I’ll go and see, Three says.
We watch him leave, and the minutes seem to take hours to pass. Nervous energy fills me, and I drum my fingers against my thighs, feeling sicker and sicker. The hole in my powers—the gap, where my powers that Raleigh has should be—feels more prominent, even though I know it hasn’t changed.
Three returns. There are no alerts running through the town. No one’s acting any differently.
I breathe out a heavy sigh, one that wraps around my neck as soon as it’s released. I’m glad the wall’s behind me because my knees feel weak and it supports me as I slide down it, my head in my hands.
It’s okay. Melissa appears next to me, and I feel her brush against my side, but I don’t look up.
I shake my head. “It’s not. It’s really not.” I scratch my face. “All of this—trying to re-convert the Enhanced… It’s futile. It’s not going to work, is it? It’s just me, Corin, and you—the Lost Souls. That’s our army. We can’t get it any bigger and—and she killed him. That woman killed Rahn. We can’t save them.”
I turn my head. The bison tattoo on her face—even in spirit form—seems so solid I could reach out and touch it. It should be comforting, but it’s not.
You can save them.
“I can’t! Look, look what’s happened.”
One person. Her gaze is firm. So, she hasn’t worked, but the others have.
“But the others are still tied up.”
You’ve still got them. She reaches out, brushes my hand with the back of hers. This hasn’t changed our plan. And you can still save the Enhanced. You’ve still saved her. One less death. It’s going to take a while for the effects of the addiction to disappear in some.
I take a deep breath and nod, think what Quinn was like.
Even if these people you save can’t fight for us and kill the Enhanced, you’re still saving their lives, and that’s important.
I nod. “That’s important.”
For the rest of the day, they bring more Enhanced to me. I thought they wouldn’t, but they do. They tie them up. I save them.
It feels like a production line as I take away their addiction, as I let it fill me up. The black beetles are everywhere.
But I have to save them. Have to… That sounds like…what does it sound like?
My eyes sting, and they feel too heavy, like they’re made of metal, and they’re going to fall out of my face. When they do, they’ll make a loud noise as they hit the stone floor of the warehouse, and then they’ll roll away.
There’ll be laughter. Lots of laughter and—
Click.
I flinch. A pulling sensation slips across my forehead.
Stop now. My mother’s voice. It’s loud. It’s in my head. There are no more you can save this way. There has to be death. There is nothing more you can do now.
Stop? What? I can’t save anymore?
I look at the Enhanced. Thirty of them whom I’ve saved. Thirty is nothing. No. I have to save more. I can—I know I can. With all the Sarrs helping me, with us working together to draw the badness out of the Enhanced, it’s easy. The more I save, the less I kill. The more live.
I draw on my powers, reach for more of it and—
And nothing.
This power has reached its limit.
Its limit? It has a limit? Because of Raleigh. He has the rest of it? Or it wasn’t infinite? Either way, it’s gone.
I glance over to where the woman is. She’s awake. Three’s guarding her. We don’t know how she got out of her ropes before, but we’re not taking a chance now.
“I can’t do anymore,” I say. “The power’s run out.” It sounds stupid.
“Just as well,” Corin says. “Seer instability,” he reminds me.
“I’m fine.” I feel fine. I check my other powers. They’re there. It’s just that one that’s gone. Been used up. The space it’s left behind is different to the hole the transference channel made.
You’d better rest now, Three says. It’s late. We will stay to watch these Untamed.
Untamed. The word doesn’t quite sit right. But I nod. Resting does seem like a good idea.
Not that I’ll be able to sleep this time. I’m sure. There’s too much energy pent up inside me, too much anticipation, worry.
Corin and I make our way to the other end of the warehouse, weaving between makeshift walls, pallet stacks and broken light. It feels strange walking away from the Lost Souls, from everyone else. Like there’s something final hanging in the air.
