jum

erstand- just his hand gripping mine, a flash

hing. No ground. No sky. Just

lames swallowed the penthouse. We dropped past broken windows and raining debr

ling out

guiding us in a sharp arc toward the lower levels. Wind tore at my robe. My skin burned from the

of the dome. I collapsed to my knees, gasping, shaking. He s

heezed. "How did y

etracted, folding back in

's when

stuous metal-cold, sharp, and observant. A delicate scar ran from the left cheekbone,

," he sai

n't answer

all you're get

mmering holographic display. My father's seal-golden, imperial-blinked once before be

. "That's... R

"Welcome to the rea

hat word felt

. Secure. Peaceful. Anyone who said otherwise was labeled an

sked, voice raw. "What

ng. Something the surface has no defense against. He's about to releas

er would

You just weren't

argue-but the words d

ces I didn't dare look too cl

w anything,"

We're not

. The Resistance ship-Kael's ride-decloaked in the air ahead, shimmering into view

y wrist agai

t agree

moment you

rm and into the open belly of the ship. Metal

longed to Damon

destroy him... had ju

************

st

ask. But nothing prepared me for watching my world vani

n was

oke, eclipsed by clouds and flames. Somewhere inside that burning

it with the only man who'd

ritted his teeth, adjusted our altitude, and pulled the Nest in

" I asked,

we su

e, then black. Kael activated cloaking. For a few seconds, the pursuin

me before the attack warning. It sat

er gave

't trust many people. But she knew the day w

ques

o you think you've never be

mouth. Clo

tivity" and "environmental instability." My father had a do

er supposed to lea

slid to mine

ing in his face that tugged at my memory like

before?" I as

ands

st time, Ka

But you wouldn't r

swept th

ldn't I

Because your memo

mach. "That cannot happen." My m

curated. Chosen. Your father is obsessed with co

rt, I felt it, I didn't have the courage to believe wha

the side before I had t

"Pursuit vessels reacquired ta

yanked us int

rough the cloud below us. We plunged into a dense fog bank, the world van

flying b

to reach the surface. There's an extraction

s when we la

htened. "That

n

's daughter. Whether you like it or not, you're a key to un

s nothing like my father. But somethi

was involved, even

e clouds. The sky beneath us was thick and

ust from the sky-but from

the truth waiting for me