Relia’s master had the same broad-shouldered build as in his videos. He even wore the same tight-fitting black T-shirt. Close-cropped silver hair framed his face, and a day’s worth of stubble covered his sharp jawline.

Akari had half-expected to find a caveman, considering how long he’d been trapped here. Apparently, hair didn’t grow in ice chambers.

His eyes were closed, and a dozen restraints held his body in place. Some were steel, but others were solid black. Were those the unbreakable cuffs Jared had mentioned?

“Hurry,” Kalden’s voice said in her ear. “The Martials are closing in.”

Akari’s heart skipped a beat when she heard Kalden’s voice. Still alive. She stepped forward, reaching out to remove the restraints.

The Grandmaster’s eyes shot open, and she staggered back. He twisted his head both ways, and the black collar broke off from the chamber. Then he stepped forward, snapping the steel restraints like tree branches.

He straightened his back and stretched his arms, towering over Akari by more than a full head. His brown eyes darted left and right, taking in the cell’s white brick walls. Footsteps echoed down the hall as the Martials closed in.

His gaze settled on Akari. She took another step back, raising her hands in surrender. “Um—I freed you?” Her words came out like a question, which made her sound like a stereotypical teenage girl. Her cringe completed the image.

The Grandmaster rubbed at his eyes as if to clear them. “Emeri?”

What the hell? That was her mother’s name, but her mother had never left this island.

“No, I’m Akari.”

He hummed in consideration. “Yes, I suppose you are.” There was a short pause as he cleared his throat. I’m Elend Darklight.” He gave her a shallow bow, then his lip quirked when he saw her feet. “Ah, so that’s how it is. They sent an unshod girl to interrogate me.”

Akari glanced down at her socks. Seriously? That was his first question? Her chest was still heaving from the previous battles. Whenever she closed her eyes, she saw Jared’s broken face, and the trail of blood pouring from Viv’s torso. She didn’t give a shit about her missing boots.

“You’ve been frozen for half a year,” Akari told him.

His smile faded, and his shoulders sagged with the weight of her words. “And my crew?”

“The Martials killed the knowledge artist,” Akari said. She’d already forgotten the boy’s name, and she didn’t bother guessing. “Happened a few weeks after they captured you.”

His eyes hardened, and his skin glowed blue with his Cloak technique. He worked a finger between his neck and collar, trying to pry it free.

Nothing happened.

He tried again with the cuffs on his wrists and got the same result.

“And Relia?” he asked.

Akari fought down the urge to stare at her feet. “She came here to get you, but the Martials set a trap . . .”

“Where is she?” he demanded.

Akari shook her head. “I saw them cut her throat. They—”

“Take me to her. Now.”

She glanced at the cuffs on his wrists and ankles. “Can you fight with those on?”

“Won’t be a problem,” he said. “Impedium only blocks ninety-nine percent of all mana.”

Well, she hoped to Talek he was right. Akari pressed the button on her transceiver. “You still there?”

“Still here,” Kalden said. “You’ve got about forty Martials waiting for you in the corridor. They have grenade launchers, Missile rods, and—”

The Grandmaster strode through the cell’s doorway.

Chaos followed, as expected. Akari took cover in the cell, covering her ears as a hundred explosions and gunshots sounded in rapid succession.

Silence followed, and she peeked through the doorway to see the Grandmaster standing unharmed amid clouds of smoke. Bodies littered the floor around him. Half the lights had broken, and burn marks scorched the floor and walls.

“Woah,” Kalden said in her ear. “Did you see that?”

“Yeah,” Akari muttered. She actually hadn’t seen anything, but she wanted him to hear her voice.

Talek. And this was one percent of his total power?

The Grandmaster—or Elend Darklight, as he’d called himself—walked down the hall, and Akari scrambled to keep up through the sea of bodies. There was more Martial than tile at this point, and she practically hopped between the clear spots.

They reached the main corridor, where more Martials attacked from the left.

Elend raised a hand, and a solid brick wall appeared between them and the enemy. It matched the prison walls perfectly.

“What the f—” Akari trailed off, then began again. “What aspect is that?”

“Dream mana.” Elend fired a red Missile down the opposite hallway. The mana warped as it flew, growing a head, limbs, and a freaking tail. Akari blinked, and the transformation was complete. A raptor charged toward another group of Martials. Scales and feathers covered its body, and it looked as real as the ones they’d fought in White Vale.

Dream mana. So these were just illusions?

The Martials hit the creature with a storm of bullets and Missiles. Their bullets glanced harmlessly off its scales, and the Missiles turned to mist.

Very durable illusions.

The raptor reached them a second later, closing its teeth around one man’s arm. A scream of pain followed as he collapsed on the floor, staining the white tile with his blood.

The Grandmaster didn’t even pause. “They’ll be fine. None of it’s real.”

The raptor began conjuring Missiles in its claws, attacking more of the retreating Martials. Angels above. Now his Missiles were shooting Missiles. And this was still just one percent of his total power?

They kept walking until they reached the security booth. Kalden unlocked the door and stepped outside, raising his hands in a non-threatening gesture.

