The high-pitched squeal in Jude Ember’s ear had him wincing. He yanked the earbud out. “Dragon damned piece of junk.”

It wasn’t the technology’s fault. The State were getting better at masking their comms signals. They were quicker at picking up when he was listening to them. It was making it harder to keep everybody safe.

“Is there a problem?” The voice of his brother Tobias sounded through the speakers. He was a hundred miles away in Alpha zone seven, scouting a potential new underground bunker for them to expand into.

Where Jude lived—a secure underground facility in Old London—was crowded. With over four thousand people in the long-abandoned Cold War bunker, they needed more space. Not that he minded. Jude was glad they had so many people joining them in the fight against the State—the ruthless leader who’d swooped in one day, killed the ruling monarchy, slaughtered the dragons, and taken their place.

“An equipment malfunction,” said Jude. “Change to channel fifteen. We should get a few minutes of peace before the State track us.”

“Copy that.”

Jude smiled ruefully. His brother was always the professional. He used to be an outgoing guy, always cracking jokes and laughing with anybody. Then he’d been buried alive for three days when the State blew up the building he was in. After that, he was different. Who wouldn’t be?

“How’s the site looking?”

“Empty.”

“Has it got potential?”

“I think so. We’ll need to drill lines for cabling so we can get power. This stuff is from the fifties. It needs a complete refit.”

“Are you thinking of setting up home there?”

“Not unless it comes with a rooftop apartment.”

That was another thing about Tobias; he hated being underground. It was the reason he’d chosen the dangerous job of finding new locations for them to set up secure bases.

“You should put in that request to Danni,” said Jude. “She’ll tell you what you can do with your rooftop apartment idea.” Danni Hannigan was in charge of all the bases. She kept everyone in line with her no-nonsense, practical attitude. As a former member of the armed services, she could drop you with one punch. Not that she ever needed to. People around here respected Danni.

“I’ll ask if I can have a private swimming pool as well,” said Tobias. “She could even join me if she liked.”

“I didn’t know you were into older women.”

“Any woman would be good right about now,” said Tobias. “It’s been an age since I’ve had anything soft and sweet in my bed.”

“You’ve only got yourself to blame,” said Jude. “If you ever stayed in the same place for more than five minutes, you’d find somebody.”

“Like Octavia, you mean?”

Jude pressed his lips together. His brothers teased him about his infatuation with the mysterious Octavia Cantrell. He didn’t care. Octavia ran the pirate radio station Flame. She’d been his constant companion in the bunker, pumping out rock tunes and passing on valuable pieces of information about the movements of the State. That information had saved him and his brothers on numerous occasions. He considered Octavia a friend. Actually, he considered her much more than that.

Tobias chuckled. “I think it’s cute you’re into her. She plays decent music.”

“And she saves our butts.”

“That’s definitely a bonus. Do you think you’ll ever meet?”

“I’m working on it,” said Jude. He’d asked Octavia to meet him three times. On each occasion, she’d turned him down, saying it was too dangerous. He hated to admit it, but it stung that she’d rejected him.

“You need to work harder,” said Tobias. “A sexy-sounding woman like that will not stay on her own forever.”

Jude nodded. That was the problem. As far as he could work out, Octavia was all alone. He’d never been able to get an exact fix on her location. He figured she must move around the country to stay under the radar of the State. It was a smart thing to do. If they ever found her, they’d kill her. She’d helped their enemies too many times.

“I’m at the next secure door,” said Tobias. “What are the schematics showing you?”

“You’re entering the living quarters.” Jude scanned the blueprints in front of him. Thanks to Kade, his genius systems-hacking brother, they had access to information on the site Tobias was scouting. “There should be room in there for at least five hundred people.”

Tobias cursed. “The door is jammed. The locking mechanism has been broken from the other side.”

“No one’s been down there for years,” said Jude. “It could be stuck.”

“I’ll break through and check out the other side.”

“Go careful down there,” said Jude. “The walls are so thick I can’t get a live signal feed back here.”

“The only things I need to worry about are spiders and rats.”

