Page 142 of Knot Their Soldier: Part Three

His smile turns wicked. "Good."

I tug on gloves, anchor the main line to the truck, loop the backup around my waist, and clip the carabiner to Blaze’s harness. I check each lock twice before I tug the rope hard.

I can abseil when I have to, but I’m not too proud to admit that Blaze is more nimble than I am, basically a cat in the way he likes to climb things, so I didn't protest when he demanded to be the one to place the charges.

Blaze backs up until his heels dangle over the edge of the cliff.

He cocks his head, adjusting the bag of explosives strapped to his chest for easy access. "You think Shade knows how insane this is?"

"Yes."

"That’s comforting."

"It shouldn’t be, you psycho."

Blaze steps backward over the edge with a cackle, and the rope snaps tight across my gloves as his weight drops.

It isn't until I'm standing at the edge, staring down at Blaze disappearing into the darkness of the empty Pass below, that I finally understand Shade's plan.

This isn't to help us win the war.

It's to protect what is most important when we lose.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Shade

Day Ten

Jason taps a sequence into his datapad and projects a live map onto the main screen.

"It’s confirmed now," he says, and his voice is steady despite the magnitude of what is displayed on the screen behind him. "Our drones have footage of movement from both the south and the west. I’ve got an estimate running for troop count, but it’s… big."

I like that Jason doesn't guess facts, but I think we both know it doesn't matter what number comes out of that model. It'll be too many.

I choke down the dregs of my cold coffee, grimacing at the gritty, bitter instant granules left at the bottom. "They’re throwing everything at us."

Jason inhales and nods, then continues, voice flattening further. "Our last contact with the Capital was seven days ago. At this point, we can assume it’s no longer standing."

"And if the Capital is gone," I add quietly, "then we’re it. We’re what’s left."

My gaze drifts over the converging lines on the map, and my dread grows as the finality of it settles in my gut.

They’re coming to finish the job.

"How close?" I ask.

"If they keep this pace, they hit the outer approach to the Pass in six days," he says, tapping a few metrics into the datapad, and the screen adjusts slightly. "Maybe five if they push the pace, but not likely. They know they've got us cornered, so they're not rushing."

"Six days," I repeat under my breath, and the number tastes sour and heavy. I've been living off a countdown for the last ten days, and here is another one.

"Right." I clap my hands together, physically forcing myself to focus on the task at hand. "At least we've got a timeline now."

Defense planning has consumed my whole reality, and Viper hasn't managed to coerce or kidnap me back to the nest in days. The visceral ache to snuggle with my Omega and see my Pack is right behind my breastbone, but I use it as a constant reminder of what's at stake.

Jason stays with the comms team, tracking the enemy’s movement across every feed we still have, while I turn my attention to the problem waiting behind it.

How do we use Halley’s Omega Command when the attack reaches us?