Page 164 of Us Defiant Few

“Yes.” He laughed. “Penny believes they survived because Allen preserved their brains rather than use his own code to create them.First thing they did was tear down the library, and they’re even talking about taking down the wall. Penny’s waiting for you to visit when you recover.”

His eyes sparked with joy, and she nearly cried at the fact that they were all uninjured and alive. But as she looked around, panic crept in as memories of the battle rushed back.

“Where’s Adan?”

“This way,” Serene said with a knowing grin. She walked ahead and suddenly stopped. She turned, studying something behind them before reaching out and grabbing Brock’s hand.

“Let’s go, slowpokes!” Serene yelled back, practically skipping along the cobblestone. Brock kept staring at their joined hands, a slow smile forming.

They ran through a city being rebuilt—one Khalani had thought she’d never see again. And even though the people they ran past looked exhausted and worn-out, many of them peered up at the sun, a new sense of light and wonder forming in their eyes.

A hope that could only arise after darkness.

They sprinted all the way to the edge of the city, toward the white bridge that hung beautifully over the winding river. And when they crossed into the flower field, she gasped.

Hundreds and hundreds of tents had been erected. The citizens of Apollo appeared to be building thousands more as droves of people came up the elevator, carrying supplies.

She finally found Adan speaking animatedly with Spade, holding blueprints in his hand as they overlooked Genesis.

Khalani ran full speed ahead.

Adan grunted as she barreled into him, nearly knocking him over.

“There she is.” He laughed, pulling her close, but she hit him in the chest.

“You almost died!”

“So did you,” he retorted, grinning as he gingerly patted her stomach. “Probably best we don’t get married after all, Khalani. We bring too much mayhem.”

Takeshi let out a hearty chuckle, and Adan shifted his bright gaze to him. “Happy to see you no longer want to kill us.”

“Watch the hands, Adan, and I won’t have to.”

“Don’t listen to him.” Khalani waved him off. “He’s grumpy when he doesn’t get at least eight hours of sleep.”

Takeshi gave her a roguish look, but when she nudged her butt into him, he wrapped his arms around her.

“You know I’m going to make you regret that,” he whispered into her ear.

“I’m counting on it.”

Spade glanced over at them, wearing fancy black slacks and a button-down, never failing to dress better than everyone else.

“Good to see you walking around,” he noted.

“What are you guys doing?” Khalani asked, eyeing the blueprints.

“Nearly everyone from Apollo is coming up to the surface, and Genesis—in its current state—isn’t big enough to house all of them. We’re putting together plans to expand the city so we can provide for everyone here. Not just the rich,” Adan said proudly, his shoulders squared with renewed purpose.

She remembered him telling her that one of his biggest regrets was building the Genesis Dome. A structure responsible for killing hundreds of people. Now, he finally had a chance to build something worth believing in.

“I told him to add a casino too, but he doesn’t think it’s a good idea.” A sly voice sounded behind them.

She turned, eyes widening when Raziel, Ryder, and Jack joined them. They were dressed in black capes, and for the first time, Raziel had his mask off.

The lower half of his face was littered with scars, but he was handsome, like those roguish pirates Winnie had once told her about in novels. His brown gaze kept stealing glances at a nearby girl with short black hair, who was struggling to set up her tent.

“For the last time. No casinos,” Adan said, exasperated. “We’re trying to help people, not corrupt them.”