ional map of Planet Xylos. It was a primordial death-trap, a wild landmass encased by deep

s head as if his skull might fracture from the news alone. "Is th

n. To these kids, a Class-4 beast was a walking ni

4 core through his soul-flame, it would be the absolute perfect catalyst to rebui

lly into Cillian's forearm. Mace swallowed hard, puffing out his chest as he forc

e sheer bravado coming from a guy w

d flight officer droned through the ceiling speakers

s olive-drab paint had been stripped bare by years of brutal re-entries,

ced forward seat behind the pilot console. Kieran simply stepped a

seat near the emergency hatch. Leo strapped in beside him, the poor kid'

ough the hull as the pod ejecte

ic friction. The small viewport glowed a violent, superheated orange. As the craft tore th

pod shudde

nsole flashed a blinding crimson: Warning: Anti-Gravit

ately wrenching the manual controls as the jungle c

e!" Talia shrieked

r erupted across his skin, attempting a partial be

faint, unnatural energy severance within the pod's primary conduit. Someone had deliber

grabbed the hyperventilating Leo by the collar, and shoved the

ad down," Kie

la in the air. A flicker of white flame-the Saint Lotus of Starlight-bloomed invisibly across his palm. I

o

g century-old ironwood trees like dry twigs befor

ose seats from their mountings, tossing the unshielded elite cadets around like rag dolls. The emergency impact foam de

ured engine bay, filling the wreckage

rier, the crash had felt like little more than a bumpy elevator ri

The metal plate flew off its hinges an

ngs. They were deep within the untamed jungle of Planet Xylos. Giant ferns towered twenty

de the wreckage. If he hadn't subtly absorbed the worst of the

ourselves, Kieran thought, rubbing his temples in mild e

ifted from the dense und

ng a heavy, predatory pulse of biological