Corin stops when we reach a small, boxed-off area. It’s not the place I slept in last night. There are blankets here. It’s secluded, and we can’t hear sounds from the rest of the warehouse. It’s darker too, as well, but a good kind of darkness, not the kind that cuts you off from everything. I can still see the shapes of things, the colors, though they’re dimmer.
“Oh, I got you something,” Corin says.
I stare at him, watch as he crouches down, moves a folded blanket. He pulls out a bottle of green liquid.
“Mouthwash.” I take it from him, frowning. “You think my breath—”
“No.” The corners of his mouth lift up. “No, Sev. I got you some before, remember? You asked if we had any—ages ago—and I got you that little bottle, but it got smashed. You know, when you saved me from that leopard?”
Oh. I nod. “I remember.”
“I promised I’d get you some more.” He looks away for a moment. “Gods, this seems like a rubbish gift now.” He pulls his hands through his hair and groans. “What was I thinking?”
“No, it’s great. Thanks.”
We look at each other for a moment, before we sit in the tangle of blankets.
“It will be okay tomorrow.” Corin squeezes my hand. “You’ll be amazing. It will work. We will win.”
I hold onto his hand, trace patterns absentmindedly over his fingers. I don’t know what to say, so silence seems best because my thoughts are both so busy and sparse.
“It feels calm.” Corin’s words wrap around me, a safe cage. “I didn’t think it would feel this calm. The last night.”
He’s right. There are no sounds, apart from us, no tension—even with the coming war. It’s like the world has stopped, and I look at him, hold his hand tighter. I want to hold him close, so he’s part of me that I can never let go. So we’re always together. Because I know we can’t be now. I will die, and Corin will live. The moment the war ends, and I’m trapped alone in Death’s realm, what will happen to Siora and Quinn, in the settlement, because in ten years’ time I’ll be alone? They won’t be born. Will they disappear from the settlement? Will Esther and the others look for them, not realizing what’s happened?
But there’s nothing I can do. This is the only plan we have. The war has to end. Sacrifices have to be made. I just hope the hole it rips in time won’t be too big.
I lean my head against Corin’s chest, listen to his heartbeat, feel it in every part of me.
“Don’t worry.” His voice is a whisper.
“Worry?” I lift my head and look at him.
“This isn’t the end,” he says, and he sounds so sure—like he’s speaking facts. “I’ll be in Death’s realm with you. I will get there. We know we’ll find a way. We know there’s hope. Siora and Quinn will be born. We’ll make it happen, just as they told us.”
“But what if we’ve changed things too much already? The future’s fluid, things can change. Seeing dreams prove that. We don’t even know that Siora and Quinn still exist. They could’ve disappeared, been written out of existence, because of one decision we already made.”
Except we’re both alive at the moment, and didn’t they say they’d disappear at the point they’re no longer viable?
“We have to trust ourselves. You have to trust yourself.”
“But what if we can’t get you there?”
“We will. Taras said empyrean twins’ births are set points in time. Fixed points. I’ll be there. We’ll be together.”
I look into his eyes, his soul, and I want so desperately for that to be a promise. It has to be.
“I love you,” I whisper, and the words seem to tangle on my tongue as I look at him. I expect to feel sadness, to have it overpower me—but I don’t. My love for him rises inside me, the night sky stretching on and on, encompassing it all.
“This isn’t the end. It can’t be the end.” Corin’s breath is heavy. “It’s never the end.”
Our heads get closer, and then our lips touch. Tender brushes, at first, then more as we press closer and closer, as we expose our skin. I don’t know which of us leans backward, but the world tilts, and we’re together.
“I love you.”
The hidden stars hold my words above us in the inkiness, then his too. Gold and silver, glowing, merging, two souls, searching and learning, everything and always, all at once. Soft touches and whispers, muted and thunderous. Skin against skin, so fragile. So safe. Belonging.
The section leaders arrive in the morning. We hear the announcements of their names over a loud-speaker system.
“That’s new,” Corin says.
I nod. New Kimearo never had any town-wide loud-speaker announcements before.
