Natalie had to dodge two more soldier groups on her way toward the town. Neither had found a hideout, and they were accompanied by awakened whom she didn't recognize. She hid from them or leapt through the trees above, while Gwen and Scrappy stalked around, silent as the still air hanging in the forest.

  There was no wind, no rain. The whole place felt eerily still, always reminding her that she wasn't moving — that others were getting closer to her father while she waited.

  Patience. Do not make a tactical error by rushing our movements.

  I know. I can wait. I just…

  We will find him.

  As Natalie got moving again, her other fears resurfaced — a long suppressed anxiety she'd been ignoring for months and months, as the possibility seemed so incredibly remote. Suddenly, she was faced with a possible reunion, the first time she would speak to her father since nearly a week before the fight against Omega, when Rallsburg had been torn apart.

  What do I even say? I… I don't know what he's like anymore.

  The words will come.

  What if he… when he realizes I'm awakened. Will he say no? He might tell me never to to use it, to not speak to Gwen or Scrappy or Percy, to be normal.

  He cannot command us.

  He's my dad. He's in charge. He's always trying to do what's best for me.

  What he believes to be the best may not truly be what is best for us.

  But—

  Focus, Natalie. Save him first. Determine the rest later.

  Why does everyone want to kill him? Haven't enough people died already?

  The voice did not answer, and Natalie knew why. She already knew the answer to that question, as much as she refused to admit it. She kept riding forward, a little slower now since Gwen was starting to get tired. It had been a long day, stretching into an even longer night. The moon still shone in the sky, and the forest continued to chirp and buzz around her, welcoming her back to her home.

  And she was home. These, more than any other forests she'd been in all night, were the most familiar to her. She was very close to Rallsburg now, very close to her old house. In fact… if she turned the next corner—

  "...inen."

  The briefest snatch of a word. Natalie froze, looking around. Someone had spoken, far away but still carried on the wind back to her pointed ears. She crept forward the voice as the voice spoke again.

  "It is secure."

  "...the number you usually use."

  "I had to leave it behind."

  "Along with everythin' else."

  "Yes."

  Natalie's eyes widened. The first voice was Riley, certainly, though her voice was as cold and rigid as ever, more Rook than she'd ever been. The second… a voice she hadn't heard since Rallsburg — Rook's old partner.

  "Think you were right," said Viper through the phone.

  "I am sorry."

  "Fuck. I… I trusted him."

  "Malton has shown us who he truly is. I recognized it long ago."

  "Yeah, I know. Tess, I wish I'd believed you."

  "You believed in your friend. I don't blame you. You have not known me as long."

  "I believed in him. I trust you with my life. He's a friend, you're family. That's a big fucking difference. I fucked up."

  "Stefen, you did nothing wrong." Riley's tone stayed in its typical cold and terse style, but Natalie heard something else in it. "You stayed loyal and weathered the storm."

  Natalie knew she should keep moving, knew this was none of her business and didn't affect her in the slightest… but something about Riley's voice, about what Natalie had just learned, kept her rooted to the spot.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  So Riley's the reason Jeremy and Lani aren't partners anymore, but she's also a bystander in this other partnership between Viper and Malton. I guess… she just breaks up everyone. That must be so depressing.

  These men all caused their own grief. The blame cannot be laid solely at her feet.

  I'm not saying that… I just— I wouldn't want to be her. I think she's just trying to get by, like me.

  "And now it's all over. Malton fucked up way too far."

  "Do you mean the destruction of lab two?"

  "He tried to trap Grey-eyes."

  Riley didn't speak right away. Even she seemed shocked. Natalie, for her part, was dumbfounded — somebody tried to hurt Grey-eyes? Were they insane?

  "Waited for her to awaken Kleiner, then tried to taze her, the idiot. That's not… that's not the whole story though. It's that, it's tellin' my men to kill the Silverdale girl against my orders, it's everything he's done. Corny's just gone. I don't know who he is anymore."

  "Suolaa maaperään."

  "I'm too fuckin' tired, Tess."

  "The earth is salted. Malton has cast us all aside for his ambitions and reached further than he ever should. Leave, Stefen."

  "Just like that?"

  "You have not asked me why I left."

  "Don't need to. I trust you, like I said. If you had to leave, I'm not stoppin' you."

  Riley smiled, and her voice changed ever so faintly to reflect it. "The world is changing, Stefen. You do not deserve to die amidst the dying embers of the old."

  "Funny, for someone so opposed to the new one."

