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"Four minutes," Kylix’s voice crackled in Daven's ear. "Hold your ground."

Daven’s air began to stir. He didn't release it, but he felt it coiling around his feet, ready to surge across the floor to protect him. The silence in the foundry stretched. Every second felt like a fucking hour. A drop of water hit a rusted pipe, the sound echoing like a gunshot. Daven’s hands were fisted, his knuckles white. He tracked the shadows, his eyes burning.

Three minutes.

Frustration twisted in his gut. Ryneth was too far away. He stood in the center of the dark, vulnerable and exposed. Daven’s mind raced with possibilities—snipers in the rafters, a floor rigged with mines.

Who was coming, and were they going to hurt him?

The thought shocked Daven.

Two minutes.

"He's coming back," Daven hissed into the comms. "They aren't coming. This is a ghost drop."

"Wait," Kylix commanded. “They still have time.”

Ryneth turned to leave. Then he froze. From the pitch-black mouth of a tunnel, a figure emerged.

"Is that a woman?" Kylix asked.

"Confirmed," Vandor replied. "Female. Unarmed."

Daven watched through the scope. Ryneth and the woman stood three paces apart. They were talking. What the fuck were they talking about?

"Go," Kylix ordered. "Quietly. Surround them."

Daven didn't wait for the rest of the squad. He surged from the shadows, his boots hitting the deck with a heavy thud. He closed the gap in seconds, his rifle out, the air around him snapping with tension.

Ryneth spun around, eyes wide. "Daven, stop! Don't hurt her!"

"Get behind me," Daven growled. He reached for Ryneth’s shoulder, trying to yank him back, but Ryneth dug his heels in.

"No!" Ryneth stepped in front of the woman, shielding her. "Daven, this is Lysa. She was on the transport. She’s... she’s the one I told you about. She was in the cages with me."

Daven stopped, his rifle lowered. He looked at the girl. She had a braid falling over one shoulder and eyes that were terrifyingly clear. She should have been in medical recovery with the others they pulled from the raid. She should never have been here, walking out of a tunnel.

So why the hell was she?

“I have a message from Concordant,” she said. Her eyes flicked to Kylix, then back to Ryneth. “They know the Luminary tried to open a line. They refused before, but they’re ready to talk now, if the Imperial family is ready to listen.”

Daven’s grip tightened on the rifle. “Talk about what?”

Lysa swallowed. “Attica’s already flooding Helion’s lower streets with a new drug. People are using it. People are dying. They want Helion rotting from the inside.”

Her shaking hand disappeared into her sleeve. For one sharp second, Daven almost fired.

“Wait,” Ryneth gasped.

Lysa pulled out a thin holo-chip between two trembling fingers and held it out. “They said to give you this.”

Kylix stepped in first and took it from her before Ryneth could touch it, his expression going flat.

“It’s footage,” Lysa whispered. “Of Attica’s members. Their faces. Where they deal. More is coming if the Imperial family wants to keep listening.” Her eyes found Ryneth again, softer now. “I have to go.”

Ryneth jerked forward despite Daven’s grip. “No. Stay with us, Lysa. We can keep you safe.”

From the corner of his eye, two guards exited the tunnel, dressed in black. Visors obscured their faces.