Or maybe we were never raiding at the right time, and I can’t really remember what went on in my time here during my conversion. It’s all a blur.
I nestle into Corin, listen to his heartbeat. There’s a blanket over us, and he moves it up slightly over my shoulder. His hair tickles the side of my face, and I feel my chest lighten as if he’s pushed away the dread inside me. Because this is it. The last day. He’s here. We’re together.
I turn my face, press my lips against his. His eyes are semi-closed, and I keep mine open as we kiss. I want to remember every detail of his face.
Three enters the warehouse, drifting through the wall above us.
Corin and I slide apart. I grab the edge of the blanket, keep it secure over me, as Corin sits up.
“Do you have to do that?” Corin glares at Three.
The leaders are here, Three says after a long moment, a moment in which I’m sure my brother has realized Corin’s naked under the blanket. Three’s eyes cross to me. They’re assembling in the courtroom of Block Nine. It’s time to call the rest of us.
“Seven decides when it’s time,” Corin says.
They both look at me.
“Not yet. Calling them here, to the warehouse, is going to draw attention to us. Word will get to Raleigh and the other section leaders before we reach them, especially if they’ve got the whole town hooked up for announcements.”
Corin nods. “You’re right. We need the element of surprise. We don’t want Raleigh getting warning.”
Three nods and disappears—presumably to tell the others.
Corin and I sit up. I stare at him, and I don’t know why I do. I just have to. The way he looks at me makes me feel like I’m the most beautiful person in the world, even though I know my hair’s a mess, my skin’s not that great, and there are shadows under my eyes. It’s like I see myself—the truth of me—but he sees beneath it.
The loudspeaker crackles, makes the announcement again, and we get ready quickly. I catch Corin looking at me—and I’m looking at him—and we both smile.
We join the others in the main part of the warehouse. We eat some tinned soup—or at least, I try to, but every mouthful I take wads against the roof of my mouth in a thick layer, and I have trouble swallowing it—and then Corin fetches two guns and hands me one. The side of his hand briefly touches mine. It’s enough—enough for warmth to fill my body. A smile slips over me, and I feel my face heating up. He gives me a small smile as I tuck the gun into the back of my waistband.
I take Corin’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Good luck, Seven, Three says. Eriksen. He gives a curt nod.
We walk, just the two of us, the Lost Souls staying behind. Three and I exchange a look that seems to go on forever as we leave the warehouse.
Corin and I stick to the less-used routes, ready to hide if needed. I want Raleigh to be the first one who sees me. Really, it seems crazy that we’ve been here, hiding in an Enhanced town for days, and no one’s noticed.
I lick my lips, feel the power surging inside me. I wish I hadn’t eaten the soup. My stomach feels too heavy.
Corin squeezes my hand.
This is it.
It’s really it.
Block Nine is part of the education unit, and I’ve only been inside it once before. It was on a raid, but my mind goes blank as I try to remember what I was pilfering. Corin steers me forward, and then I see the building. Gray stone, red doors.
“Round the back,” I whisper.
Gravel crunches underfoot, and we move quickly as we hear voices. My heart thuds, and my stomach feels even heavier. Corin shakes a little. But it’s okay, because we’re together.
We make it around the back of the building with no one seeing our faces—I think some Enhanced may have seen our backs, but that’s it.
The door at the back is small and wooden, stained with a deep varnish. I push the handle, and it opens. We step inside, and warmth hits us. Corin shuts the door with a click.
The air is stuffy, feels like it’s suffocating me, chugging up my throat, as we follow the corridor around to the left. A glimpse of people, milling by a doorway, and we duck back around the corner.
Corin and I stare at each other, wordlessly, as we wait for them to move. At last, they do. Footsteps die away.
When it’s clear, we head out again, cautiously, look left, right. My heart hammers all the way, until we’re standing in front of the closed double-doors of the courtroom. I can hear their voices inside. Raleigh’s voice, he sounds angry. Then Karl’s, followed by Zahlia’s. Coldness runs through me, and I try to make out their words, work out how much Zahlia and Karl may have already said. But more voices follow. Shouting. The whole Section.
