With Bashrik in the pilot’s seat, despite the protestations of the eight Feds who’d come aboard with us, we set off for Siberia. On the navigation monitor, I could see the red dots that signaled the rest of the Fed fleet—all those who hadn’t gone to lie in wait for the queens’ approaching vessels. Another series of flashing lights had joined them.

“Who are the blue lights?” I asked Bashrik.

“The Rexombran fleet,” he said brusquely.

“At least we’re not alone, eh?” I said brightly, trying to lighten the mood, but only Stone offered a smile. “Can you patch us in to the Earth news networks? New York City, if possible?” I pointed the position out on the map. Bashrik’s hands danced across the controls, bringing up a series of news broadcasts on the screens that surrounded the cockpit walls.

The news anchors looked perplexed, banners running across the bottom of each screen, hailing an alien invasion. Some of the news stories were asking if it was an elaborate hoax, while others were wondering if this was some sort of unsanctioned government action—a made-up event so the governments could implement martial law, perhaps, or a weapons test gone wrong, resulting in an unbelievable cover-up. In the streets, people were running, the cameras showing scenes of smashed up windowfronts and empty shelves in the grocery stores. Meanwhile, looters wearing scarves around their faces and baseball caps pulled low were charging into buildings, stealing whatever they could get their hands on, not caring that the cameras were rolling.

Still, most of the roads and streets looked empty, aside from the looters, giving me some hope that my words had been taken to heart. The majority of people looked like they were staying inside, the way I’d told them to. I really hoped they stayed there until all of this was over.

“Maybe we should turn that off,” Navan suggested gently, putting his arm around me.

“In a minute. I want to see what’s going on,” I protested, holding his hand and gazing down at his ring—the one that matched my wedding band. “Promise me, no matter what happens, that you’ll keep yourself safe. I don’t want you doing something stupid, getting yourself killed in the process.”

He pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. “There’s nothing to worry about. We have a secret weapon, more powerful than anything the rebels could prepare for. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”

I gazed up into his eyes, saying nothing. I knew he was trying to put me at ease, but it was too late for that. Every cell in my body felt uneasy about the battle we were heading into. A lot was resting on Stone’s shoulders. I’d seen what he could do with a small swarm of pirates, but even he didn’t know how far his powers would be able to stretch—it wasn’t as though he’d held off an entire army before. We were heading into war with a weapon we hadn’t tested… That never ended well.

Have faith in him. If the coldbloods feared the ambaka, then Navan’s right—we have a force Orion and Ezra won’t be expecting, I told myself, determined to stay positive.

Fifteen minutes later, we arrived in an eerily familiar spot. It looked like a forest clearing in the Siberian woodland, but I knew there were secrets lurking beneath the otherwise ordinary exterior. This was the spot Mort had brought us to before, when we’d first entered the rebel base what seemed like forever ago.

The invisibility shield lay just ahead of us; I couldn’t see it, but I could sense the shimmer of it. Trying to create a picture of the camp in my head, I remembered the alchemy lab, with its chimneys belching that awful, rust-red smoke, tucked away near the back of the base. If we were going to strike the camp, we needed to get Orion out into the open air. If he hid away in his bunker, alongside Ezra and the rest of his henchmen, it could end up being more of a siege than a battle—we’d never get them out of there.

“Call everyone into the cockpit,” I commanded Bashrik, who urged the others to gather. As soon as they were all in the room, I opened the comms channel to the rest of the Fed. “What’s your status?”

The transmission crackled. “The shield-bearers are set to raise the barrier in thirty minutes,” Agent Phocida replied.

“Yep, thirty minutes,” Lauren’s voice agreed, followed by those of Angie, Ronad, and Xiphio.

“Cuttin’ it fine, ain’t ye?” Stone interjected, his brow furrowed.

I turned to him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Well, if I’m gonna put up my part o’ the shield here, ye realize it’s gonna sap me of me prime juice. I’m tough as old nuts, me, but when my bit o’ the barrier goes up, I should warn ye—I might lose a bit o’ the power in me ambaka eye. Ye might not have long to take out all the rebels ye can, though I’ll do me best.”

