I scrambled to my feet, glancing over my shoulder to see Commander Korbin chasing after us. Bashrik was already running ahead, hauling Angie and Lauren along with the momentum of his superior speed, and Mort was surprisingly quick, more or less keeping up with them, oblivious to the fact that Navan and I had narrowly missed charging straight into the lowering ankle of a Titan. Had it not been for Ronad, we’d be flat right now. As we set off after the others, I turned again to see Korbin sprinting down the palace steps, a few guards following after him.

“Traitors!” he bellowed. “Spies, the lot of you! I knew you were all working for Gianne!”

A bullet whizzed past my cheek, grazing the skin. Ignoring the sting of it, I pressed on, rounding a corner onto the next street, where we were met by a blockade. Houses had tumbled into the road, blocking the way out. Either we climbed it, turned around and ran up a different street, or faced the soldiers. I looked to the others, but they didn’t seem sure either.

“We’re going to have to stand our ground!” Navan shouted above the roar of the roaming Titans. “Anyone with weapons, take them out now!”

I removed the knives that I’d hidden up my pant leg, having left the gun in the ship. Ronad took out a cluster of throwing stars he’d stolen from Sarrask’s stash, and Navan drew out one of the long blades he still had strapped to his back. He’d removed the other one for comfort reasons, but I figured one was better than nothing.

Korbin appeared around the bend a moment later, his eyes narrowing as a smirk spread across his face. He approached slowly, making a beeline for me, his men trailing after him in a V formation. The group of soldiers were armed and dangerous, but they weren’t looking up. I opened my mouth to shout, to warn them, but the Titans’ size didn’t slow down the speed of their immense bodies.

The commander was barely two yards away from me when a giant foot came crashing down on his head. I heard the pop of bones and the squelch of flesh as the foot crushed Korbin. The other soldiers turned and fled for the palace. Evidently, we weren’t worth getting squished for.

A jet of viscous, grayish-blue liquid shot up from the poor commander’s body as the pressure exploded, like squeezing a water balloon too hard. Since I was the one standing closest, I got a full face of visceral spray. I tried to shield my face with my hands, but it still splattered my skin. Shocked, I stood frozen.

“Come on,” Navan said, taking my hand.

We ducked back into the rubble of the fallen houses. Fortunately, the Titan didn’t appear to have noticed that he’d stood on anything, let alone realized there were people running around close to his foot. He really was enormous, with bronze plates across his abdomen giving the impression of a glimmering metal six-pack. From this distance, I saw a few plates buried in the skin of his leg, too, revealing the true agony of the adornments. The scar tissue around each piece showed that it had been poured on molten and shaped afterward. I supposed it was meant to show strength, or something equally stupid and macho. I held my breath as he passed.

Only when the Titan had moved far away did we dare emerge from the rubble of the blockade that had fallen across the street. I could feel the remains of Commander Korbin all over my face, and I shuddered with disgust. I didn’t know the man that well, but I would never have wished a death like that on anyone. He’d just been trying to protect his queen.

I glanced down at the crushed corpse, knowing it would soon turn into ash and join the swarm of eerie gray flakes that filled the air. At least he wouldn’t stay like this for long, in a congealed mass of indiscernible bits.

“Sorry,” I whispered, kneeling to take his guns and ammo, which were somehow still largely intact. I patted down the rest of his clothes and found a notebook tucked away inside the lining of his jacket, protected from the splatter of blood. It seemed a strange place to hide something, outside of the usual pockets, but I didn’t know if it was a personal journal or something private—the kind of thing he didn’t want his fellow soldiers finding out about. Letters to his sweetheart, that sort of thing.

Curious, I flipped through the first few pages, conscious of the others creeping toward the end of the street, heading back for the ship. The contents looked like equations, alongside sketches of equipment and experiment setups. I didn’t need to be able to read Vysanthean to know a math puzzle when I saw one. Yorrek’s grumpy old face popped into my head again—was this his notebook, the one that Queen Brisha had been hiding away in her library? If it was, Brisha must have given it to Korbin for safekeeping while she was recovering from her head injury and the palace was in danger of destruction.

Feeling a flutter of excitement, I shoved it into the leg pocket of my infantry cargo pants, before checking that the gun was loaded. It was a big rifle, not a weapon I was used to wielding, but I figured it was the same as any gun—never put the butt near your face, point the barrel at the enemy, then shoot and hope for the best.

Navan was walking back toward me, having realized I’d lagged behind. “What you got there?” he asked, reaching out to wipe some of the schmutz from my face.

“I’ll show you later,” I said anxiously. “I’ll need you to translate!”

