Rebel Born (Secondborn #3)(89)

“Cherno, will you help Ransom through?” I ask.

“No.” Cherno crosses his arms over his chest. “I’m not leaving here until you do.”

I glance at Reykin. Before I can say a word, he crosses his arms, too. “Don’t even ask, Roselle. You have to leave before me.”

“You’re both stupid,” I reply, letting Ransom lean on me. “Don’t forget to incinerate the place on your way out.”

They both grin evilly. “We won’t forget,” Cherno replies, holding up an ignition switch.

“I can make it on my own, Roselle,” Ransom says, pulling away.

“You’re sure?” I ask. He nods and walks unsteadily toward the transporter, dematerializing after he steps into it.

“Shall we go together, Roselle?” Clifton asks, presenting me with his arm. Something in his expression reminds me of the night our engagement was announced. The way he’s looking at me now is the same way he looked at me then—like I’m his.

“Thank you, Clifton.” I take his arm and slide mine into the crook of his elbow. Together we walk through the archway of the transporter, arriving almost instantly aboard the Sozo One. Hammon greets us in the cargo bay, where I had the mirror of the other transporter installed a few days ago.

She’s holding Ransom’s arm, helping him toward the waiting medical staff. My volunteers are also being examined. Ransom’s loaded onto a hoverstretcher. I know he’s okay, but they want to make sure he’s not inhabited anymore. He’s not. As soon as he awoke from Crow’s control, I disabled his temporal-lobe device. Spectrum can no longer infiltrate him. I haven’t told him yet, but I will. When Crow attacked Ransom’s mind, Ransom delivered the false information I had planted inside him. Seeds of misdirection. Crow will believe that I plan to bring my army to the Fate of Virtues to face him. With any luck, he’ll shift his forces there.

Clifton leans his mouth near my ear. “Have you come to a decision yet?”

“Yes. I’ll do it. I’ll restore your strength if you promise to protect Reykin.”

“Done. When will you heal me?”

“Before our mission this evening. I’ll meet you in your quarters. We’ll do it there. Tell no one.”

If he’s surprised, he doesn’t show it. “You have nothing to worry about, Roselle. You can trust me.”

“I hope so,” I reply.

“Please excuse me while I go to the control room to witness the demise of my home.”

“You’ll build a new one—a better one.”

“I already have plans to create something lovely for you,” he replies softly. He kisses my cheek, offers a slight bow, turns, and faces Hammon and bows to her as well. “Ladies,” he says, and heads in the direction of the control room.

Hammon gawks after him. “He’s something, isn’t he?” she says with a glazed-over look.

“Yes, he is.”

Her attention returns to me. “I’ve sent your other people on to the infirmary to get checked out. Rogue and Phoenix are in your quarters. Where’s Reykin?” Nervously, she stares at the transport apparatus behind me.

“He and Cherno have this chivalry thing going on, where they each have to be the last to leave a dangerous situation. They can’t help it. Plus, they wanted to blow up Crow together.”

“Completely understandable,” she replies.

She leans her shoulder against the vessel’s transparent wall. We both stare at the ocean outside. Hammon worries a strand of her long dark hair. It reminds me of when she was a mechanic and we waited for airships to return to the hangar.

“Clifton gave us the signal before you arrived,” she says. “My man’s about to open fire on Crow’s armada. And if I know Edge, he’s grinning from ear to ear.”

She points. Through the glass, I can just make out the enormous sphere of New Gildenzear in the distance. It’s the only sphere around.

Behind me, Reykin and Cherno materialize from the portal. In the next second, New Gildenzear explodes, crushing Crow’s vessels surrounding it. We all stare at the rush of displaced seawater pushing outward from the blast. When it slams us, it rattles the ship uncomfortably. We lean with it, and the force passes quickly. The vessel stabilizes.

“You got him?” I ask Reykin.

His strong arms wrap around me and lift me off my feet. His mouth covers mine in a searing kiss that leaves me breathless. “Yes,” he whispers against my mouth.

“You do know that Crow’s not really dead, right? We need to kill all of him. That was just one needle in a very large haystack.”

“Stop ruining this for me,” Reykin says, kissing me again.

“Ugh, take your slave elsewhere, Roselle,” Cherno comments, pushing past Reykin and me. “Let me enjoy our victory without losing my lunch.”

Reykin sets me on my feet. I watch Cherno’s retreating form. When I glance at Hammon, I see she has tears in her eyes.

“Hawthorne’s dead, isn’t he?” she asks. “You’d never kiss Reykin if he were alive.”

My hands fall way from Reykin. “It’s . . . complicated, Hammon.”

“Just because he has an implant, that doesn’t mean we give up on him!” Hammon growls. “We’re working on finding a way to turn the devices off.”