, anchoring. “The fall—”
The grin I force onto my face doesn’t reach my eyes. I know it doesn’t. “Takes more than a mountain to kill me.” I manage a wink. “Though it came close.”
“God… Mara…” Elena now. Tears streaming down her face. I’ve never seen my best friend cry like this. “I thought… I was…” Her voice chokes. “You died. I thought… you died.”
My throat tightens. “Chillax, babe.” I keep the grin in place even though it hurts. “If I’d had a glimpse of the afterlife, I’d already be TikTokking about it.”
The cough hits before I can stop it. Harsh, wet, rattling in my chest. I try to smother it, but when I pull my hand away, there’s a dark stain on my palm.
From my split lip, probably.
I wipe it quickly on my pants. Hope the camera quality is too poor to catch it.
Caleb steps forward, one arm around Elena’s shaking shoulders. All business, despite the emotion tightening his jaw.
“What’s your location?” He barks it like an order. “We’ll send a team—”
“That’s the thing.” I readjust my phone, trying to block the landscape beyond the rough stone behind me.Don’t give them landmarks. Not yet.“I’m not ready to come back yet.”
Silence crashes through the connection.
“What do you mean, not ready?” Viktor demands.
“I’m onto something. Something big. Can’t leave until I’ve seen it through.” Until I know where they’ve taken him.
“That’s not your call to make.” Caleb’s voice is firm, clipped. I see the vein pulse at his temple. “You’re Craven personnel—”
“With respect, Caleb.” I try not to snap. “I’m making it my call.”
