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“Lily, wake up.” My eyes flew open wide to Will hovering over me, concern on his face. “You were dreaming—calling out for Zeph. You okay?” He laid a hand on my forehead. “If you were anyone else, I’d say you had a fever.” Then he dipped a cloth into a basin of water beside the bed and wiped my brow, lingering as he watched me take in the cool moisture. I closed my eyes for a minute to catch my breath and ground myself in the present.
Pushing the dream aside, I wiggled myself into sitting, the pain in my side marginally better—less of a hot poker and more a porcupine quill. The damp towel lay on the floor, tossed off in my restless sleep. My face heated another degree. I pulled the covers up tighter under my arms and took the cool cloth from his hand.
“Thanks. I’ll be fine. How long did I sleep?”
“A couple of hours,” Will replied, his face relaxing. “There’s a big dinner being prepared in one of the ballrooms. Everyone is celebrating before we leave for Vegas. Sam thought it would be good to remember those who didn’t make it and regroup before we moved on. The locals seem pretty happy that Malevich and the Assembly have bailed on the Capitol. There’s kind of a free-for-all down in the streets.”
Will pulled back the curtains, revealing a twilight sky, rosy pink behind the giant clock tower and buildings beyond my windows. We had to be at least twenty or thirty floors from the ground, based on the face of the Old Clock Tower staring back at me, but I didn’t have to look down to sense the frenetic energy from the people in the street below.
“Are those clothes for me?” I nodded toward a pair of military camouflage pants and a black T-shirt laid out on the back of the overstuffed chair near the window.
Will smiled. “Courtesy of the stockroom over at the Navy Pier building. Sam thought we should be dressed like Malevich’s security forces when we hit Vegas.”
In fact, he too was outfitted in the military issue pants and requisite black T-shirt, his chest, shoulders, and hips filling them out nicely. He’d grown and put on some significant definition since we’d met in the spring. Barely past his eighteenth birthday and he’d seemingly transformed into a man overnight. A light scruff of sparse blond whiskers shadowed his chin and upper lip and all I wanted in that moment was to feel them soft against my skin. Goose bumps rose on my arms and I shivered.
“You must be chilly sleeping with wet hair. I’ll step out while you get dressed.” He chuckled. “Maia’s probably standing guard outside the door with instructions to barge in any minute. Nora wasn’t too thrilled when I told her how I’d found you in the shower—or how I’d left you.” Now color rose in his cheeks and he avoided eye contact as he backed toward the door. “I’ll just wait outside...” His words halted when he bumped into a counter top with a sink and a coffee maker. Catching the empty coffee pot before it crashed to the floor, he fumbled it back into place, his ears turning pink.
“I’ll be ready in a minute,” I grinned, folding my knees under my chin, still covered to the neck with blankets. As the door closed, I released a deep sigh. As tough as he was, and as ruthless as I knew he could be, there was a side to him that was all little boy—yet not, I thought, another blush rushing to my cheeks as I stood to dress.
Other than the ache in my side and weakness in my knees, I counted myself lucky. Considering I’d been shot twice in the past month, nearly blown up more times than I could count, and all but drowned on a regular basis, I would say I was doing well. I threw on the clothes, ran a brush through my hair, and took advantage of a new toothbrush, feeling refreshed and almost as good as new by the time I met Will in the hallway a few minutes later.
He escorted me to the ballroom, several floors down. Will filled me in on the details of the raid. According to his report, Sam had managed to recycle an old Superconducting Quantum Interference Device—SQUID for short. It detected energy fields and could disable specified targets. He discovered the frequency the drones flew on, and was able to cripple the fleet in one fell swoop from a safe distance. Similarly, he figured a way to disable the Guardians, frying their circuits remotely once he got close enough to detect their energy signature. Colonel Harris and his people took out the warships, but not without casualties. With Malevich’s main defenses down, the battle turned toward hand-to-hand combat with his army of agents. Thousands of rebels and people along the way joined forces, and Malevich hadn’t stood a chance. Overconfidence and underestimating the determination and skill of his enemy had been his downfall.
