{Earth}

“Okay. Everybody remain calm but haul your asses to the safest point in the stronghold. Now.” Chris didn’t like this shit one bit. It raised his hackles and set his teeth on edge.

Karter and Jack burst from the dinner table.

Ross went to clear the plates, but the young King Regent stopped her with a gentle touch. “We’ll get it later.”

Caedes appeared in the entryway after his impromptu nap. “Did I hear that right?”

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After Chris’s confirming nod, the Icarus took up a guard post on the redheaded Progeny.

Tameka collected Pax from his spot at the table. He trembled in her arms, and Chris hated it. The young mother soothed, “Don’t worry, baby. Daddy built this place to withstand eons. We’ll be safe—”

War couldn’t prepare them for the thunderous boom and crack of busted rock. Miles and miles under the desert. No one could predict this. Now, no one could save them.

Chris snatched Jack into the nearest archway and crouched over him. In horror, he watched as Karter knocked Ross out of the way and disappeared under the debris. “NO!!!”

“Get down!” Caedes threw himself over Tameka and Pax. They watched terrified as slab after slab of carefully honed rock collapsed on the mighty Icarus.

Worst. Case. Scenario.

The stronghold’s entrance, deeper than bedrock, collapsed and caved in.