“That’s Kalden,” she hurried to explain. “He’s with me. Kalden, this is Elend, the Grandmaster.”

Elend gave him a curt nod. Kalden responded with a deeper bow, then he passed Akari her boots and hoodie. The Grandmaster just kept on walking, and she didn’t have time to put them on.

“Where’s Frostblade?” Akari asked Kalden as they walked.

“He just left with the others. They’re probably outside.”

Too bad. She’d been hoping to see a dream raptor bite off his arm.

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Their route took them past Jared and Viv’s bodies, but Akari didn’t look. Escape first, mental breakdown later.

They rounded the next corner into Relia’s cell, and the mana chamber was dark and smoking.

“Damnit,” Kalden muttered. “They actually overloaded it.”

Elend strode forward without a word. His fingers wrapped around the lever, but it didn’t budge. He pulled harder, snapping it off its hinges.

Akari glanced at Kalden, and she saw her own worry reflected on his face. Were they too late?

The Grandmaster held out his hand, gathering pure mana in his palm. Akari braced herself for an explosion, but the mana formed into a Construct instead. It was small—about the size of a knife or dagger.

He drove the weapon into the chamber, slicing the steel hinges like chunks of cheese. Relia fell backward through the open doorway, still tangled in the metal net.

Elend dropped the mana dagger and it plunged straight into the tile floor. He untangled Relia from the net and lowered them both to the ground. The cut on her neck still hadn’t healed, but the blood had frozen over. Icicles hung from her braid, and her skin was purple with frostbite.

“I have healing potions,” Kalden said as he unshouldered his bag.

Elend grabbed the bag, but he didn’t open it. Instead, he used it as a pillow for her head.

“Come on, lass.” He pressed a hand to her forehead and closed his eyes. “You’re not dead yet.”

Nothing happened for several heartbeats. Akari glanced at the walls and ceiling, wary of another trap.

“Come on!” Elend raised his voice, forcing his mana into her forehead. “You can do this.”

Relia’s body shone with a familiar green-gold light. Fresh skin closed around her neck wound, and the purple faded from her skin.

Elend gave a weary smile. “She’ll be fine.” Then he looked up and met Akari’s eyes. “I’ll defer to you for our next step.”

Akari wasted no time before dropping the burden on Kalden’s lap, and he summarized the past few months, including Relia’s time as a fugitive and how they’d met. Finally, he explained how they’d planned to take the truck to Keylas and fight their way through any Martials who stopped them.

“Not much of a plan,” Elend said with a frown. Still, he seemed much calmer now that Relia was safe.

“Yeah.” Kalden gestured to Relia. “This was her idea. Minus the ambush.”

“I told her to stay on the beach,” Elend said. “To get help if something went wrong. I should have known she wouldn’t listen.” He gathered Relia in his arms, then draped her over his shoulder as if she were a small child.