“They’re bad enough if they’ve been mutated by the State.” It was a sick little thing the State liked to do, mutate creatures into giant, freaky versions that they’d send out to attack people.

“I’ve got my pulse laser if I need it,” said Tobias. “And the crew aren’t far away.”

Tobias had a devoted team of three in his recon squad: Abbie Reynolds, Cliff Marston, and Solomon Hill. They had specialist skills in caving and navigation, which were perfect for creeping about underground and avoiding State militia.

Jude sat back in his seat as he waited for Tobias to break through the lock. He inched the volume up on Flame radio, listening to the throbbing pound of a bass guitar. Jude had always been into indie music, until he’d listened to Octavia. Now he loved nothing more than hearing someone shredding a guitar or a rousing riff that made the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.

He was on his own in the comms room. It was a small space with only four seats and four desks. He ran a rota so there’d always be somebody on duty, listening to State chatter and ensuring everyone was safe. Well, as safe as they could be. The State still had most of the population under their hypnotic control. It was how they’d convinced the population they were the rightful rulers, and not enslaving and killing people. It made Jude sick to think about it.

But they were finding ways to mess with the State and disrupt their dominance, making them realize they weren’t indestructible.

Not so long ago, they’d come close to capturing the elusive leader of the State, Emperor Endrir. He’d escaped, but they’d gained something better—the return of their missing sister, Izzie.

He grinned to himself. She’d been back in the bunker for over three months and was recovering well. She didn’t talk much about what she’d seen or experienced at the hands of Emperor Endrir. Part of Jude didn’t want to know. If that sick fuck had hurt his sister, he wouldn’t rest until he’d killed him with his bare hands.

“How’s the door coming along?”

“It’s still stuck,” muttered Tobias. “I will have to blast it.”

“Hey, boss.” It was Abbie over the open comms line they were linked into. “We’ve found some weird shit at this end of the bunker.”

“Define weird shit?”

“They look like jelly pods.” This was Solomon. “They’re an oval shape and stuck to the ground.”

Jude sat up straight in his seat. “Take some images and send them to me.”

“I’m sending them now,” said Solomon. “They stink, as well. They smell like gone-off cheese.”

“They smell like you after you haven’t showered for a week,” said Cliff.

“You stink worse than me after we’ve been on one of these missions,” said Solomon.

Jude only half-listened to their conversation as he saw the images Solomon had taken appear on his screen. He slid his tongue across his teeth. This was not the first time he’d seen something like this, but he’d never seen them in a bunker before.

“Are you seeing the images?” asked Solomon. “What are they?”

“They’re Dinnorm pods.”

“Holy shit,” said Tobias. “Are you sure?”

“They can’t be,” said Cliff. “These are too big. We’ve seen Dinnorm pods before, although we had no clue what they were back then. They were half the size of these things.”

“I’m telling you, that’s what they are,” said Jude. “As for the size, maybe they’re breeding mutants. It’s something of a State speciality.”

Dinnorms hated being underground. Their parenting skills comprised of laying gelatinous lumps with embryos inside, in a quiet, safe space, and then leaving. Once the infants hatched, they had to find their own way above ground and get their first meal.

“Are the pods empty?” asked Jude.

“Whatever was in them, it’s hatched,” said Abbie. “Do you want me to bring back a sample?”

“You’re carrying the sample,” said Cliff.

“You’re not man enough to handle a Dinnorm pod?” asked Abbie.

“It’s got nothing to do with being man enough,” said Cliff. “I just don’t want to stink for the next week.”

“Too late for that,” said Solomon.

“Collect a sample,” said Tobias. “Sophia will want to look at it.”

Sophia was the bunker’s vet turned medic and something of a genius when it came to patching up the injured.

“We’re on it,” said Abbie. “I’ll deal with the pod so my colleagues don’t break a nail.”

“Then get over here,” said Tobias. “If those things have hatched and are still trying to find their way out of here, they might chew on us as their next meal.”

“I’m not picking up movement around you,” said Jude. “But the feed is delayed because the walls down there are hella thick. If this place works out, there’s no way the State will detect us there.”

