Fists shaking, I lean forward.
Gabe drops the rope, letting it fall to the sand beside his feet. “Iwasn’t going to hurt her. I only needed to make sure she wasn’t going to warn you of my escape.”
“So what if she had? They weren’t going to keep you as a permanent prisoner, Gabe. You would’ve been free to go in a couple days, if not hours.”
He shakes his helmeted head. “You don’t know that.”
“I do,” I say. “The only reason they restrained you was to protect against unnecessary violence.”
“Do you hear yourself, Elle? You’re defending them! Sun’s pits, you’vebecomethem!”
I throw my hands up. “Is that truly so bad?”
“Yes.” The word is low, rough. A surrender and a condemnation. “Just because they’ve evolved doesn’t mean they aren’t monsters.”
I descend farther down the dune, stomping straight up to Gabe. “Monsters? I’m not sure what you thought you were seeing back there, but I saw giddy children and generous neighbors. People who not only welcomed a bunch of strangers into their community but cared enough to host a memorial in honor of our fallen. Strangers that recognized our lives are something worth celebrating, not sacrificing. So, if you’re looking for monsters, maybe you should look closer to home.”
He tenses, and I take advantage of the moment to pull Gem’s poniard from where it hangs around his belt. A hand grabs my wrist, and I don’t think twice before releasing a flare into it.
Gabe crumples to his knees with a yelp.
Once, I might’ve knelt beside him and begged for forgiveness. Inflicting pain on any man, let alone my ex-husband, wasn’t a thought I’d allowed myself to entertain, even for the men who shared no such qualms. Perhaps it was the ever-looming threat of being a Tier Three throwaway one misstep away from getting locked in the Abyss, or my deep-seated desperation to prove myself worthy, fighting back was aconcept reserved only for our mandated training sessions.
Now, though, I don’t bat an eye as I sidestep around Gabe’s contorted form and cut off the knot from around Gem’s wrists. If resorting to violence to defend my friend makes me the villain he believes all of us Sols to be, then so be it.
Gem’s shoulders sag. “Thank y—Look out!”
Something blunt slams into the backs of my knees, swiping my legs out from under me.
“Get away from us!” snarls Aruna as she unsheathes her short sword.
Gem pushes herself between us. “Aruna, quit it! Orelle isn’t here to hurt us, and you know that.”
“Do I? What do you call that?” She points a finger towards Gabe, who pants as he slowly returns to standing.
“Justice,” Gem says with a shrug. “And a long time coming, too.”
Before Aruna can spit another retort, a metallic hum slices through the air, growing louder by the second.
I return the poniard to Gem.
“More Pyres?” she asks.
“I don’t think so. It almost sounds like . . .”
Black-adorned figures emerge from the top of the opposite ridgeline, dozens of heads bobbing as they march in formation in uniforms nearly identical to Gabe’s, with added armor plating. They halt at the peak as one breaks from the line to descend the hill first. The rising sun glints off rows of pins and badges secured to navy armor, and I know who it is before he speaks a word.
“Step away from my son!” Chancellor Bren bellows, his voice spreading across the valley.
It takes several seconds before it registers: he’s talking to me. I clench my flickering fists. “I won’t hurt him, and I think you know that.”
The chancellor stiffens. “Of course you will. You’re a Sol.”
“I am,” I say, since there’s no use denying that. “But you and I both know that Sols are not your true enemy. The Pyres are.”
He tilts his head, and for a moment, I think he might continue the ruse. “You’re still wrong about one thing, dear. I have no true enemies—none that are capable of defeating me.”
The chancellor pulls a remote from beneath his armored vest, pressing a thumb into a singular red button. My muscles clench as I wait for a barrage of missiles or other projectiles to rain down on those of us in the sandy valley. None come. Instead, familiar thundering booms reverberate beneath my bare feet, striking in rapid succession. Someone behind me gasps as the first Pyre mounts the ridge, its charred legs burrowing into the sand a few yards in front of Chancellor Bren and his men.