Will was still talking when we entered the ballroom. The bustle of wait staff and people chatting loudly quieted when we cleared the wide double doorway. Bo and Pappy trotted over to greet us as cheers erupted. Taken aback by the attention, a slow burn worked its way up my neck and lit my face on fire. I smiled and waved everyone off, but the applause continued for several more minutes while Will and I made our way through the crowd and found a seat at Sam’s table in the front of the room. Nora sat beside him with Maia to her right. Edges softened now that she was cleaned up and relaxed, Maia flashed a brief, guarded smile at me and Will as we sat down across from her. Bo and Pappy curled up on the floor beside me, waiting for a welcoming scratch behind the ear and whatever scrap happened to fall their way.
Colonel Harris from Nashville was there, as well as General McAlister and two other men I recognized from the bunker at Gettysburg—both officers. My heart lurched again, recalling the previous day’s events and the devastation left behind. A familiar voice drew my attention to a group a few tables away. Tyler smiled and waved, while Luke nudged his father. Joe Johnson stared brooding eyes at me and then looked away when I caught his gaze. Sam’s hand on my shoulder brought me back.
“What? Oh, sorry.” A waitress in a snappy pink and purple outfit, dark hair piled high, set a covered plate before me and lifted the lid. The earthy fragrance of herbs and spices, and the sweet, tangy aroma of tomato sauce wafted up to my nose.
“I was just explaining to the general what Will told me about your part in rescuing everyone from the holding room situation. That was very ingenious, putting little Annie’s abilities to good use.” I cringed at the thought that Annie’s abilities were now public knowledge and hoped for her sake that others would accept her and not try to exploit her gifts.
Sam beamed proudly and twirled his fork into the pasta. Convinced none of it was within my control, I sighed and dug in. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d had real spaghetti. I ate while Sam continued. “Thanks to you and Will, we’ve taken out Malevich’s key players. Agent Graves is injured and young Marcus will no longer be a threat. It’s a shame the kid was corrupted by the power Malevich offered him, but it doesn’t sound like your friend Neri had a choice. It was him or Will from what I understand.”
“Right,” I agreed, glancing at Will. The pasta settled into my stomach in a lump. I swallowed and drank from the glass of water in front of me. The last thing I needed was another reminder of my own failure to rise to the occasion when lethal force was needed. Even if Sam’s comment was an innocent one under the guise of being praise, the words stung. I ate the rest of my dinner with less enthusiasm and listened while the men recounted their individual parts in the raid.
Colonel Harris had come up with a regiment from the south, with people from as far away as Atlanta joining the rebellion. General McAlister had led the Midwestern states and Sam commanded the Northeast sector. In addition, Agent Simms had mobilized the Citizen’s Help Organization to set up triage and care for the survivors in Gettysburg. Doctors and nurses were on the ground even now. This news gave my heart a much-needed lift—if only short-lived.
The weight of eyes at my back reminded me that I had set this whole thing in motion and the deaths of so many of the loved ones of the people behind me rested upon my shoulders. I shook off the thought and reminded myself that the true responsibility lay only with Victor Malevich.
With Neri, Baxter, Garnet, and the Slates all safely on their way to eastern Pennsylvania, and the worst behind us, I should have been relieved. But enjoying the party was going to take more than a hearty meal and a pat on the back with Joe Johnson close by and the memory of his betrayal festering beneath the surface. His words when he explained to Tyler, “It was her or you,” came back in a rush. Maybe he’d had the good intention of setting Graves up to be taken down by the Network, but he’d still used me as bait and his plan had failed miserably. How Sam could trust the man was beyond me.
I’d just finished my last bite when Tyler came up and stood beside me. “Hey, Lily. Can we talk?”
Incredibly happy to see him, I was on my feet and hugging him tightly before he finished asking the question. His arms came around me slowly and I sensed his discomfort with the closeness, but I didn’t care. He had become like a little brother to me and having him be alive and unharmed had me squeezing him like a stuffed teddy bear.
“Definitely.” I turned to Will and then nodded to Sam and the others. “Thank you all for the kind words. Please excuse me. I need a minute with my friend.” With a smile and a nod, I left Will out of the invitation. He appeared curious, but seemed to understand Tyler’s need to speak with me alone.
I left the wolves enjoying a supper of some large animal bone, dripping with meat. Leading Tyler through the crowded room and out into the hallway, I said nothing until we were alone. Tyler pulled me off to the side toward a small sitting area away from foot traffic and noise.
Curious and growing nervous, I finally pushed him to talk. “What is it?”
Tyler’s expression turned stony, his coffee brown eyes stark and serious. “I know what Malevich is planning, and we have to stop him—tonight.”