“So long as we don’t get eaten by any baby Dinnorms first,” muttered Solomon darkly.

“You won’t mind losing an arm while I collect a sample of this sticky shit,” said Abbie.

“I’ll let one of those little monsters bite on my arm if it keeps your sexy ass safe,” said Solomon.

“You’re such a charmer,” said Abbie.

“Jude, can you hear me?” It was Octavia. “If you can, switch to secure channel sixty-four. We’ll only have a moment.”

Jude almost jumped out of his seat. It was the first time Octavia had ever spoken to him directly over the radio. She must be in trouble to be so direct. He scrambled for the channel changer and flipped over to the new channel. “I’m here. Are you okay?” His heart hammered in his chest. Maybe she’d been hurt and was all alone.

“I’m fine. You need to hear this. I recorded it a few hours ago. I’ve been trying to make sense of it. Something’s wrong.”

Jude held his breath as a strange-sounding babble filled the channel. He’d heard nothing like it before. It was a combination of clicks and whistles and garbled speech that didn’t sound human.

“Are you getting this?” asked Octavia.

“Yes. What the hell is it?”

“I’ve no clue. I’ve been finding it harder to track State communications over the last month. It’s got me worried. I think they’re planning something big and they don’t want us to know.”

“Is this Dinnorm language?”

“Dinnorm?”

Shit! She didn’t know who the State really were, or how dangerous they truly were. “Octavia, you need to know—”

“Get down! They’re in here,” yelled Tobias. The sound of laser fire blasted through the speakers.

“What’s going on?” Octavia’s voice rang with alarm.

“Fuck!” Jude had been so distracted by Octavia that he’d lost focus. “What’s happening?”

“Dinnorms are in here,” yelled Tobias. The sound of laser fire blocked out his next words.

Jude linked to Tobias’s head cam. The feed was patchy and jumpy. He saw flashes of laser fire and could see Tobias was running. The connection died.

“Jude, can I help?” asked Octavia.

“The squad is under attack.”

“Where are they?”

He hesitated. Heath had warned him so many times not to trust Octavia. They didn’t know her. She could be anyone. But he did trust her.

“Alpha zone seven,” said Jude. “There’s a new bunker we’re investigating in the north quadrant.”

“Patch me into your visuals.”

Jude’s fingers hovered over the keys. Once he did this, she’d have access to his systems.

“Trust me. I won’t let you down.” Her warm-honeyed tone reassured him.

He punched in the access commands and hit the send button. “I know. You’ve always had our backs.”

“Give me a moment; I’m not too far from that zone. My signal will be strong.”

What could she do? She wasn’t close enough to go in laser guns blazing and take out the Dinnorms.

“I’ve got them.”

Jude sucked in a breath. “How can you see them?”

“I know a few things about wireless mesh nets and mobile site links.”

Jude’s eyebrows flashed up. This woman was incredible. “What can you see?”

“There’s a squad of four.”

“That’s right.”

“There are six creatures pursuing them.”

“I’m using a mobile multi-channel microwave signal radio relay to communicate with them,” said Jude. “If I give you the frequency, can you get through and tell them the location of the Dinnorms? I can’t get a live feed from this far away.”

“That won’t be a problem.”

Damn, she was good. “I’ll send it to your usual message box?”

Jude and Octavia had shared messages via a secure messaging port for months. It began with a few simple comments on the music they liked, but had grown. Before long, he was sharing his deepest secrets and wishes with this woman. She’d been the same. It had made him fall for her hard.

“Do it.” Octavia’s voice rose in pitch. “The creatures are almost on your squad.”

Jude keyed in the information and sent it through. He gritted his teeth, frustrated he could do so little to help Tobias and the others.

“It’s here.” She was silent for a moment. “I think we’re connected.”

“It’s Tobias in there,” said Jude. He’d told Octavia all about his five brothers and sister. She’d know how important this was to him.

There was a yell over the comms link. “What the fuck’s going on?” said Tobias.

“I’ve got you an extra pair of eyes,” said Jude. “Tobias, I’d like you to meet Octavia.”

