Page 29 of Aryn

“Think they’re eternal?” he asks softly.

“Yeah. They’re the same. They’re still home.”

Ronan hums his agreement thoughtfully, and the vehicle falls back into silence. A few more hours pass before the scenery becomes familiar. Over the years, I traveled to many of the known rift sites, and these trees and landmarks are recognizable.

Cameron shivers as we approach a cluster of trees. “Gods, this place gives me the willies. I always think about how Nyx looked when we found him.”

I can imagine the state he was in when they discovered him. Hells, none of the prisoners were in good shape, but Nyx was out here far longer than any of the others. Once they realized he could affect the rift, they kept him here just as often as they kept him in his cell and studied him twice as aggressively.

Lillith presses her face against the window. “I thought you said there was a camp?”

I glance toward the site and realize with a start that the tents and temporary buildings have disappeared. All that’s left is an empty field. The landscape shows signs of their existence—square patches of barren dirt and pitted tire tracks—but soon enough the earth will hide those too.

“They were torn down on my command,” Sovran explains. “We can’t risk unwanted attention or traffic by letting others think there might be something left to loot.”

“This is very true,” Taryn says. “Condition has never mattered to raiders when they’re on the hunt. It doesn’t matter if it looks abandoned, they’re going to check.”

“That’d be our luck, wouldn’t it?” Cameron asks. “We somehow get through this and come back, only to get our heads chopped off by a raiding party.”

“Don’t put that shit out in the universe,” Cato grumbles. “It’s bad luck.”

Cameron twists to grin at him. “Superstitious?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean I’m willing to take chances.”

“Alright, so not superstitious, but maybe just a little stitious.”

Cato’s bewildered expression lightens some of the heaviness. The ground bumps under the tires as we veer off the main road, and I stare over the empty field, picturing the camp that was once filled with activity.

“It’s not even been that long since I’ve been here,” I say. “Feels like a lifetime, though.”

“You worked here?” Cato asks. “Like, here, in this exact spot?”

I tear my eyes away from the field and meet his. “Sometimes. Usually, they wanted me at the facility to monitor me, but they’d bring me along when they wanted my opinion.”

“Why didn’t you ever try to escape?”

“If I’d wanted to escape, there were chances. I could’ve slipped away.”

“So why didn’t you?” he challenges.

My defenses flare at the unspoken accusation. “I had my reasons.”

His brows pinch, and he shakes his head, irritation tightening his expression. “I’m just trying to understand. You didn’t fight on the other side because you needed to protect your family. I get that. But once you were here? What made you stay?”

I stare into his light brown eyes for a moment, searching for the judgment he usually wears like armor. Instead, there’s only curiosity and a touch of sadness. The realization drains the fight out of me. “How else was I ever going to get home?”

“You wanted to help them open the divide?”

“I wanted the answer,” I try to explain. “They had resources I could never find on my own, so yes, I stayed so I could be the one to solve it. I had nothing to lose and only one thing left to fight for.”

“So you would’ve… what? Handed them the solution on a silver platter?”

“Of course not,” I argue. “Half of the breakthroughs from our research were never reported. We didn’t even dare discuss most of them with the other scientists. Most of us hated it there, loathed those in charge, but there was always the risk someone was loyal.”

Cato’s face relaxes as he nods. “What would you have done if you’d figured it out?”

“I would’ve done… this.”