Lainey’s smile was pure bliss. Her power cut through the barrier between the shields, sending out a torrent of crippling pain. It sent Isobel crashing to the ground and gave Sienna the chance she needed. They moved again, dropping hands to defend themselves, joining with the guys to pick off the rest of Isobel’s guards. It didn’t matter anymore. The bond was there. Sienna had felt each and every one of them, just as Payton had with Cole and her with Jace, and she had what she needed to end this.

Sienna summoned a telekinetic whip, lashing out at Isobel’s shield. Isobel had managed to recover from Lainey’s attack, but she still stumbled as it hit. Her hands flew up to her face and her shield with it. Sienna’s energy tumbled to the ground and lay there, sparking.

“Throw too many of those out and you’ll fail again.” Isobel grinned. “I should know. I’ve been trained. You were left all alone.”

Sienna pushed again. If she could move a giant boulder, she could damn well move through this.

“You can’t get through,” Isobel mocked. She shot her own energy burst forward, lashing against Sienna’s light. It flickered, but held firm. Tiny flecks appeared on Isobel’s barrier, and she looked over, frowning. Jace. His gun was drawn and he fired a second clip into the shield. Isobel waved her hand, and a chunk of fallen wall flew through the air, directly aimed at his head. She heard Cole call out, “Jace! Hit the deck!”

Sienna managed to raise a curve around Jace, hardening it. She felt the impact shudder to her bones, but she held fast. Cole slid in beside Jace, grabbing a gun from a fallen giant beside him, and let off a shot, felling another man. How could they still be coming?

She looked back to Isobel. She was still smiling, but it was forced, wobbly. Sienna grinned.

Take it, Sienna. Use our lights and end this.

Keila’s voice sounded in her head. Sienna jumped. She’d gotten used to Payton’s cadence, but this was something else altogether entirely. She didn’t stop to think, to wonder how all this was going to work. It was all here, everything she needed; she just needed to take the leap. Silence fell back between them as each moved to stand beneath the shield. She felt their warmth pulse through her, healing bruises and warming her spirit. This was it—it came down to years of training versus something she couldn’t put into words, but knew it as sure as she knew anything else. It would be a game of endurance. One of their shields was going to fall, and when it did, either Sienna or Isobel would die.

“It’s going to break, Sienna. Your friends will all die. You can’t hold it! Not against me.” Isobel drove her shield forward, forcing Sienna backward. Her light warped and shrunk around her, barely containing them.

“Sienna!” Payton rushed forward, falling out of the shield and toppling to the ground. Cole responded a second later, darting after her. A bullet tore through the air, and Cole fell to the ground.

“Oh, God! No!’ Payton screamed. Her voice pulsed inside Sienna, hurting down to her soul. Her light fractured, spitting off as it separated again. Cole lay still on the ground, Payton holding his head against her chest with one hand even as she drew a gun with the other, taking down the monster still stalking them both.

Isobel’s hands moved together, twisting and turning until a chunk of metal tore off the wall. She hurled it directly at Sienna’s shield. It was followed by another, and then another. Oh, God, it was going to drop.

Isobel’s face twisted. “You see. I know you, and now you let me inside your head, I know your powers, too. All of them. You can’t save your pathetic friends. You’re too weak. Why not pull back and save yourself, Sienna? You have no idea what we could achieve together. Let me show you how the world really works.”

Sienna barely took in Isobel’s rantings. She was cowering on the ground, ready to lose her mind. If Payton didn’t stop screaming inside her head, she was going to lose it entirely.

Pull back. Pull back and save yourself.

Isobel’s words finally penetrated her seared mind, rattling around in her brain. She had to do it. She had to make her shield smaller. It was the only way she was going to survive.

Isobel sneered. “I knew you would. When it comes down to it, we’re exactly the same. I know all about you.” She raised her arms and tore down another chunk of wall. “I have your power, and soon I’ll have your life.”

Sienna reached out with a last gasp, and grabbed onto one of Isobel’s men, throwing him into Isobel’s shield. Every move had to count now, and if she could take out a threat at the same time, then she’d just keep doing that until her shield fell. If she could just take out enough of them, perhaps the others would be left with a fighting chance.

