Alice swung her arm and her fist slammed into my shoulder. I staggered back, a little disoriented.

“Sorry,” she said, already sounding irritated. “If you weren’t so distracted, I bet I wouldn’t get one hit in.”

True. Or at least it would have been harder for her. But as it was, I was distracted. Again. There was too much going on.

Everything had changed in the last three days. Keisha died, Micah left, we had a simple funeral for Keisha, and Victor continued to ignore my questions, so now I was ignoring him too.

Even Ceris, who I had actually made progress with in the friendship department, had become a bitch once again.

Last night, I had told her, “If you want to be my friend, then prove it to me. Tell me what happened between Micah and Victor. Tell me everything, including this damn Nasya’s island that I heard you guys talking about.”

She just shook her head and told me it was not for her to tell, and even if she could, she didn’t think it was a good idea to worry me with things I couldn’t change.

And there was our war progress too. It seemed stalled, at least from my end. I kept checking the map for Lua, but her symbol had disappeared in the desert and never reappeared again. Still, I looked, hoping she would emerge soon.

I shook my shoulders and came back to the present.

“I can’t help it,” I said to Alice.

“Then you’ll be killed in the next battle.”

I flinched. Keisha had been killed in the last battle. Then the next was me? And the next? Alice? Would our numbers dwindle until there was no one left to fight Imha and Omi?

Alice was right, though. If I didn’t focus, I would be killed in the next battle. And I couldn’t die. Not yet.

I closed my eyes and let out a long breath, trying to empty my mind. There was no family in the underworld, no guilt over Morgan’s death, no disappointment over Micah leaving, no sadness over Keisha’s death, no frustration with Victor and Ceris. There was only my adversary. One fight at a time.

Opening my eyes, I rolled my shoulders and readied myself—feet apart, knees bent, arms raised, fists closed.

Alice smiled, mirroring my stance.

I didn’t leave room for thought. I lunged at her with all I had.

Then Ceris flew by the gym’s door with Victor, Sol, Ronen, and Maho on her tail.

I halted, watching as they opened the front door with haste.

And Alice’s fist hit my jaw.

Groaning, I stumbled back.

“Hey!” Alice cried. “I thought you were ready.”

“I was,” I said through the pain spreading across my face. “But something is happening.” I pointed to the hallway and she turned to look, her brows furrowing. I walked past her and went to check it out. “What’s up?”

“A scout is coming,” Maho answered.

I frowned. “A scout? But he isn’t supposed to come for another six days.”

“Exactly,” he said, his tone laced with concerned.

The blond scout hurried up the steps. He arrived at the apartment’s door out of breath.

“What happened?” Ceris asked, ushering him in.

“It’s Lord Mitrus,” he said between long breaths. “I saw him this morning.”

“And?” Victor asked.

“I saw him this morning while I was scouting one of Imha’s bases.”

I knew what he was saying, but my mind couldn’t put one and one together. “What do you mean?” I asked, wanting to hear him say it out loud.

“He was with Imha,” the scout said. I gasped. “I saw him entering the grounds, being escorted by Corinia, and then leaving, accompanied by Imha. She looked … pleased with his presence.”

My heart bled. I couldn’t believe it. No, Micah wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t turn his back on us. That didn’t make sense.

“I can’t believe it!” Ceris exclaimed so loud, her voice filled with so much rage the walls shook.

“Calm down.” Maho put a hand on her arm.

“She’s right to me mad,” Victor said. “He betrayed us.”

“You don’t know that.” The words rushed out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Ceris glared at me. “After all he did, what other evidence do you need?”

The scout cleared his throat. “Our spy says he was working on a deal with Imha, though he doesn’t know the details.”

“By the Everlast,” Ronen whispered.

I retreated a step.

“He wouldn’t just join Imha and Omi,” Maho said.

I took another step.

“Chaos, war, and death,” Sol muttered. “We’re doomed.”

And another step.

“No, we aren’t,” Ceris said, her voice firm and confident. “We’ll work through this. We’ll make it.”

Another step.

“What if Imha decides to squeeze him for information on us, on our plans?” Ronen asked, clenching and unclenching her fists.

“That …” Ceris inhaled deeply. “That’s a risk we can’t control now.”

One more step.

“What should I do, my lord?” the scout asked Victor.

Just one more step.

“Tell your spy to find out more about Mitrus and this deal,” Victor answered. “We need all the information we can get.”

The scout answered, but I didn’t really hear him. I was already darting into my bedroom and closing the door. I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.

It hurt, it all hurt. The pain started slow, but the burning was increasing. It was spreading. I gasped for air but nothing came.

Dizzy, I dragged myself to the bed and crawled in. I hugged Pinky, telling myself I could fight through the pain—the physical one, inexplicable one, and the one in my soul. The one that couldn’t believe Micah had betrayed us.

A tear slid down my cheek, but I wiped it away as if it were poisonous. I wouldn’t cry for him. He didn’t deserve my tears.

The pain ricocheted and I bit my pillow, swallowing the scream.

It would be a long, painful night.