***

SWEAT SLID DOWN THE side of Octavia’s face. She’d never done this before, being so blatant in reaching out to Jude. Now she was in the middle of a fight, trying to keep one of Jude’s brothers alive.

She hunched over her keyboard. It nestled in between her single cot and the bowl she used to wash in. Her communications equipment might be advanced, but everything else in her converted van was as basic as hell.

“Tobias, this is Octavia.” She thought her voice sounded hoarse. She cleared her throat. “Can you hear me?”

“Holy dragons.” Tobias sounded out of breath. “How the fricking fuck are you on our secure comms channel?”

“That’s a story for another time. You’ve got two creatures ten yards from you on your right.”

“How the hell...” Tobias was quiet. “I think you’re right. I can hear scuffling sounds.”

“There are another two approaching from your left. There are six in total.” She let out a quiet breath, not wanting to panic Tobias by sounding anxious.

“We’re on our way.” Abbie sounded breathless.

“Damned Dinnorms,” said Solomon.

Octavia shook her head. She was sure that was the word Jude had used a moment ago. Dinnorms were a myth. They’d died out before true dragons took control of the planet and stabilized the mess humans had made. What did they mean by Dinnorms? Maybe it was a name they used for a mutant creature.

“Where are the final two Dinnorms?” asked Jude.

“Fifty yards off,” said Octavia. “It looks like they’re moving through a service panel. They might be in the walls.”

“I know the one you mean,” said Jude. “I’m looking at building schematics of the bunker.”

“It’s on the east side of Tobias.”

“They’re on me!” yelled Tobias.

“Tobias!” shouted Jude.

There was silence over the comms link.

“Is he okay?” Octavia’s heart pounded. She had to help. “What’s happening?”

“We’re here,” said Abbie. A gasp shot down the comms line.

“What?” yelled Jude. “Tobias, what’s happened to him?”

“Fuck!” Solomon cursed several more times.

“For dragon’s sake, tell me what’s going on.” Jude sounded so desperate. Octavia wished she could be by his side to comfort him. She knew this man. She trusted him. She needed to know he was okay.

“He’s alive!” said Cliff. “We’ve got him.”

“But he’s hurt?” said Jude.

“There’s... some blood,” said Abbie.

“How bad is it?”

“It’s hard to tell.” Abbie sounded stricken. “There’s a mess in here. Two dead Dinnorms. Young ones by the look of their size.”

“Check your right flank,” said Octavia. “There are more creatures approaching.” She dug her nails into her palms as she heard more laser fire and shouting.

“Those fuckers didn’t stand a chance,” said Cliff.

“You’ve still got two more out there.” Octavia’s earbud hissed. She adjusted the signal and amped up power. It would drain her battery, but she had backup cells. The squad’s voices fell in and out of signal. “Something is messing with my link. Jude, can you still hear them?”

“Yes. They’re okay, for now. The State could be on to us,” said Jude. “Be careful they don’t trace your signal. You don’t want them finding you.”

“They won’t stand a chance,” said Octavia. “I’ve got a four-dimensional chain link engaged. It uses an omnidirectional transmitter. By the time they’ve unwoven the threads of that, I’ll be long gone.”

“That sounds like a sweet setup.”

Octavia thought she heard a hint of surprise in Jude’s voice. As a former government agent, she’d worked deep undercover for years breaking through terrorist gangs’ communications. She knew everything there was to know when it came to masking a signal to throw off someone chasing her.

“We need to get out of here fast,” said Solomon.

Octavia struggled to hear his muffled voice. “The quickest route is to take the west passage. It looks like an emergency exit. It will take you to a side alley.”

“Octavia’s right,” said Jude. “There are no signs of State patrols in that area, so you won’t be spotted. Go around the side of the building. You’ll be within five-hundred yards of your vehicle.”

The group had traveled to Alpha zone seven in a modified Foxhound. It was a lightweight, armored vehicle that came with the latest Invis Tech to ensure they could move around undetected. They still traveled by night, though, using the shadows as their friends.

