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The shuttle suddenly surges forward and I’m thrown to the left, my seatbelt cutting into my hips. I huff out a breath and brace myself on the handhold behind me just as something shudders against the hull.
“That was the other ship going out,” the pilot says. “And…we’re in. They don’t appear to be firing on us.”
“Not for long,” Reza mutters. “They’ll figure out what’s going on sooner or later.”
“And we’ll be ready,” Mai says. “Taraven, tell me you’re going to stay on-task.”
I nod. “I will. You can trust me.”
“Docking in five,” the pilot says. “Prepare to disembark!”
I can hear the edge in her voice, see it in the eyes of all the soldiers around me. They’re prepared for battle, their hands flying over their weapons to check for any last-minute errors…
I’m not one of them.
And I have another job to do.
I pull out my rifle and clutch it against my chest just before the shuttle jolts with one last impact. Reza shouts something to the soldiers, and they each reply with a resounding cry as they unbuckle and swarm the hatch.
Light streams in as it opens.
A moment of unreality takes me, silence filling the shuttle as we abruptly depressurize.
The Lyran soldiers stream out in an orderly line, the humans more chaotic, all holding their weapons high. A human weapon booms outside, then I hear the pop of something lighter and more efficient—a Lyran rifle, perhaps. I approach carefully, staying behind cover and peering around the corner.
In the chaos, Mai meets my eyes and gestures around the edge of the dock, where a row of crates blocks enemy sights.
I nod.
In seconds, I’m racing toward the crates and diving behind them. A shot almost nicks me—from who, I’m not sure—but I hunker down as I move behind the crates, my weapon held in front of me. I’m armored up—a helmet covering my ears and a bandolier around my waist—but I still feel vulnerable, and I know I could die here.
I won’t, though.
I won’t die before I see them again.
Someone staggers backwards in front of me and I leap back just in time to meet eyes with an enemy Skoropi. He’s wounded, his shoulder streaming with blood, his irises glowing deep crimson. He blinks at me in confusion, then gestures over his shoulder.
“Go!” he yells. “Get reinforcements! You know comms don’t work inside the temple.”
Good to know.
…and I can’t believe Mai’s strategy is actually going to work.
I tilt my chin and move past him, straight in the direction he indicated. There’s the door, an oddly modern addition to an otherwise ancient structure rising up on every side of the cavern. This must be an old entrance—older than any city I’ve ever visited, built into the planet itself—but the Second House has updated security. I curse when I realize there’s a lock on the door, the control panel glowing red beside it.
A shot blows past me, close enough that I can feel the heat of it on my cheek. I duck out of the way—and it hits an enemy soldier just on the other side of me. I see the smoking barrel of a rifle in Reza’s hands, his amber eyes staring me down.
Message received.
I bend down to rifle through the enemy’s pockets and find his access chain, then I slap it to the panel. The door slides open and I meet eyes with Reza one last time before he nods his head and ushers me through the door.
I let it slide shut behind me.
Now, the work begins.
CHAPTER FORTY
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