Somehow, the ship remained intact. What was more surprising was that no one had died. Not even that mortal Nikki had kindly extended her shield over.

The woman was shaking from the crash. A natural response to danger which Nikki found herself suffering from. Her entire body shook and her legs felt like jelly. Her body was going into shock. It was a strange sensation and one she hadn’t experienced for some time now.

It passed moments later.

Nikki found herself looking out the front windscreen. There was nothing but dirt and stone. They really had managed to crash through the top of the mountain.

She took a step forward and slipped, sliding to the other side of the cockpit and coming to a stop next to the surprised Carmin. They must have landed on an angle.

A loud bang rang over the hull. It sounded like someone was trying to punch through the door.

Leo jumped to his feet, running awkwardly to the other end of the ship to see who it was. The answer was clear.

“Are you people insane?” a familiar female voice yelled. “We literally just escaped!”

Nikki allowed herself to fall backwards at the sound of Amneris’ voice. Relief echoed through the room.

Carmin held out a hand and helped the Shifter to her feet. She leaned on the console to stop herself from falling again.

Amneris stormed into the cockpit, seemingly oblivious to the angle they were at, and glared at all of them. Her hands set firmly on her hips as she spoke. “Well, I hope you lot have a plan to get us out instead of trapping yourselves after almost killing us.” She gestured to the way she had come in. “Because, in case you didn’t notice, you have a broken ship. Sure, you killed a couple hundred guards but there will be several thousand here any second!”

Nikki watched in amazement as she stormed out. “Not even a thank you.”

“She always like that?” Ema asked.

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“Yep.”

The group—minus Zoe, Carmin, and Dan who decided to see if they could free the ship—started after Amneris, moving slowly and awkwardly through the ship.

Nikki jumped from the raised ramp, finding herself standing outside the mountain. She whistled at the sight. The ship was half-wedged into the side of the mountain, a portion of the back sticking out of what she assumed used to be the entrance to the prison. There were bodies crushed under the ship itself and some larger pieces of stones. Some were still alive, lying on their backs, dazed.

Nikki nudged a leg sticking out from under the ship. “That happened.”

“No kidding,” Colt said from beside her.

She yelped, “Where did you come from?”

He pointed to where Amneris was arguing—well, yelling—at Leo. It was hardly surprising. They always argued. Over the years, Nikki had decided it was how they showed each other they cared.

“They needed a moment alone,” Colt said.

She nodded. “So, uh, how you been?”

“Dead. You?”

“Queen.”

“Cool.”

Amneris crossed her arms as she reached the pair. “Did you people have a plan to get us out of here or what?”

Nikki grimaced at her tone. “I don’t think anyone thought that far . . .”

“Remind me again why I let any of you into my Court.”

Colt placed a hand on her shoulder. “Be nice, Tali. Your friends came all this way to rescue you.”

“And they’re doing such a good job at that,” she sneered. He sighed.

Zoe, Carmin, and Dan raced to them, the others joining quickly.

Zoe ran a hand through her hair. “Yeah. So. Funny story. I may have overloaded the engine.”

Amneris blinked. “First you crash a ship into a mountain after the people you tried to rescue escape. Then, when you try to free said ship, you overload the engine.”

“Accidently.”

She let out a frustrated cry. “How do you even do that?”

Zoe huffed. “It’s not like I had time to finish construction!”

Amneris sent an ice-cold glare toward Leo.

“How?” he exclaimed.

Her eyes narrowed. “It was either you or Jay.”

Nikki grabbed Amneris and Leo’s hands, dragging them from the group. “You can argue when we’re out of exploding range, okay?” They grumbled something she chose not to hear. “Good. Now get moving.”

The group dashed away from the ship, passing the stirring guards. Few realised what the noise was, quickly following the group out of the danger zone. Others were too confused, dazed, or injured to understand what was happening. Some even went toward the ship, no doubt confused about how it had got there.

“How long do we have?” Carmin called.

“Thirty seconds” Zoe yelled.

She was wrong.

Three seconds later, the very ground shook as a resounding boom! Came from behind. A wave of heat, stone, and ship rushed toward them. Amneris threw a shield around the group – Ema included. She refused to let the guards enter. The Shifter made to tell her to do so, only to recoil at the look on her Queen’s face.

The heat from the fireball begun penetrating the shield. A second, larger explosion sounded. The group were tossed off their feet.