I had to remind myself to breathe, to force the air into my lungs through sheer force of will. It hurt. Just existing seemed to hurt now.

I would love to say that I found some inner strength in those moments—a small kernel of bravery that propelled me back into reality—but that would be a lie. In truth, I probably would’ve laid there forever, trembling on the cold floor as people continued to be slaughtered around me.

It was only the thought of Calixta that pulled me back from the brink. Nothing but the small girl at my side could’ve moved me then.

“Leena?” Her voice shook as she spoke, heavy with the kind of overwhelming fear that I was just coming to know.

I sat up with a groan, the world swaying as I did so. My eyes felt raw from tears, my hands still shaking from the force of my breakdown.

“Calixta,” I croaked. “Are you okay?”

Tears cut tracks down her grime-coveredcheeks, her eyes still wide with shock, but she nodded, nonetheless.

I opened my arms, gesturing for her to come nearer. With a whimper, she climbed into my lap, burying her face into me as if she could shut out the world.

I wished she could. I wished, more than anything, that I could offer this sweet girl some level of true safety. But we both knew it was beyond me. It was beyond us both now.

The Xathi were worse than I had understood, stronger, more vicious. In my world before they arrived, I could never have even imagined beings that possessed such a level of cold indifference to life.

I looked across at them, watching as they continued to process the humans at an alarming rate. There were no feelings in their actions—no hint of a consciousness beyond hunger. It was terrifying to witness, even more so knowing that it was only a matter of time before they turned their attention to us.

About a third of the humans had been processed, the fraction remaining looking on in various stages of defeat. It broke my heart to see it. These people were survivors, the last of their town.

For the briefest of moments, they must’ve imagined that they had made it, that they were coming out the other side.

And now this.

I couldn’t bear to look. I lay my head back against the wall, closing my eyes as I pulled Calixta tighter against me.

This was the end. After all the fighting, all the pointless resistance, this was how our story came to a close—huddled on the floor, clinging to each other like life rafts.

I thought of Mariella then, feeling tears sting my eyes. I should’ve said goodbye when I had the chance. But of course, I didn’t.

I was too stubborn, too sure. I had told myself that saying goodbye was the same as admitting the risk—that if I saved it for later, there would have to be a later.

It was childish. Stupid. And it had cost me a moment that I would never get back.

I could’ve stewed in that misery forever, or at least until the Xathi came for me, but I was drawn from my thoughts, the sound of approaching footsteps forcing my eyes to open.

As my blurred vision focused, I looked up at the newcomer, a large man I didn’t recognize. I instinctively redoubled my grip on Calixta, startling her as I flinched backward, away as the Xathi shoved him into the cell.

“Leena,” the man said, crouching down to our level. “Don’t be afraid. It’s me, Tu’ver.” He gestured in the general direction of his belt, drawing my eyes to the cloaking device attached to it.

My heart leapt in my chest.

“Tu’ver?” I sat up in a rush, leaning in to speak discreetly. “Where’s Axtin?”

“Don’t worry. He and the rest of the crew are on their way in. We’re going to get you out of here.”

I opened my mouth to reply, but there were no words for the gratitude I felt in that moment. I stuttered, trying and failing to stop the tears of joy that sprang to my eyes. It was no use.

Axtin was coming for me. I had never in my life heard sweeter words.

I reached for Tu’ver’s hand, clinging to him as I sobbed openly. In my lap, Calixta had sat up, tentative hope flashing in her eyes.

“Really?” she asked.

Tu’ver seemed to notice her for the first time. A smile touched his lips as he nodded.

“Really.”

She turned to me, throwing her arms around me in a fierce hug. It was like coming back to life.

“Thank you so much,” I said, tears still streaming from my eyes. “I can’t believe you’re here. You’re risking your life!”

“Well, Mariella asked me. Begged, really. I promised I’d do whatever I could to get you out.”

Mariella.

It was all I could do not to start sobbing all over again.

“But how did you find us?” I asked, turning back to Tu’ver. “How did you even get in here?”

How he could go from unassuming hero to completely smug so quickly is beyond me, but somehow he managed it.

He cocked his head to the side. “Stealth and sneak attacks are my specialty. I would’ve thought you’d been informed.”

