“Quantum pulse, forty-four minutes after arrival.”
The deck commander’s eyes narrow. “What the hell is that?”
The man raises his pistol, and my heart lurches as he points it square at Scarlett. Scar lifts her hands higher, takes a step back, and through the smoke and chaos and burning sparks, I see that her necklace has begun …
Maker’s breath, her necklace is glowing.
That chunk of Eshvaren crystal Adams and de Stoy left for us in Emerald City is burning on her chest. The light is black, painful to look at, just like the pulse out in the storm.
“WARNING: CONTAINMENT BREACH CRITICAL. EVACUATE DECKS 2 THROUGH 10 IMMEDIATELY. REPEAT: CONTAINMENT BREACH CRITICAL.”
“Kim, didn’t you check them for weapons?” the Terran roars.
“Yessir, b—”
“Well, what the hell is that?”
“I don’t know!” Scarlett cries, backing away. “Please, I don’t!”
“WARNING: CONTAINMENT BREACH UNDER WAY, ENGAGE EMERGENCY MEASURES DECK 11.”
Zila speaks directly to Kim, ignoring everything around us.
“I told you this would not work.”
The Terran lifts his weapon, pointing it at Zila.
“Sir,” Kim tries, desperate now. “They—”
“You’re headed for the brig, Kim!” he roars, thumbing off the safety.
“Hey!”
Oh chakk, that was me.
Time slows as he swings his weapon around toward me, and I see the beginning of the movement as he pulls the trigger.
And though it feels like it takes forever, I only have time for one thought.
I couldn’t bear to watch him shoot them.
I’m glad it’s me first.
BLAM.
6
AURI
I awaken surrounded by the dead. A sea of staring faces, Syldrathi Waywalkers caught in a final moment of fear or pain or defiance, mouths agape, eyes wide. Adults and children are piled together, no longer pinned to the crystal walls above us by the force of the Starslayer’s will.
I lie among them on a floor littered with shards of crystal, catching sidelong glimpses of the bodies through my lashes as I force my aching eyes open, then lose the battle and slam them closed once more.
I can’t sense Kal’s mind.
Everything hurts—every muscle in my body screams, my head pounds. But beneath the throbbing ache, I hear the echoes of the power I summoned—that massive burst of energy pouring through me into the Weapon and out again, running out from my spine, all the way to my fingertips. And the memory awakens something like … exhilaration.
I ignore the pain, focus my thoughts, sending a midnight blue tendril out through the last remnants of the Way walkers’ dying screams. It’s like searching for one particular tree in a thick, overgrown forest. But even the faintest hints of those screams are fading now, and my silver-laced blue finds nothing, nothing, nothing.
He must be too far away.
I must be too weak.
The last thing I remember is the Weapon firing—that colossal burst of energy meant to destroy the sun, and Earth and everyone on it. I couldn’t stop it, but I tried to turn its energy inward, to protect the fleet around us, to protect the planet, its sun, to stop …
… Caersan.
The Starslayer.
I scramble onto all fours, heart pounding and head swimming with just that effort, my own breath harsh in my ears as I fight to stay upright.
The man responsible for the murder all around me is close, lying at the foot of his crystal throne, his red cloak splayed around him. He’s stirring groggily, braids thrown back to reveal the ruined side of his face. The glow of his eye shines through the spiderweb of scars along his temple and cheek, as if he’s lit from within. The light pulses softly, maybe in time with his heartbeat, and I sit back on my haunches, lifting one hand to the right side of my own face. The skin feels rough beneath my fingertips.
I can’t sense Kal anywhere.
Then his father’s mind brushes up against mine, the dark red of dried blood, and a gold that’s too like Kal’s, and his eyes snap open, focusing on me.
He did all of this. He’s responsible for every drop of this blood, this destruction, this pain.
And as our eyes meet, he smiles.
I’m moving before I have time to think—I grab a sharp shard of crystal and push up like a runner coming out of the blocks, lunging for him like I’m going to stake a vampire.
He surges up to one knee to meet me, and his backhand sends me stumbling into the throne, the world whirling by—I grab at it to stay upright, and he’s swaying too, dark purple blood dripping from his nose, his lips drawn back in a snarl now.