“Mara.”
“Listen to me.”
She steps slightly forward, still keeping the pistol against my ribs.
“You don’t have a choice anymore.”
Adam’s rifle doesn’t move.
“You’re not leaving here.”
“We don’t need to.”
Mara gestures toward the mountains behind her.
“The system is already moving.”
Boone’s voice drops.
“You think kidnapping her helps your case?”
“No.”
“It motivates you.”
“To do what?”
“To stop fighting the Architect.”
I try to pull free.
The man behind me twists my arm sharply.
Pain explodes through my shoulder.
I cry out before I can stop myself.
Boone takes a step forward instantly.
“Enough!”
Mara raises the gun slightly.
“Then listen.”
Her eyes lock onto his.
“If you don’t take command of the system…”
“…she dies.”
The wind moves through the trees again.
Cold.
Relentless.
And suddenly the war the Architect started isn’t about infrastructure anymore.