“You were just an experiment,” Isobel yelled. “She never wanted a child.” Her words burned like acid, every syllable breaking into Sienna and fracturing her further. “There are more girls. I can still create my army, and your death will have been entirely for nothing. It will all be completely pointless, just like your mother’s.” Isobel’s hands twisted again and a huge chunk of roof moved over her. Sienna didn’t have time to stop or hold against it. All she could do was run. She stepped backward, tripping over a body and falling to the ground. Oh, God! Lainey lay on the ground, her chest moving but way too slowly, her eyes closed.

“Get out of there, Sienna.” Jace lay just yards away. He struggled against another man, hitting him with the barrel of his gun. She couldn’t move. All she could do was stare at the slab of metal, floating over her. She closed her eyes and held her hands over her head as it dropped, but suddenly she was falling again. Sienna cried out as her hands and cheek slammed against the rough ground.

Keila! Keila had pushed her away, the metal landing on her leg.

“It’s over, Sienna. Admit it,” Isobel said. She was glowing, sucking in Sienna’s shield, the lights merging to where Sienna could barely see her behind the cold light.

“No. It isn’t over,” Keila said. She reached up, pinned to the ground from the metal. “It’s never over, Sienna, as long as one of us can do this.” Keila slammed her hand into Sienna’s and a burst of energy flowed through the connection. Sparks erupted around her, shooting into the air as if she were standing in a field of fireworks. As Keila’s light flowed into her, a memory flooded her mind. She was five, and she wanted desperately to be on the T-ball team. Sienna was so nervous. She wanted everything to be right, and so she practiced for weeks before. Her mom was amazing. She showed her everything—how to hit the ball, how to run the bases. She was always the best coach. The night before the tryouts, when they were sitting on her bed, her mom braiding her hair, Sienna asked her the question that had been bothering her all week. “What if they don’t think I’m good enough for the team, Mommy?”

Her mom had stopped braiding, and wrapped her arms around Sienna, hugging her tightly. “You’re always enough, Sienna. When the final day comes, you’ll know that. You’re all they need to win.”

Keila was watching Sienna, smiling at the images that rolled through her head. Smart lady, your mom. You are enough.

No, I’m not. Everyone’s dying, Keila. We’re losing.

I have faith. Even before I found the first girl, I had faith. I had faith when they took them all. Keila’s face twisted, a tear running down her face. I still had faith, even when they killed one right in front of me. I knew one day I’d have the chance, I just never knew how. I believe in you, Sienna. I believe in us.

The others moved toward her, tending to those who were downed or couldn’t move. Jace was still moving quickly, taking out the last of Isobel’s giants as he slid in beside Sienna. Isobel screamed and tore off another chunk of roof, twisting it and coiling it together into a large chunk of writhing steel. It was big enough to take them all out. Jace took her hand, locking his gaze with hers. “I’m right here, Sienna. I’m not leaving here. We’re doing this together.” His lips met hers. The heat he gave off settled deep inside her, combining with the last spark of Keila’s light. It spun and fluttered before joining and pushing back to the surface. Lainey moved next, taking Keila’s hand and then grabbing firmly on to Jace. Jason shifted at Keila’s side, pulling in Aaron, who half dragged Cole and Payton into the burgeoning light. With every person came a new spark, a new stirring. Power and light from the girls, the sunny, glowing love of a mother for her daughter, but this time a different love, too—from soul mates who believed in each of them. Who would do anything—even die—for each other.

Isobel roared, a vein twitching in her neck. She planted her legs wide and swept her hand out. The cylinder fell. Sienna closed her eyes, bracing for impact, but there was none. It bounced, falling to the ground and clattering beside them, breaking back into smaller pieces. Her shield pulsed and Sienna reached out—she felt it there, every connection. A rosy smoke filled the warehouse, bursting between them and crackling, forming a web of interconnected minds that reveled in each other’s presence and power. Jace’s hand reached out, stroking along her cheek. “You got it, Baby. I’m here for you. Always.”

Sienna took it all, every happy memory, every caress, every moment of love from them all, and aimed it directly at Isobel’s shield.

When it hit, there was nothing.