I take a deep breath and look up at Corin. He gives me a small smile, one that burrows itself deep in my heart.
I go up onto my tiptoes, pull him close, press my lips against his. The sounds of both our hearts beating thrums through me. My arms are around him, and his arms are around me. Our bodies beat in time to each other.
The kiss is quick, for the Enhanced Ones are still shouting, but meaningful.
There’s both hope and sadness in Corin’s eyes when we part.
“I’ll be right behind you,” he says, pulling his handgun out of his belt.
I smile and register every detail of his face, the hard lines of his nose and jaw, how his eyebrows frame his dark eyes. Those beautiful eyes—Untamed, how life is supposed to be.
Turning away is painful, but I do it. I place my hands on the doors, one on each. A deep breath fills my lungs.
It’s okay, we’re with you. The Sarrs.
I smile again, then I shove the doors.
They burst back, hit the walls. The mirror eyes inside turn to me. It takes me exactly two seconds to find Raleigh as I stride in.
He’s at the head of the table. Of course he is. Anger hangs in his mirrors, but as he looks at me, it changes. Shock.
And I feel something—a shadow inside me, sliding across, hardening like steel. I grit my teeth as I stare at him, as I feel all my hatred for him. Every single bit of it. And Corin being here—right behind me—makes it every bit more potent in a way it hasn’t been before, every bit more—
I breathe deeply, and he pushes my head back, exposing more of my neck for him. A thousand feelings pull through me as I press myself into him. His hands get rougher, pulling at the thin material of my shirt, harder and harder. His lips press against my collarbone, and he kisses me there, repeatedly. His hands knead the fleshy parts of my upper arms, exerting more pressure. A moan escapes him, and I pull back a little, see his eyes, see how they’re burning.
“I’ve missed you,” he whispers, and then I kiss his lips again, but kiss them softly, slowly.
No! I clench my fists.
The memory’s gone in half a second, and the Sarrs inside me lock it away.
“A surrender?” Raleigh’s voice gives him away. Because I know, I know he knows my strength, and no matter what he said, he never believed it. Not deep down. A grin spreads across his face, and he lifts his arms up wide as he stands.
The movement seems to loosen and dissect his mind, and I see everything. Layers and layers of corrosion, of damage. The beetles I saw before were nothing. Millions rage inside him.
There has to be death, a Sarr whispers.
“Shania?” Zahlia’s mirrors are huge, and then she’s approaching me smoothly, as if she’s gliding along the polished wooden floor. “Delivered so soon? My dear, you are most welcome here.” She holds out her arms for me, as if I’m going to run into them.
“Shania, it is excellent to see you.” Raleigh’s tone lightens. “For you to choose us is beyond wonderful. Allow me to welcome you into—”
“Raleigh, sit down.” Karl’s voice is crisp. “You are no longer in charge of—”
Raleigh turns on him. “I will not give up my seat at this pivotal moment—you have no proof of your accusation.” He moves around the table, and his mirrors flash. “Shania, I am delighted that we are going to witness your surrender. And that of Corin Eriksen too.”
I glance at Corin, quickly. He’s right behind me. Then I look Raleigh straight in the eyes. His smile does not falter. “I’m not here to surrender.”
I free my mind, and my arms lift, instructed by the power deep inside me. The Sarrs are ready, and so am I. The power’s there, a thrumming energy inside me, glowing as it expands, as it pushes beyond, farther and farther, until it is bigger than it has ever been before. Because this isn’t like the last time I called them, when we needed a small army, enough to protect us.
I’m calling so many more.
“Spirits!” My word is a whisper, but it doesn’t matter, because it darts out, strong, electric, hurtles into every dimension of this world where Lost Souls are and—
Something snaps inside me.
I feel it. Pain and—
A prickly feeling. I jolt.
“Sev?” Corin’s voice is low. I look at him—and that’s when it happens.
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