“One of those slingers is heading toward us!”
The Kaizen rolled her eyes. “It’s a skimmer, you milksop. Now, put that away before you cause any more problems.”
Gemma’s stomach hit her feet. Her cheeks burned.
It figured she’d make a fool of herself the first time she didn’t hesitate to act.
It wasn’t until it drew close that Gemma caught the first glimpse of black, and the engine grew into a quiet roar. The vehicle paused in front of where they stood, and the reflective sheen diminished, revealing the skimmer beneath. A man about the Kaizen’s age, but with reddish-blond hair, emerged from within. His grin was crooked but kind, and he wore a pale utility jacket streaked with dust.
“About time,” the Kaizen quipped.
“You’re lucky I came for you at all, Pheebs. I happily would’ve left you out here.”
The man smirked, a familiarity settling between the two of them. Gemma cast her glance from one side to the other, and then the Kaizen actually smiled.
“Long time, no see, little brother,” the Kaizen said, unfolding her arms as if preparing for a hug.
“Well, maybe if you’d actually come visit me from time to time,” the man replied, embracing his sister.
Gemma had to fight to keep her mouth from gaping. Twice now, the black-hearted woman had shown emotion in front of Gemma. To say it was unnerving was an understatement.
The Kaizen’s brother let go of his sister and stepped toward Gemma, holding out his hand. “Hi, I’m Gunner. We haven’t met.”
Gemma cleared her throat before shaking the man’s hand and introducing herself. Gunner’s dark brown eyes were warm and inviting, the complete opposite of his sister’s. How could two siblings have such opposing personalities?
“Well, come on then, you two,” Gunner said. “Grab your things. Rami’s sending maintenance to fix your skimmer, and I got to get you two to the temple before Doctor Liebher starts burrowing holes in walls.”
Gemma hoisted her backsack, grabbed her weapons, and followed the Kaizen—Pheebs, apparently—toward Gunner’s skimmer. This vehicle was sleeker than the last, with a long, narrow body and a black finish that shimmered beneath Reva’s sun.
Gunner climbed into the pilot’s seat like he’d been born there. “Strap in. It’s gonna be a fast ride.”
Gemma slid onto the rear seat and tugged the restraints across her chest. The harness locked with a click. Within seconds, the skimmer hovered above the rocky terrain, its engine humming smoothly, and then the landscape blurred to a shade of rust. She expected the Kaizen to offer more instructions or a snide comment. But the captain said nothing.
For the first time in days, Gemma allowed herself to exhale. Not because she felt safe, but because she was finally headed toward something: answers, truth . . . maybe even a cure.
Her eyes fluttered closed—
“Wake up, kiddo,” Gunner said before Gemma even registered that she’d fallen asleep. “We’re here.”
Outside, the jagged peaks of Reva’s mountains had sharpened into teeth. Wind scoured the skimmer’s shields, and the red horizon tilted as they banked west. In the distance, she spied the ancient, domed dwellings that had to have housed the alien race. They’d been molded from sediment and stone, but most were now collapsed, their doorways swallowed by red dirt and dust.
Gemma leaned closer to the glass, her breath fogging the pane. This was the place where everything had started to change.
Whereshehad begun to change.
She touched her fingertips to her chest, half-expecting to feel the pulse of something foreign beneath her skin. But all she felt was her own heartbeat: steady, human, ordinary.
A lie she wished she could believe.
When the ruins drew closer, Gemma sat up straighter, her jaw tight. She didn’t know what waited inside. She didn’t even know if she’d survive. But she was done with simply existing and praying against the inevitable. Whatever truth waited inside that temple, she’d face it head on.
Even if it killed her.
For days, the search for Dissenters had been an utter failure. Ahna’s team—which included Christian, Hawk, Imara, Claude, and Yosef—had been assigned to the grave shift, and they’d split into pairs to wander Perileos in search of suspicious behavior. Today, Christian and Ahna chose to go deeper into the outskirts, near his former home. It was an area he knew very well, and where Dissent support ran thicker. They were deep in an edge-sector when the hairs on Christian’s neck stood on end.
They were being watched.
“Yeah, I feel it too,” Ahna said before Christian had even made a comment. They’d gotten good at recognizing each other’s tellsafter the first time they’d wandered Perileos.
