Ten minutes at max. That was how long Az thought we’d have before whoever monitored the wards alerted everyone that someone without access had broken them. Or, well, broken was a stretch. I’d really only opened them for a moment. A small tear that took so much focus I’d thrown up after from the pressure in my head.
He said that the shaytan in charge, likely one of the captains, would first check the breach. They’d make sure it was still intact, then they’d reinforce it and sound the alarms. Once that happened, there’d be no leaving the base. Even four cores and the holder of the stars couldn’t take on this many elites. Unless I wanted to destroy the entire base, that was. And that was onlyifthe stars felt like helping me out. Based on their continued silence, I assumed not.
So we rushed through the halls and stairwells, our breaths coming heavier and heavier as we grew closer to the alchemy floor, where we hoped Caleb, Priya, and Quinn would be waiting.Hopedbeing the key word. Every time we neared an elite, wewere forced to slow, the time ticking in my head to the beat of my heart.
“Coming up on the alchemy floor!” Az whisper-shouted, his hand in mine and Zura right on my heels.
We tried to remain inconspicuous as we moved up the final half level, hitting the landing and immediately slowing. While Zura and I attempted to catch our breath, Az looked through the rectangular windows in the metal doors.
“Remember the plan.” Az’s voice was firm—even—calm. In fact, he sounded more powerful now than I’d ever heard him before. “We head straight to your old alchemy room and we wait no more than two minutes. If they aren’t there by then, we have to take Zura and get to the other side of those wards before they lock down. Otherwise, we’re all doomed. Got it?”
“Yes,” Zura and I said in unison, nodding our heads. I shoved my hair further back into my cloak, trying to hide the curls. We’d thought about taking shift, but I didn’t have the time to brew a new batch and I didn’t think it’d be worth the added effort of convincing the others we were really who we said we were.
Az shoved his palms into the door on the left, forcing it open and nodding for us to go first. In the cold halls, very few elites roamed, most home by now. That was another benefit of being an elite, you had the privilege of being home by dinner.
Our old preferred lab was near the southern stairwell, putting us close enough that we didn’t have to risk running. Instead, we continued our brisk pace, our eyes flitting all around us as we grew closer.
A trap could be waiting,I thought to myself, secretly hoping the stars would be annoyed enough to argue. But, as they had for days, they remained silent. Judging by their odd absence, the stars could be petty when they wanted to be.
Ten feet. Five. One. There it was. My old alchemy lab door. Number fourteen. Of all places I grieved my family’s loss, it was within that room that it hurt the least.
“Ready?” Az asked us as he held the doorknob. I nodded, hoping Zura did too. And then he twisted the metal. Two minutes. Only two.
As I stepped through the doorway, I held my breath, hoping they’d get there in time. Somehow, I still sucked in air as I caught sight of Caleb’s head of curls. He sat propped on a table, his mask and hood off. Standing slightly behind him on the back end of the table were Otarn and Elders, their masks off but hoods on.
“Took you long enough,” Cal said with a smile.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Nova
“We were assigned a new elite today. Her name is Elite Bargain. When Jameson told her I was an of eadi like the prick he is, she didn’t seem to care. Maybe I’ve gotten lucky and found the only elite on all of Dajahim who doesn’t care to make the world pure again.”
-From the journal of Nova Tershetta, 9262 AS
“Well, that saved us two minutes,” Az said, his voice cracking as he rushed forward. Caleb’s eyes went wide as his best friend ran his way, his mouth popping open when Az wrapped his arms around his torso.
“Stars, what did you do to him, Nova?” Zura asked at my side.
I let out a sharp laugh, shaking my head. “I’ll tell you all about it when we’re out of this miserable place.”
“Deal.”
Az quickly pulled the other two into the hug after Caleb lowered himself to the ground, the four of them embracing each other in the way only childhood friends could.
“We’ve got to go. They’ll have the wards fortified and the exits blocked soon,” Az mumbled into their huddle, the sound muffled to my ears. I smiled, though I knew the hard part wasn’t over yet. From here, we had to getsixof us out without being noticed.
“The plan is to take the north stairwell to the back end of the building.” I tried to mirror Az’s commanding tone, squaring my shoulders as I spoke. Five heads turned my way, only Caleb’s face readable, an annoyingly cocky smile appearing. “We’ll be on the opposite side of the wards we breached, and ideally won’t run into anyone of high rank. If we are caught in these wards post lockdown, the goal will be to get out and head to the forest that borders Mount Voliton, where we can meet up safely without exposing our base. Separation isn’t ideal, but we will fight or die. Got it?”
“You want us to shadow walk to Zade territory?” Otarn asked, her voice coated in disbelief as she stepped forward. She had cut her hair, the length barely reaching the base of her neck now. She looked even more fierce, like a hungry predator.
“They won’t suspect it. It’s our only chance if we need to run,” Az added as he moved around the group, coming to stand at my side.
The three cores watched, their eyes scrutinizing through the small holes in their masks. I recalled reading once that the masks stripped us of identity, making us all equal servants of the stars when we wore them. As I looked at the three of them, I knew that nothing could steal the shear power they radiated.
We’d survive. We had to. This group could do it.
“Okay, let’s do it then.” Elders placed an arm around Priya, each nodding simultaneously. Az moved to the door, readying us to move. We had a far longer walk this second half of the plan.