I knew Lauren would be eager to look at it too, but it would have to wait until we were back on board the ship. We were too vulnerable out here in the city, where the battle continued to rage. The aerial onslaught looked like it was actually making a dent in the Titan attack. Golden blood was cascading down their bodies, their flesh absolutely riddled with bullet holes. Now, I understood the need for metal plates—they covered the wounds gained in every battle, which meant those who were mostly metal were the truly seasoned warriors of the Titan army.

Even with the tides turning slightly, it would only be a matter of time before they fully targeted the palace. It would be their last showdown before they retreated, kicking Queen Brisha where it would really hurt. Already, they were venturing closer to it, though the big guns of the warships, which hovered above the spires, seemed to be putting them off for now.

“Hold on tight,” Navan urged, freeing his injured wing and slipping his arm around my waist. He scooped Ronad up, too, though it was obvious he was struggling without the full flexibility of his damaged wing. I thought about the serum I still had tucked safely away in the cup of my bra—the most secure hideaway in a woman’s arsenal—wondering if it would do anything to help him. It was supposed to heal and strengthen, but Kaido had warned that my brain chemistry responded in the opposite way to that of a Vysanthean. Perhaps, if I gave it to Navan, it would only weaken him further.

Meanwhile, Bashrik scooped up Angie and Lauren, keeping as low as possible as they headed back to the palace gardens, where the ship was waiting. We followed, but we’d only gotten a few yards when I realized Mort wasn’t with us. I glanced around, only to find him morphing from frostfang to coldblood on the ground below. A moment later, with his fake, shifter-made wings, he flapped frantically after us. I couldn’t help chuckling at the sight of him dipping and diving, his body dangling like a sack of wrenches underneath his ill-made wings. Still, it was doing the job, which was more than could be said for us wingless folk.

Nobody stopped us as we flew over the palace walls, the soldiers who had been manning the outer walls having retreated inside. Undoubtedly, they’d realized they could do no good on the outer gates, considering the Titans could simply step over the walls if they wanted to.

Navan grimaced as he set Ronad and me down on the ground beside the parked ship, breathing heavily. The strain of carrying us both was clearly taking its toll on him. I moved up to where he stood and lifted his chin.

“You okay?” I asked, worried.

He smiled, leaning down to kiss me. “I need to lift some weights with my sad little broken wing, that’s all,” he joked.

“I guess it didn’t help having to carry us both,” Ronad said, a look of frustration passing across his face. I knew it made him feel helpless, having to rely on others when he had once been capable of the same thing.

I’d just leaned up to kiss Navan again, eager to take my mind off the image of Commander Korbin’s death, when an ungainly thump distracted my attention. Mort had landed.

“I loathe flying,” Mort muttered, rolling his eyes as he elongated the O in true dramatic fashion.

“You’d like it better if you didn’t have such puny wings,” Navan shot back.

The shifter scoffed. “Says you, Wonky Wing! Mine may be small, but I’ve got two fully functioning ones.”

“Now there’s something a girl never wants to hear!” Angie cackled. For the first time ever, I saw a flicker of embarrassment cross Mort’s face. It was the perfect antidote to what had just happened, making me forget that I was still covered in the blood of a dead man. Right now, I just wanted to get away from here, and laugh until I didn’t feel sick anymore.

I grinned. “Mort, this is Angie. She might just be the only person in the universe who can give you a run for your money in the crassness stakes!”

Angie nodded, looping her arm through mine. “Undefeated champion, I’ll have you know!”

“Yeah, well, that’s because the ugly ones have to be funny,” Mort retorted, but Angie only laughed harder.

“You might as well have said I smell!” she howled. “What is this, kindergarten? You going to punch me in the arm and tell me you love me next?”

“I suppose you’ve come to join in this crude display of emasculation?” Mort muttered, glaring at Lauren, who’d just walked up to Angie and me.

She shook her head. “Nope, I’m just here to spectate. It’s my favorite sport.”

“Well, if you want me, I’ll be on the ship—avoiding all of you!” Mort turned on his heel and stomped up the gangway.

“Yeah, not without one of us, shifter!” Ronad said, following him.

“I knew there was a reason I adored you, Angie,” I said delightedly. “You’re smart, beautiful, and you scare away the creeps like nobody else!”

She grinned. “Always a pleasure.”

“We’ve missed you so much, Riley,” Lauren added softly. “It just isn’t the same when it’s not the three of us. Two is fine, but three is better.”

“That’s my motto in all things.” Angie burst into raucous laughter, and the two of us were swept up in the infectiousness of it.

“Are you ladies coming, or are we leaving you here to get squashed?” Navan asked, taking my hand and pulling me toward the ship.

I followed him, my friends trailing after us into the belly of the vessel. As soon as we were inside, the three of us stepped off to one side. Navan disappeared into the cockpit, joining the other guys as they started up the engines. We took off, soaring above the palace and making for the outer walls of Nessun. We didn’t know where we were going yet, but the most important thing was to get out of the warzone.