I never thought I’d laugh again, but I found myself doing it anyway, giggling into the top of Calixta’s dark hair while she looked at me as if I’d gone insane. To be fair, I probably had. At least a little bit.

My mirth didn’t last, though. Of course it didn’t. For a moment, with Tu’ver there, it was easy to forget how dire our circumstances were.

The Xathi, though, were quick to remind me.

It was the sound again—the one that had notified me of their presence to begin with. Nonstop, an ever-present background noise since we arrived in this awful place, but now it drew nearer.

I looked past Tu’ver at the one that was approaching from behind him. It, like all the others, wore an expression of cold indifference. If you could even call it an expression, that is.

I wasn’t sure if the Xathi were even capable of making more than one face.

It was probably best that they didn’t, though; the one they had was already gruesome enough. I stared into it as the creature approached, its mouth opening to reveal rows of jutting teeth.

This planet was full of monsters, a fact I’d recently been reminded of since journeying into the forest. None of the others, though, came anywhere near the level of sheer horror that the Xathi existed on.

They were nightmare made reality, death incarnate. And now one headed straight for us.

I pulled Calixta tighter against me, gripping her in what I’m sure was a painful embrace, just as the beast reached us. I wasn’t about to let go, especially not as the monster’s eyes fell to her.

The Xathi ignored Tu’ver entirely; it ignored me. Its sole focus was the small child in my arms. It leaned forward, insectile arms snaking out toward her.

She screamed, sheer terror rocking her tiny body as she pushed tighter against me.

I dug my feet into the floor, desperately shoving us backward even as the wall bit painfully into my shoulders. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to run, but my body refused to accept it.

All I knew was that I wouldn’t let this beast have Calixta, no matter what it took.

Tu’ver stood between us and the door to the cage, but the Xathi knocked him aside with a hard blow. Terror wrapped my vision until all I could see was the Xathi soldier. All I could hear were Calixta’s screams.

It grabbed at her, its clawed limbs scraping against her delicate skin in a desperate attempt to rip her from my arms. I could already see the scratches forming, see small lines of blood appearing on her bare arms.

I kicked madly at it, my feet landing completely unnoticed against the crystalline exoskeleton. It merely snarled, not relenting in its task.

“Over here, ugly!” Tu’ver shouted as he rolled to his feet. From his waist he unwound a trail of silver; with a snap of his wrist, it turned into a lethal-looking long baton. Dancing between us and the Xathi, he kept shouting until I had Calixta safe in the back corner.

The creature turned toward the newly realized threat, its body puffing in challenge. I knew that Tu’ver could kill it; I didn’t doubt it for a second. But my heart raced in my chest nonetheless.

The Xathi were a hive mind. What would happen if Tu’ver did manage to take this one out? How long before the rest of them swarmed?

I pushed myself to my feet, still clutching Calixta in a death grip as my eyes scanned the room before us.

None of the others seemed to have noticed us yet. Either that, or they were unconcerned about what they perceived to be a scuffle with a couple of humans.

How long before that changed?

I turned to Tu’ver, watching as he cocked back his arm, preparing to deliver a truly devastating blow. My mouth opened to object, a million thoughts pouring through my mind.

We couldn’t kill the thing, not without bringing the entire horde down on our heads. Master of stealth or not, even Tu’ver couldn’t save us from that.

I wanted to tell him to stop, that fighting wouldn’t save us this time. We had to run, and we had to go now.

“Tu’ver!” I shouted. “We hav—”

I never got to finish my sentence.

A bone-rattling blast cut through the noise, the walls of the room shaking from the intensity.

All movement stopped. Every head, Xathi and human, turned in the direction of the sound.

For a moment that seemed much longer, we stayed that way. The processing had halted, the horrors paused.

Then, as one, the Xathi began to move.

Tu’ver’s weapon hung forgotten in the air as the soldier before us turned, heading toward the source of the blast.

They fell immediately into formation, every creature in the room surging toward the exits as the rest of us watched on in wonder.

In no time at all, the last of them had funneled through the doorway, silence reigning in their wake.

I looked at Tu’ver, my mouth hanging open in surprise.

He deactivated his disguise and smiled. “That’s our cue.”