“Shit! This is bad,” said Cliff. “Tobias is bleeding out. We’ve only got basic patch-up stuff with us.”

“Where the fuck’s your first aid kit?” said Jude.

“In the fucking Foxhound, like it always is,” snapped Cliff.

“I can guide you out.” Octavia sensed the tension in Jude’s words. “Just listen to my voice. I’ll get you all out.”

“We always do,” said Solomon. “You get us the hell out of here, beautiful, and I’m taking you out as a thank you.”

Octavia laughed. “You might like to meet me first. I’m not to everyone’s taste.” Her fingers traced the ridges of a scar on her right cheek. She’d grown her blonde hair deliberately long to use it as a shield. It helped prevent people from staring.

“You could look like Emperor Endrir. I’d still take you out,” said Solomon.

“More moving, less talking.” Jude’s tone was cold. “Get my brother the hell out of there.”

“We’re on it,” said Cliff. “Octavia, show us the way home.”

“Jude. Send me the building schematics,” said Octavia.

“It’s on its way.”

She opened the blueprint and double-checked her data. “Take the left tunnel nearest to you. Follow it for twenty yards and then take a sharp right.”

Octavia watched as the group moved, their little red dots bouncing on the screen.

“Is there any sign of the last two Dinnorms?” asked Cliff.

Octavia’s gaze flicked to two red dots. “You’re good, for now. Why do you keep calling them Dinnorms?”

“You don’t know?” asked Abbie.

“Know what?”

“Leave that for another time,” said Jude sharply. “Focus on getting out. Explanations later.”

Octavia sucked in a breath, his harsh tone unusual. “Of course. Carry on down that passage for another fifty yards. You’ll feel it slope upwards.”

“We do,” said Cliff.

“You’ll find a door in front of you,” said Octavia. “You need to get through that to get outside.”

“Freaking hell.” Solomon cursed some more. “It’s not just a door. It’s a damned iron gate.”

“Use your pulse laser,” said Jude.

“The lasers won’t cut it,” said Abbie. “We don’t have enough time.”

“Hold on, let me check Tobias’s backpack,” said Cliff. “He’s usually packing something.”

Solomon whistled. “We’ve got two sticks of something spicy here. This will do the job.”

“You need to hurry.” Octavia’s eyes widened as she spotted two red dots change course and move in their direction.

“The last two Dinnorms?” asked Abbie.

“They must have heard you.”

“How long have we got?” asked Cliff.

Octavia pressed her lips together. They didn’t have long enough. “Thirty seconds.”

“Fuck! I’ll deal with the explosives. Abbie and Solomon, you hold off the Dinnorm bastards.”

Octavia could do nothing but wait and watch as those two red dots grew closer to people she considered her friends. She’d listened to so many of their conversations over the last two years. And, although she’d never met a single person from any of the bunkers the Ember brothers ran, she trusted them all. She considered herself one of them. They could not die.

“They’re here!” yelled Abbie.

Octavia worried her bottom lip as she saw the two red dots leap on top of what must be Abbie. “No!” The word flew out as her hands clenched.

“Fucking Dinnorm scum!” Abbie sounded pissed.

“Are you hurt?” Octavia felt sick as she saw two red dots blink out of sight.

“As if a baby Dinnorm could hurt our Abbie,” said Solomon. “I didn’t even need to take a shot.”

“I’m fine. But I’ve got their gross, rank-smelling blood all over my new boots, and I lost the pod sample,” said Abbie.

Octavia choked out a laugh and ran her hands through her hair. “You’re all okay?”

“I’ll be okay after a few hot showers,” said Abbie. “Their blood stinks. Cliff, fire up those damn explosives and let’s get out of this place.”

Octavia smiled wistfully to herself. A shower. That was something she hadn’t had in such a long time. Living in the converted van, she made do with limited water supplies. She’d grabbed a couple of showers in the last year by sneaking into abandoned homes where the water hadn’t been cut off. It had been such a luxury, but a tense one. Getting naked when you never knew what was creeping up on you would never be pleasant.

“The door is open,” said Cliff. “We’re heading outside.”

