Page 120 of Aviatrix

Silence.

“So that’s it?” I say. “We’re just going to walk into our own deaths?”

“No,” Lark answers. “But we have to be smart.”

“Well, I’m not going,” I say, heart pounding. “I’m staying right here until my mom gets here.”

Jan clicks her tongue. “Captain Quay, we need you. You’ve been called to protect the Colonel and his daughter. There’s no one else we trust.”

“There’s an entire Force of people you could trust,” I shoot back.

Jan steps closer, dark eyes sharp. “Years ago, an aircraft was developed under the guise of machine learning. A prototype created by one of our top pilots. He built a unit so intelligent that it could read its pilot’s mind. But there was one problem. The system preferred female pilots.”

My throat dries. VAL.

“Only two aircraft were made before the pilot walked away from the project,” she continues, “when he realized people like Rourke would try to use it to take over the country. And that’s exactly what’s happening now. It’s no coincidence that the aircraft chose to CogniSync with you, it’s creator’s daughter.”

My mouth dries. “The creator… was my dad?”

Lark swears under his breath.

“Project Aviatrix was Conrad Quay’s legacy,” Jan says softly. “He named the unit VAL, after his call sign, Valkyrie.”

My hands grip the table. The world tilts. I feel like I might fall off the edge of it.

“He created VAL,” I whisper. “Are you certain?”

VAL is Project Aviatrix?

I press a hand to my chest, trying to keep my heart from shattering. I remember my dad soldering wires, hunched over blueprints in the garage. I always thought he was tinkering, wasting time. I can still hear the sound of his tools clinking against steel. But now, I wonder if those summer afternoons, when he disappeared for hours, were really about building a future he couldn't share.

One he left for me to finish.

A machine that doesn't just fly. One that knows me.

Jan nods again. “We need you and VAL in D.C. VAL’s stealth capabilities are our only hope at stopping Rourke, but no one can know she’s there. I’ll leave instructions with Colonel Jones. We’ll keep her hidden until we need her. Understood?”

My first instinct is to say no.

Not because I’m a coward, but because I know what it means to step back into the storm.

I think of Mom. Of Thea. Of Sasha, wide-eyed and terrified in a place she never meant to be.

And then I think of Eli. His voice in my head. His trust in me.

I’ve never been fearless. But I’ve always been someone who jumps anyway.

I nod slowly, my mind spinning. “Understood.”

“Good.” Her face softens. “Prepare your team for an early takeoff tomorrow morning. And make sure they have time to say goodbye to their families.”

Goodbye to their families? Thea’s never flown in combat. Sasha’s not supposed to be a soldier. They’re on this team, which means Lark and I will be leading them straight into hell.

I don’t even know what to think, let alone say.

Lark stands when I do. “Thank you, Madam Secretary,” he says.

She strides out, heels striking the concrete like a war drum.