I nodded, realizing he was right. Yes, we had his freezing powers, but we also needed him to be the last piece in the barrier puzzle. He had assured us that this quantity of nudus, spread across the five pure-hearted bearers, would work to build a viable shield, but I just wished one of us could take his place and relieve him of some of the strain. I could only imagine what juggling both must take out of a person; I just hoped Stone could do it for long enough that we could take out Orion and his henchmen, at the very least.

“In that case, we need to really pinpoint our strike,” I said. “We should focus on Orion and Ezra. If we can get rid of the ringleaders, the rest might crumble.”

“Yeah, we should try and draw Orion to the edge of the rebel base,” Navan agreed, turning to his brother. “What weapons do we have on the ship?”

“We’ve got a few crates of explosives, and we can always call in the lycans, merevins, and Rexombra to strike wherever we want them to strike,” he replied. “I say we hit the alchemy lab, which should send a bunch of rebels running outside the invisibility dome.”

I nodded. “It should draw Orion out, too. If he thinks the elixir is being compromised, he’ll run to defend that first.”

Stone wandered over to the window and pressed his forehead to the glass. We were still in stealth mode, our ship invisible to the rebel sensors, but we could see out. “Plant a load o’ bombs near this lab ye speak of. That’ll send ‘em into a right panic. Orion’ll be jumpin’ all over himself to save his precious samples. If that nifty little book is in there, he’ll jump to save it, too.”

I spoke into my comm device, which linked up to everyone else. “Did you hear that? We’re going to set bombs outside the alchemy lab to draw as many rebels out into the open as possible. Fire on those who escape. We’ll give further instruction as it comes to us. Copy?”

“Copy that, Captain Idrax,” Agent Phocida responded. “Merevins standing by.”

“Copy that,” Commander Mahlo repeated. “Lycan fleet standing by.”

“Copy that, Warrior Idrax,” Anai chimed in. “Rexombran squadron standing by, ready to fire.”

I turned to the rest of my somewhat meager-looking team. There were only twelve of us, but I knew our small number could work to our advantage. After all, the sensors might pick up a large swarm of people approaching the dome. With a smaller squad, we could make our way around the dome undetected, slipping under the shield without causing any disturbance. Now, all we had to do was get into the best position.

I went around the room, quickly instructing the lycans and the merevins to form a perimeter, marking out the general points of entry. They would act as beacons to the descending fleets, where the soldiers could be dropped off when I called for them. Once they had their orders, they left the ship, hurrying across the forest clearing until they reached the shimmering exterior of the invisibility dome.

I turned to the others. “I want everyone to take a few bombs each and plant them around the outside of the alchemy lab. Plant several outside the main bunker, too, if you can reach it without being detected,” I said, flashing Navan a knowing look. I didn’t want him taking any unnecessary risks. “It might be a good idea to hit the towers that are keeping up the invisibility dome, but they might be too deep into the center of the base.”

“Remind me why we ain’t usin’ those invisibility suits again?” Stone mused.

“Commander Mahlo informed me that changes have been made to the barrier since the last time I was here. Back then, we could’ve snuck in with suits on, but now it carries an electromagnetic pulse that makes them useless. Believe me, I wish we could use them,” I replied hurriedly.

“Won’t they see us coming?” one of the merevin agents asked anxiously.

I sighed, wanting to get on with the job at hand. “No, they won’t. In order to install the electromagnetic pulse around the bottom of the barrier, they’ve had to compromise on visibility. Commander Mahlo has informed me that the lower section of the dome will be fuzzy, unlike the transparent upper half, so we shouldn’t be seen with the new camo markings they’ve put on our suits. Now, does everyone know what they’re doing?”

A ripple of agreement ran through the final four of us, and we moved toward the back of the ship, where the crates were kept. The lycans and the merevins had already taken guns and blades, and a few bombs between them, but there were still plenty to go around. I delved in and took four of the bombs, turning them over in my hands before strapping them to a belt across my chest. By the looks of it, the mechanisms were similar to the ones I’d used on Vysanthe—a simple push-the-button-and-run kind of thing.