  She hesitated, and Natalie saw real fear brush across her face, flashing across her ice-blue eyes. Finally, she opened her mouth, lips barely parted. "I'm awakened now," she whispered.

  "...Tess, I thought—"

  "I am surviving."

  "Well… I'm under house arrest in Corny's mansion while they're still investigatin'. Corny will probably get off though. We're actually in guest house. The main buildin's still ripped to shreds thanks to Winscombe. They've got more security on us than the goddamn Queen. Can't move an inch without explaining it to the cops."

  "Are you going to stay?"

  Viper didn't answer for several seconds, with Riley still sitting patiently settled into a tree root with her rifle across her lap. Natalie could see her clearly now — she'd crept up, little by little, during their conversation.

  "Auta minua."

  "...I will come for you."

  Viper hung up. Riley set the phone down. Natalie took a step back, meaning to leave and get back to her original mission — and a tiny branch on the ground snapped.

  Shield us!

  Natalie didn't hesitate — and the voice saved her life. Even as she threw up the shield she'd constructed before, Riley lifted her rifle and took aim. Less than a second from the branch snap passed before Riley pulled the trigger — with aim far superior to her father's men.

  The bullet slammed into her wall with even more force than the previous one. Natalie hadn't had time to grab any gemstones, either. It plinked off and landed on the ground, completely spent of energy.

  Natalie fell to the ground, suddenly drained. The bullet has taken a huge toll on her, especially since she hadn't really recovered from the day yet. She coughed out two words, the only ones which came to mind in her sudden state.

  "Auta minua," she gasped.

  Riley's aim wavered. Her voice warmed up a little. "...Linnethea?" she murmured.

  "...Yeah," Natalie coughed again. "I didn't… I'm sorry."

  The woman got to her feet and crept forward, rifle still in hand. She found Natalie behind the tree, struggling to get up again. "Are you all right?"

  Natalie coughed as Riley offered a hand. "Blocking bullets is… really hard," she gasped.

  She pulled herself back up with Riley's help, a little unsteady but mostly okay. Gwen padded over and rubbed against her, with a faint growl in Riley's direction, but the woman ignore them. She was more fascinated by the flattened bullet on the ground.

  "That's incredible," Riley murmured. "It didn't even ricochet. Completely absorbed."

  "I saw… saw Hailey doing it in London. I thought I might be able to, too." Natalie coughed again, but to her relief, it seemed to be subsiding. Riley was looking around them watching for threats, so Natalie dug into her bag and started pulling out gemstones — and realized with a shock, she'd forgotten all her clothes back at Cinza's home.

  ...I can't really go back for them now…

  "Hailey used wind, I think," said Riley. "Strong enough wind to blow bullets off course."

  "Bullets get affected by wind?"

  "Yes. Over long distances with a strong gust, the wind can change where a shot lands by full meters. It is not perfect, and if Malton's guards were properly trained, they probably could have adjusted to compensate." Riley spoke very dismissively. She obviously had a very low opinion of the guards. "Your method seems much more effective, although more costly. You should work on it."

  Natalie shook her head. "I don't have time. They're…" She trailed off.

  Can we trust her?

  Do you trust your instincts, or what others have told you?

  I've never seen her do anything bad. All I've seen is her helping people. Maybe she used to be worse, but… people change, right?

  You changed. Perhaps she did as well.

  "They're trying to kill my dad," Natalie whispered. "I gotta save him."

  Riley nodded. No questions, just quiet understanding. "How do you plan to do that?"

  "I don't know," Natalie admitted, and the weight of those three words crashed down around her.

  She didn't know. Natalie always felt like she didn't know what was going on. Through awakening and Rallsburg, in the Laushire home and the Kincaid home, at school and around the world—Natalie was always in the dark. There were so many secret things happening around her, sometimes in ways she didn't even know were possible. Everyone talking and planning and plotting and deciding, and Natalie was just… clinging on for dear life.

  Natalie coughed again, and to her relief, it felt like the burst of fatigue and pain was past. She asked, hesitantly, not sure what the answer would be, hoping Riley would understand.

  "Will you help me?"

  "Tottakai." Riley smiled. "Of course I will. You already asked me that."

  Natalie smiled back, though it was with far more reluctance. She turned, and Riley followed, and together, they hurried through the last few layers of trees before the outskirts of the town. As Natalie walked forward, Gwen padding along at her side, she saw the first cracked bits of pavement and gravel. It was the end of Price Road. If she followed it, she'd see the first couple houses just around the corner — or what was left of them.

  They'd arrived in Rallsburg.