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Kerrigan watched the sky darken with the full weight of the Society dragons blotting out the sun. They had sent in the entire calvary for a small rebel group in the mountains. That told her everything she needed to know about how desperate they were to catch her. Why else would they send so many if they didn’t know she was back?
It didn’t explain how they had known that she was back. But she felt with utter certainty that they did know.
“Where can we go?” Thea asked, her arm tightening on Kivrin’s shoulder. “Is there a tunnel out through the mountain?”
Wynter shook her head. “Not that I know of. Tieran and Netta found this place.”
Netta looked to the sky, ready to jump into action at any moment. We do not know the entire expanse of this place. It is an old hunting ground, and we chose it for its secrecy.
Tieran bobbed his head and added, We will need to flee. We cannot possibly take on so many. Our allies are scattered.
Everyone began to speak at once. Each giving their own expertise on the matter. But Kerrigan saw the truth before anyone else got there. Someone had betrayed their location. There were too many of them to flee on the dragons, and the Red Masks were drawing ever closer.
“It must have been Isa,” Clover growled in frustration.
She’d taken out a loch cigarette, and Hadrian lit the thing for her.
Kerrigan cut through all the other conversation. “Isa?”
Clover looked guilty as her eyes met Kerrigan. “A lot has changed since you left.”
“But Isa didn’t change,” Kerrigan said vehemently. “She’s an assassin who dedicated her life to the Father. Tell me you didn’t trust her.”
Clover wilted under Kerrigan’s gaze. “It isn’t what you think.”
“She rescued me,” Kivrin said.
Kerrigan faced him. “Excuse me?”
“I was in the dungeons under the mountain. I’d been beaten and left to waste away.” He said the words hollowly. “She came for me with some kind of magical artifact and jumped us out of the dungeons. She brought me to Clover and the RFA. Darby helped ease my pain.” He nodded at Darby, who ducked her head slightly. “Though I no longer have the use of my legs, I am out of that mountain hell because of Isa.”
“She did it to prove that she was on our side,” Clover added.
Kerrigan could hardly believe what she was hearing. “And you believed her?”
“It wasn’t an easy task.”
“She likely did it with the Father’s approval to get on your good side. Isa cannot be trusted in any capacity. She tried to kill us. She helped the Father to his position of power.”
“We don’t have time to argue this,” Fordham interjected. “We both know that Isa isn’t trustworthy. They made a different call.”
“And we’re paying for it,” Kerrigan said with a sigh.
“We didn’t believe her at first,” Clover insisted. “But she said she wanted to go against the Father for killing her sister. She’s been feeding us information from inside the mountain. We’ve avoided raids because of her and helped get humans and half-Fae out of bad situations before they were killed.”
Whether or not Isa had been sincere didn’t matter at this point. Kerrigan had been gone. The others had lived the best that they could under the circumstances. She couldn’t judge them for the choices they’d made.
“Do we fight?” Wynter asked. She jutted her chin out, prepared for anything.
Dozan’s eyes slid to her. Kerrigan saw pride there … and something else. “To the end.”
“There’s no way,” Kerrigan said. “Do you not see—”
She was cut off by the booming of Bastian’s voice as he drew ever nearer to their location. He was using some sort of amplifier on his voice so that he could be heard from the distance.
“There is nowhere for you to go and no means of escape,” Bastian called out to them. “The only hope you have is to hand over the traitor, Kerrigan Argon. We will be lenient with the rest of you if you choose to turn her over now.”
Kerrigan’s eyes rounded. He wanted her that badly. She doubted very much that he would give anyone in their midst leniency. He wasn’t going to let them go, and with them going it would be the death of the rebellion. It would be over before it even started.
“We’re not going to turn you in,” Clover said at once, stepping forward.
“Never,” Dozan agreed.
The rest of her friends moved as one, coming between her and the advancing dragon line. Tieran and Netta flanking the party on either side. Even Wynter moved to her defense.
Fordham took her hand. The tether between them drew taut. “He won’t lay his hands on you.”
Kerrigan swallowed back emotion at the loyalty she had from her friends. She didn’t know what she had done to earn it, but she would never take it for granted. And she wouldn’t let them go down for her.