Picking out a bandolier of knives to strap across the opposite side of my chest, and two guns in matching holsters, I got myself geared up for a fight, while the others did the same. Navan picked up a large, curved saber, sliding it into a scabbard that was fitted to his back, before strapping two handguns to his thighs. Bashrik, meanwhile, went for three pistols—two on his thighs, one hanging at his waist—and a larger gun, dangling from his back, while Stone selected two handguns. He picked up a retractable staff, too, extending it and whirling it around in the air, the way I’d seen Lauren do it. I realized, in that moment, that he must have been the one who’d taught her to fight like that.

“Everyone ready?” I asked, feeling a clench of nerves.

“Aye, ready to blow this base to smithereens!” Stone grinned.

“Ready on your command,” Bashrik added.

Navan nodded. “Good to go.”

“Good. I’ll go for the outer edge of the alchemy lab. Navan, you go for one of the lab chimneys if you can. Bashrik, you take the far side of the lab. Stone, you can help me—I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

We headed out of the ship, the biting Siberian weather nipping at my bare skin. I was wearing a full Fed military suit, as everyone else was—with the exception of Stone, who’d drawn the camo markings onto his own clothes, claiming he “already wore enough black to get away with it”—and it kept out most of the chill, which I was grateful for. It was only my face that felt the cold wind as we hurried across the clearing, skirting around the edge of the dome. I kept one hand on the shimmering surface, feeling it out as we raced along. The last thing I wanted was to accidentally hurtle inside the barrier, coming face-to-face with a blue-suited rebel.

After ten minutes of running, I signaled for the others to stop. Taking a deep breath, I poked my head inside the barrier, taking a good look around to catch my bearings. There, just a short distance ahead, were the outer walls of the alchemy lab. I could see the chimneys belching out their disgusting smoke. All around, blue-suited shifters and coldbloods wandered about the place, going about their daily duties, with no idea of what was about to happen.

I ducked back out. “The lab is just in front of us. Bashrik, you press on to the far side with Navan. Try and get as close to the bunker as you can. Stone, stick with me.”

Navan dipped down to kiss me on the lips before hurrying away with his brother in tow, disappearing around the edge of the dome. I stepped forward, before glancing over my shoulder at Stone. Right now, he was too valuable to take inside the barrier walls.

“You wait in the trees for my signal,” I said. “As soon as those bombs go off and we get Orion into the open, I’ll call for you.”

He grimaced. “Nah, I ain’t no coward. I’ll come and blow up some stuff with ye. Ren’d want me to."

“We need you alive, Stone. That means you need to sit out the pyrotechnics, okay?” I insisted. “Lauren would agree with me. We need you to be a surprise to them. If they spot you, we might be in trouble.”

“Nah, they’d not know what I am!”

“I’m not risking it, Stone.”

The transmission of our comm devices crackled. “Stand down, Stone. Await Captain Idrax’s instructions,” Commander Mahlo confirmed.

“Stone, do as she says,” Lauren interjected, her tone decidedly nervous.

He flashed me a reluctant look. “Fine, but ye better believe I’ll run in, if ye don’t call me soon enough.”

“Noted.” I smiled anxiously, watching him run into the tree-line before I crouched through the invisibility barrier. There were blue-suited guards on duty, casually strolling around the perimeter, but they didn’t see me as I crouched low behind a control post, waiting for them to pass by.

As soon as they did, I raced for the alchemy lab, pressing my back flat against the nearside wall, hugging the shadows. Close to where I stood, I noticed several piles of shoes and clothes stacked neatly in a line, alongside heaps of valuables. The sight of the bizarre mounds made my stomach lurch. Evidently, these were all waiting to be thrown in the furnace, once the shifters and coldbloods had searched through for anything they might want.

Feeling the anger rise through me, I plucked one of the bombs from my crossbody belt and started to turn the timer, setting it for five minutes. Lifting the comm device to my lips, I relayed the information to the rest of my bomb squad in a whisper.

“Set bombs to detonate in five minutes.”

I’d just rolled the first bomb toward an empty patch of ground a short distance away, when I spotted a familiar face. Wearing a patch over his missing eye, Lazar was hobbling between Orion’s bunker and the alchemy lab. I ducked down, feeling suddenly exposed.

“Your uncle is here,” I whispered bitterly to Navan. “I have eyes on Lazar.”