I immediately made a beeline for the bathroom, desperate to wash the remains of Commander Korbin off me. There were clean clothes stacked on a shelf, and I changed quickly, as my friends leaned in the doorway, eager to continue our conversation.

“Anyway, what’s been going on with you? What have we missed?” Lauren asked. “All we’ve been doing is medical duty—fetching supplies and working on the wards. I’ve done some reading here and there, but that’s about as exciting as it’s been for me. Our dear friend has at least had a handsome man to distract her, but I’ve had nothing!”

“Hey, I’ve spilled every single bean there is to spill to you. You asked for vicarious romance, and I’ve given it to you,” Angie teased, prompting Lauren to pull a queasy face.

“Yes, but there’s such a thing as too much information.”

I gaped at Angie. “Did you and Bashrik…?”

She blushed. “This kind of conversation requires appropriate attention and consideration. I can’t just rattle it all off to you here, with certain people listening in,” she protested. “As soon as it’s just the three of us, alone with no eavesdroppers, I’ll tell you everything.” She winked, letting me know there was at least some juicy gossip to look forward to.

Lauren flashed me a warning look. “Believe me, you’ll wish you’d never asked.”

“Hush, you. My tales of romance and seduction are way better than any of those trashy romances I just know you’ve been sneaking out of Brisha’s library.”

“I haven’t been stealing anything like that! I don’t think a lot of Vysantheans are interested in that kind of thing, anyway.” Lauren laughed, giving our friend a playful shove.

“Oh, believe me, they are,” Angie whispered in a sultry tone.

I presumed Angie didn’t want to talk too much about it with Bashrik around, in case she said something that might embarrass him, but I was dying to know what they’d been up to since the last time I saw them.

Part of me wished Lauren had someone she could gossip with us about, but she’d always been more tight-lipped about boys than Angie and I. Plus, she didn’t seem to mind that there wasn’t a great romance in her life; she seemed happy enough to indulge in ours, listening and offering advice. Saying that, I knew it would happen for her one day, and when it did, it would be worth the wait. In fact, it would probably blow any other romance out of the water.

Once I was clean and dressed in fresh clothes, the three of us walked toward the cockpit. I could hear the guys debating over where to go next. Mort was suggesting a tropical moon and Bashrik was agreeing, but Navan wasn’t too thrilled by the idea of putting off our ally search. We’d already failed spectacularly with the Titans, but I was glad we hadn’t gone to them in the end, not after seeing how little they respected life. We wanted to stop all three factions from succeeding with the elixir, and we needed an army strong enough to eradicate the rebels, at the very least, but I didn’t want vast numbers of innocents dying because of it. I wanted soldiers who valued innocent life as much as I did. There might be bloodshed—I wasn’t stupid enough to believe otherwise—but I only wanted blood to spill from those involved in the fight. I wouldn’t have the deaths of children on my conscience.

“Why don’t we go to Mallarot, see if we can pick up any shifters to join our cause?” I suggested, drawing a sour look from Mort, who was back in his shifter form. “We can always drop in on anyone you want to see while we’re there, Mort.”

Angie made a face at him. “What are you? Are you crossed with a testicle?” she asked, forcing me to swallow a bubble of hysterical laughter.

“Angie, that is extremely disrespectful!” Lauren chided, though I could see she was struggling to hold back a giggle, too. “He is a shifter. That’s why you’ve seen him as both a frostfang and a coldblood.”

She chuckled. “I apologize, Mort. I shouldn’t have said that; you don’t look like a ballbag at all.”

“You think you’re clever, sunshine, but I’ve been called just about everything there is to call a guy like me,” he shot back. “My skin might look like one of your human testicles—and hey, you should know, sugar—but I assure you it’s pretty thick these days!”

Angie raised her hands in apology. “Honestly, I take it back! I think what you can do is cool. I wish I could transform into anyone I wanted. I’d start with a supermodel.”

“No, you don’t want to start there. Believe me, it only ends in disappointment and bits melting where you don’t want them to, at the worst possible moment,” he warned, before turning his attention back to me. “Mallarot might be your best bet if you want to get some easy allies. Shifters are easily persuaded into joining any cause that comes along, as long as it benefits them. We’re not particularly loyal to our own kind, for the most part. It’s why you’ll see us in most sections of the universe, handing out our loyalty like a creep with puppies.”

I glanced at Navan, Ronad, and Bashrik, who were grinning away at the exchange between Mort and Angie. “Mallarot it is, then! Set a course for the shifter planet.”

“Aye, aye, Captain!” Navan smiled, pulling me down into the copilot’s seat. He forced the throttle forward, the ship surging with it, putting as much distance between us and the Titans as possible.