“Good work,” said Jude. “I’ll see you back at base.”

“You can count on it,” said Cliff.

“You did good as well, Octavia.” Jude sounded tired.

She felt her cheeks heat. It was crazy; she felt shy around a guy she’d never met. “I’m glad I could help.”

“You saved their lives,” said Jude. “Your comms system is so much better than the junk we’ve got down here.”

“It’s not so good.” Octavia’s gaze drifted to the patched-up and jacked circuit boards that surrounded her. She knew her way around a comms network, but most of the equipment she was looking at was held together by wishes and too much soldering. It could break any time and that would be it. Her radio broadcasts would stop. She wouldn’t be able to help the Ember brothers and their fight to destroy the State and bring back the dragons. The thought made her stomach churn.

“You could see what the squad were doing,” said Jude. “You saved them.”

“Well, I need to do something in between choosing the next music to play for my loyal fans.”

Jude chuckled. “What’s the next song?”

“I’m not sure.” Octavia eyed the three data chips she stored her enormous collection of music on. Music brought her alive. She’d been in a dark place after the attack that had nearly killed her. She’d spent weeks lying in a darkened room, earbuds in and her favorite rock tunes on full blast. Music had saved her. It had made her feel positive again. Feel something other than despair and grief. She hoped some of the music she played now made others feel the same and gave them something positive and hopeful in these chaotic times.

“Maybe you can dedicate it to me?”

“To you?” Octavia’s mouth felt dry. Jude always said things like that. He always made her think he cared. But how could he? They’d never met. They’d shared hundreds of messages. She felt like she knew him, but if they met in person, he’d pull back. He wouldn’t be able to see beneath her scars, wouldn’t be able to get past the damage on her flesh. She was still broken. She couldn’t meet him before she healed, until she could see the rejection in his eyes and accept it. That could take a lifetime and then some.

“I don’t think you’ve ever dedicated a song to me,” said Jude. “It might be nice.”

She had. Hundreds of them. She’d just never told him. “Maybe I should dedicate the next one to Tobias. He’s in a bad way.”

“Once we get him back here, he’ll be fine,” said Jude. “I was worried earlier. I didn’t know how badly hurt he was.”

“It sounds like he’s got a serious injury.”

“We’ve got dragon serum at the base. They’ll have some in the Foxhound kit, as well. He’ll be healed in a couple of days. All he’ll have is a scar and a great story to tell over a beer.”

Octavia would love to get her hands on some of that serum. Ever since dragon hybrids—people who were half-human and half-dragon—had revealed themselves to the Ember brothers and they’d begun working together, they’d developed serums to heal injuries in record time. She had to rely on the old-fashioned, grit-your-teeth-and-bear-it version of pain relief. Occasionally, she got her hands on basic pain meds, which she stored zealously for fear of getting sick or injured and not having any way to treat herself. That was the risk when you were alone. You were always vulnerable.

“So, about that next track?” Jude’s voice had a curious tone to it. He could always sense when she was thinking about things. She had a tendency to overthink. Being alone made that easy to do.

“Pick something positive,” said Octavia. “Maybe your medic can play it to Tobias when she treats him?”

“Sophia doesn’t allow music in the medical room,” said Jude. “She says it’s distracting.”

“It’s supposed to be,” said Octavia. “That’s why music is so amazing. It removes your worries and sends you off to a different world. It brings joy.”

“I’ll suggest it to her when I go see Tobias,” said Jude. “If she chews my head off, I’ll have to come and find you and you can take the blame.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Octavia prided herself on remaining a ghost. It was how she’d survived on her own for such a long time.

Jude was silent for a few seconds. “So would I. In fact, I’ve been thinking.”

Octavia worried her bottom lip between her teeth again. “About anything in particular?”

“About you.”

She swallowed, her pulse racing. “Are you going to tell me what those thoughts are?”

“I don’t like to think of you out there alone.”

“It’s the safest place to be.”

“It isn’t,” said Jude. “I think it’s time.”

The air in the van suddenly felt thin. She swiped the sweat from her forehead. “Time for what?”

“Time for us to meet.”