“As soon as Stone freezes everyone, I’ll make him pay for everything he’s done,” he whispered back.

“And I’ll help!” Bashrik added sourly.

However satisfying it would be to see Lazar suffer, he wasn’t the one we were here for. Time was running out, with the shield due to go up in twenty minutes’ time, and Orion and Ezra were nowhere to be seen. I hadn’t expected them to just come sauntering out into the open, but I’d hoped to catch a glimpse of them somewhere, especially if what Commander Mahlo had said was true. They were in stockpiling mode, which could only mean one of two things: they were panicking about something, or they’d figured something out and were preparing to make a final move. Either way, that kind of event required a leader to get everyone organized—so where was he?

A strange hum bristled through the air. Fearing I might’ve been spotted, I crept back into the shadows.

“Could you stop flitting about for a moment!” Lazar snapped, speaking to the person who had been humming. The two of them were just beyond the edge of the wall where I stood, my view obscured. If I peered around now, they were sure to see me.

“To hum, I have fun,” a voice replied, high and eerily sweet. I knew that voice.

“Yes, well, this isn’t the time for fun,” Lazar muttered.

“Perhaps it is. You try?”

I dropped down to the ground and dragged myself to the edge of the wall, daring a look around the side. Lazar was standing at the entrance to the alchemy lab, his one eye staring furiously down at the colorful figure of Mauve—the crazy fae who’d almost killed me outside the Fed outpost. She was the one who’d stolen my blood sample and tried to make an elixir out of it, resulting in the whole thing backfiring and killing everyone inside the outpost. How had she even gotten here?

“Mauve, get back here,” Lazar insisted as the fae wandered around, laughing to herself in that creepy, high-pitched giggle. “If you want to help, you have to actually do something useful!” It seemed as though he was trying, and failing, to control the fae, and she didn’t care one bit.

“The sun. It is nice here.” She sighed, lifting her face to it.

Lazar growled and rolled his eyes in exasperation. “What in Rask’s name was Orion thinking, bringing a nutcase back here from who knows where?” he muttered, half to himself.

The fae shot him a cruel look, a bitter smile twisting up her mouth as her hands moved slowly. She rose up into the air, glaring down at him. A moment later, Lazar flew several feet through the air, Mauve’s telekinesis throwing him off to the side, while she floated away without a care in the world. He landed in a heap, almost directly in front of where I lay. I stayed perfectly still, praying he wouldn’t look to his right and see me.

Grumbling a string of expletives, Lazar scrambled to his feet, brushing the red dust and dirt from his blue pants. To my relief, he didn’t look at the spot where I was, but turned around and headed back toward the alchemy lab. I stayed where I was a few seconds longer, wanting to be sure he hadn’t seen me.

“What was that about?” Bashrik whispered through the comms.

“You remember that crazy fae who nearly killed me?” I said.

“Yeah,” Bashrik and Navan chorused.

I sighed heavily. “Well, she’s here.”

Her presence sent a shiver of terror up my spine. After our last encounter, I would’ve been happy never to cross paths with her again. Yet here she was, as insane as ever, and just as volatile by the looks of it. Orion must have picked her up on his way back to Earth, since that decimated outpost had been close to where he’d found me and the others.

“Maybe we should throw these things and get back outside the perimeter,” I suggested, feeling suddenly uneasy.

A crackle came through the comm device. “The queens’ fleets arrived without warning. They arrived too early. The Fed ambush has failed. We are sending reserves to hold them off. The shield must go up now. Repeat, the shield must go up now.” I couldn’t tell whose voice it was, but I could hear the broken urgency in what they said. Our time was up. It was now or never.

“Turn the dials to ten seconds and throw at the lab!” I yelled into the device. “Go, go, go!”

Tearing the bombs from my belt, I did just that, turning the dials and throwing them with all my might toward the alchemy lab. Sprinting away, I felt the rumble of an explosion beneath my feet as the first of the bombs detonated, starting an incendiary chain reaction with the other bombs we’d set. A deafening roar bellowed in my ears as bomb after bomb went off. Thick plumes of black smoke were filling the air, and the sound of people shouting peppered the chaos.

It was time to see if we could smoke these bastards out.