Raging Sea (Undertow, #2)(80)

“Until I came along and ruined it,” I say, my way of apologizing again.

“You ruined nothing,” Arcade says. “I ruined it.”

I peer through the darkness, trying to read her face.

“So you are in love with someone else?”

“The humans named him Flyer,” she whispers.

“Fathom’s cousin? Does Flyer know?” I ask.

She looks offended. “Absolutely not!”

“Fathom knew,” I remind her.

“It appears I have not hidden my feelings as well as I had hoped.”

“Fathom says he’s out there,” I say, pointing toward the ocean.

She turns and cranes her neck for a better view, as if she might catch a glimpse of him.

“If you love this other guy, why did you threaten to kill me?” I ask.

“You broke the girl code,” she says.

“Wait, you actually know what that means?”

“Bex Conrad explained it to me in the desert. You violated many of its rules. She was quite incensed.”

“So she trash-talked me?”

“I do not know that term. I do know I was angry. You meddled in my relationship and used your disapproval of it as an excuse. That’s against the code.”

I can’t help but laugh.

“I am sorry I broke the code,” I say, throwing my hands up in surrender.

“We have a peculiar friendship, Lyric Walker,” Arcade says.

“I thought we were bitter enemies,” I say, so shocked, I can barely get the words out of my mouth.

“I kill my enemies,” she says. “I will not deny that there are certain things about you that I find trying and—”

“Let’s not ruin this special moment,” Bex interrupts as she crawls over to join us.

“Sorry if we woke you,” I say.

“It’s hard to sleep when everyone’s talking about mating.” She giggles.

“Oh, that’s war, Conrad. Now I’m going to have to say the word you can’t stand.”

“Don’t do it, Walker!”

“Moist.”

“Aaargh,” she growls, holding her hands to her ears.

“Are all humans mentally ill?” Arcade asks.



I’m woken by the sound of helicopter blades whipping the air outside the windows. It’s jarring. The last time I saw helicopters, they had White Tower logos on them, but these are military choppers designed to carry a dozen people. They land in the sand behind the building.

“What’s that about?” I ask when Jackson rushes into the room.

“That’s your ride,” he explains. “We’re going with Kita’s plan. Gather a team of ten and assemble the rest on the beach. We’re taking the prime out today,” Jackson insists. “Hurry, Lyric. We have to get you into the air before they launch another attack.”

I turn to the children and order them to gather. Chloe takes my hand, and we follow everyone onto the beach. With the team spread out before me, I mentally try to organize who should go with me and who should stay behind to fight the Rusalka stampede. It’s hard trying to find the right balance.

Kita meets us on the beach, flanked by a dozen soldiers trying to get his attention. He’s shouting at someone on the phone, demanding more artillery.

He hangs up and turns to face us. “The Rusalka moved closer to shore last night, as did the Undine. They’re trying to give us a one-two punch, hurt us with the angler people, then kill us with the squids. We have to act now if we’re going to have any chance at all,” Kita says. “The plan is to take out the first punch and deal with the second when it arrives. We’re going to do it by putting the squeeze on the Rusalka, dropping you and your team in the ocean behind them. You’re going to drive them forward to the shore, where the rest of your team and my soldiers will take them apart. You attack from your end, and we’ll attack from ours. It’s a classic vise move.”

“We’re going into the water?” Tess asks.

“You can do this, kid,” he says confidently, then turns to me. “You need strong swimmers and good fighters, and do any of you have experience with concussion bombs?”

I almost laugh at his question until I notice that all the children raise their hands.

“Good. You’re leaving in five minutes!”

I look out over all the faces and feel dread creeping up my throat. I try to remember what Fathom said to me. These kids are our only hope, but all I can see is how young they look.

Riley steps forward as if he’s able to hear my uncertainty.

“Tess and Emma, Harrison, Finn, Jonas, Georgia, Eric, Ryan—”

“I am going,” Arcade interrupts.

“That make sense to you?” Riley asks me.

I nod, though I’m not even sure what just happened.

“Yes, that’s fine,” I stammer.

“Good! When we get into the water, we need to focus on the Rusalka who are wearing Oracles. If we can stop them first, the rest will be easier to beat,” Riley says. “You are going to have to kill them. Can you do that?”

Everyone nods.

“Good, because if you don’t, they will kill you. Arcade, will you lead the attack?”

She nods like the answer is obvious.