“You left me!” Cho yelled, stopping him in his tracks. “I loved you, and you didn’t even say goodbye.”
Christian flinched at Cho’s admission of love. Had he known, he would’ve put more distance between them.
His hands tightened into fists. “You knew we were only friends. And you knew I never planned to stay.”
“Then you should’ve known better than to come back. I’m not the only one who wants to see you pay for what happened when you left, when Paulo’sprotégéwalked out the door.” Her words dripped with venom.
“He never owned me,” Christian seethed.
“But he sure thought he did. You fucked him over, andwepaid the price. I convinced the others to leave your family alone ’cause they were never involved, but what do you think will happen when they find out even I couldn’t get close to you? Who do you think they’ll go after instead?”
The room spun as a chill, cold as ice, shot down his spine. “Lysa, Dad—are they safe?”
Cho’s chin quivered, her voice almost a whisper. “I don’t know.” Her lower lids pooled with tears.
His heart in his spine, Christian flung open the door of the makeshift cell and bolted up the stairs.
The skimmer touched down in silence on a patch of flattened stone just outside the base of the mountain. Gemma’s pulse raced; her heartbeat thumped wildly in her ears. This was where she’d at last find answers.
She stepped out of the skimmer first. Her boots crunched against the crimson surface as she ambled toward a yawning gap in the rock face, where the entrance to the temple had been carved into Reva’s stone. The arch of the double doors looked almost regal, half-swallowed by shadow at this time of night, as if the mountain itself had tried to reclaim it. Ornate carvings wrapped around the doorframe, none of which sherecognized. The last time she’d been here, something inside her had demanded she leave, and Hawk had barely gotten the doors open before she’d had a complete meltdown. She remembered them being massive, but not likethis.
They were as wondrous as they were terrifying.
“Let’s go,” the Kaizen said, brushing past her like she didn’t care if Gemma followed.
“Don’t mind my sister’s prickly nature.” Gunner motioned for Gemma to enter before him. “She’s always been a vicious beast.”
The humor didn’t settle the churning in her gut. What would happen when she stepped through those doors? Would she panic again? Would she lose control?
Would she die?
Gunner pressed gently between Gemma’s shoulder blades, nudging her forward. “You look terrified. Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. The implant won’t fail that quickly.”
That quickly?Was that supposed to make her feel more confident?
She took a deep breath, tightened her grip on the strap of her backsack, and stepped inside.
Her mouth gaped the moment her eyes adjusted to the diminished light. She’d carried with her a fine sense of wonder from the last time she was here, but she didn’t rememberthislevel of beauty. The vaulted ceiling stretched up into nothingness, a galaxy map glowing across its expanse—stars, nebulae, even shifting constellations drawn in light. They were identical to the ones she’d studied in her childhood lessons, and yet . . . older, somehow.
They walked further into the corridor, and an ethereal light bathed the space in an unearthly glow, casting long shadows against the red, polished floor. And in the very center of the chamber stood a statue—thestatue.
Now this she remembered. Humanoid but not, with battle armor and a two-pronged spear. Its eyes were too large and wide apart, and there were four slits where ears should have been. It was here, standing next to this statue, when she’d been overwhelmed by the instinct to flee. Why didn’t she feel it now?
Gemma moved toward the statue slowly, clutching her chest. She scanned the slitted ears, the elongated skull, the broad chest encased in armor. The spear gleamed under the soft starlight from above, as if even stone couldn’t hide the weapon’s intent. The longer Gemma looked, the harder it became to convince herself that she wasn’t somehow connected to it.
“Come on,” Gunner said behind her, gently but firmly. “Everyone’s in the chamber just ahead.”
Gemma blinked and stepped back from the statue. Her pulse steadied, but something beneath her skin still felt off kilter, like a compass trying to right itself.
She followed Gunner up a short flight of stairs and into a narrow tunnel that curled into the mountain. The last time she’d been in here, Christian had a broken arm and only tiny torchlights on their vests had illuminated the tight space. This time, dim ultralights hung along the ceiling, causing her shadow to dance with every step.
She and Gunner passed through the barricade that Imara, Hawk, and Colton had revealed, and Gemma froze.
Spread throughout the maze of red stone, all smooth and fitted together like the interior of a great living heart, were people: scientists, doctors, archaeologists, lore specialists. Most were crouched beside the walls, scanning glyphs and muttering observations. A few stood in quiet conversation near portable analysis tables as pale purple and orange light spilled from the galaxy ceiling above. Electroglass screens stood beside some of them, displaying anatomical diagrams, linguistic trees, and genetic overlays.
Every single person stopped the moment they noticed her. Gemma felt the subtle shift in the air. She was no longer a curiosity—she was the case.
One woman in a white field coat turned to face her. It was Doctor Manae, the scientist who’d been the first to study Gemma’s lab and test results. She whispered something to the man beside her before tucking her electropad against her chest and approaching Gemma. Her expression was composed, but her eyes flicked across Gemma’s frame like she was looking for proof of something only she could see.