“Well then. Let’s get out of here, shall we?”

~~~

Kalden followed the others outside the cell. These hallways had been so sterile when they’d first arrived. Now, corpses covered every square foot—prisoners and Martials alike. Sirens echoed beyond the walls, along with the muffled voice of someone speaking through a megaphone.

Could they really survive this battle? Even with the Grandmaster on their side? Half the Martials on Arkala must be waiting out there. The rest would be guarding Keylas, or the roads between.

He doubted they could kill Elend tonight, but what about Akari and him? One mistake, and this was all over.

Jared and Viv lay among the sea of black-clad bodies, indistinguishable from the Martials. And that was exactly how the media would spin the story. Just two more people who’d died at the Fugitive’s hand.

We’re coming back, Kalden reminded himself. No matter how long it took, he and Akari would return to this island and free everyone. And if Jared and Viv had families, he’d make sure they learned about their sacrifice.

Kalden was still surveying the scene when the lights snapped off, shrouding the hallway in pitch blackness.

“Huh,” Elend’s voice said from nearby. “Took them long enough.” An amber-colored flame sprang to life in his palm, chasing away the darkness. It was several times brighter than a real fire. Brighter than a flashlight, even.

Elend looked down the hall to their right. “I’m guessing that way’s the front door?” His ‘torch’ flickered in slow motion, like a flag blowing in a soft breeze. What was that, anyway? Another Construct, like his dagger? His techniques were like something out of a movie—too nonsensical to be real.

Kalden nodded. “That’s where we came in.”

Elend dropped his torch, letting it float like a balloon in midair. Then he fired a volley of red Missiles down the hall. The Missiles warped into a full pack of red raptors, charging toward the exit at full speed.

“That ought to keep them busy,” he said as he retrieved his torch.

They might get out of the prison, but could they really make it to Keylas? There was only one road leading to that part of the island. Relia had been confident last night, but Kalden wasn’t so sure. What was stopping the Martials from collapsing the tunnels or blowing up the bridges?

Elend turned around and began strolling away from the exit.

Kalden shot a glance at Akari. She shrugged a shoulder, and they followed him together. Their route took them past the security booth and through another door that Kalden hadn’t seen before. From there, they followed him into a dark stairwell with creaking iron steps.

Elend took the stairs two at a time, and the sound echoed into the vast emptiness above. His right hand glowed with mana as he walked. It formed into some vague mechanical shape, the same way it had when he’d conjured the dagger. But this looked more like . . . a grappling hook?

“Dream mana,” Akari muttered to Kalden as they walked.

“Not this time,” Elend replied from up ahead. “Just a pure mana Construct.”

“So it’s not an illusion?” she asked. “Thought Constructs were all simple shapes.”

“Aye,” he said. “That’s true for you. But Novices rely on their bodies for mana arts. Masters don’t.”

Kalden cleared his throat. “You realize there are helicopters outside, right? They’ll spot us if we try to climb down.”

“I’m counting on it,” Elend said.

The stairs ended with a metal door labeled ‘roof access.’ Elend paused before lowering Relia to the ground. She was still unconscious, but the ice had faded from around her cheeks.

“Stay here,” he said to Akari and Kalden, meeting each of their eyes in turn. “And protect my student. I’m quite fond of her.”

Kalden swallowed thickly, then nodded.

“Good lad.” Elend clapped him on the shoulder and burst through the final doorway.

His clothes blew in the wind as the helicopters closed in. Three spotlights shone down from the sky, painting the concrete roof with pale white light. The Grandmaster conjured a dome of pure mana around his body, absorbing a storm of bullets, rockets, and Missiles. Then he conjured a second layer of mana inside the first.

Two helicopters closed in while the third hovered outside Kalden’s field of vision. Missiles crashed against his outer Construct in a storm of thunder and lightning.

Elend spread out his arms, and the outer shell broke into a dozen smaller pieces. The shards rotated in the air, each one at a different angle. They spun slowly at first, like gears on a heavy machine. Then they picked up speed, spinning as fast as saw blades.

One blade tore a helicopter vertically down the center, and both pieces collapsed into the courtyard below. He struck the second one horizontally, severing the main rotor from the hull.

He threw his grappling hook at the third helicopter—the one Kalden couldn’t see from inside the stairwell. It must have tried to retreat because the rope went taut.

Elend’s boots slid across the concrete, but he widened his stance and Cloaked his muscles. His body glowed with mana, becoming a bright blue silhouette against the night sky. His back shone brighter as he reeled the helicopter in. More bullets rained from above, but the attacks broke against his shield.

The tires hit the roof a second later. Kalden wouldn’t call it a clean landing, but it was soft enough to leave the vehicle intact.

The Martials slid open the metal doors and leapt onto the roof. Some ran for the cover of the stairwell while others trained their weapons on the Grandmaster.

Kalden activated his mana shield while Akari readied a Missile. Fortunately, their efforts weren’t needed. The Martials had barely taken two steps before Elend released a storm of Missiles. His mana seemed to aim itself, and the Martials dropped like insects. That included the man in the helicopter’s cockpit.

Elend nodded at his work, then he gestured toward the stairwell. The spinning rotors drowned out his voice, but Kalden could still read his lips. “Get in!”

Kalden released a long breath as he gathered Relia in his arms. He’d expected her to be light like Akari, but her muscles were like iron despite her slender frame.

He followed Akari across the roof, then they all climbed into the open cabin. Like all Martial helicopters, the hull was solid black with a long profile. Machine guns protruded from either side, and the cabin had enough seats for half a dozen troops. Kalden also spotted a gravity generator behind the last row of seats. They could use that to lighten the load, or to move heavier objects.

Akari took one of the machine guns, and Kalden secured Relia in the seat beside her.

“Now”—Elend brushed his hands together—“who’s flying this thing?”

Kalden froze, turning to face Akari. “I thought—”

“That was a joke, lad.” His face broke into a grin. “I could use a navigator, though. Never been here before.”

“Oh.” His shoulders sagged with relief. “I can do that.”

They all put their headsets on, and Kalden settled into the co-pilot’s seat. There must have been over a thousand different dials, buttons, and switches—not just on the front console, but on the walls and ceiling, too. It made his car look like a kid’s toy by comparison.

Elend began flipping switches, seemingly at random. “Everyone ready?” His voice came loud and clear over the headset this time.

“All set,” Kalden said.

“Ready,” Akari said from the back.

Elend stretched his left hand out the nearest window, and two dark Missiles flew out from his palm. Instead of raptors, these Missiles warped into a pair of helicopters. Each one was a perfect replica of the one they sat in. And when Kalden peered closer, he even saw another version of the Grandmaster piloting them. The interiors were less detailed than the outer hulls. Not blurry, but more like a general impression rather than the real thing.

One helicopter took off, heading straight over the prison’s courtyard. A Construct appeared below the landing gear, absorbing the storm of Martial attacks.

Elend flicked his wrist, and a second helicopter flew toward the south. More bullets and Missiles followed, but their effort was more half-hearted this time.

Kalden grinned as he imagined their confusion. Relia had kept her master’s aspect hidden until now, and he could see why. The less people knew about these techniques, the more effective they were.

Finally, Elend wrapped his fingers around the steering stick. The vehicle shook beneath them, and they took to the sky.