I tug at the sleeve of my battle mesh, trying to focus on anything but the heaving motion of the Mudcrawler. The fabric between my fingers is laced with titanium fibers to deflect slicer fire and resist penetration, but I’d rather not put that to the test. Shadow Ripper fangs are reinforced with titanium too, and something tells me they’ll tear right through this material if given the chance.

The Crawler drops suddenly and scrapes against some hidden obstacle, reminding me not to get ahead of myself. First we have to make it to Scilla alive.

“Turning kinda green there, Wil.” Lily’s smug voice rises above the drone of the propulsion jets. She’s sitting next to Cael, facing Vin and me. The dimly lit cabin is so tight that our knees touch. “Still glad you passed on that sea-tab?”

“I’m fine,” I mutter, fighting off a fresh wave of nausea. The recycled air smells of sweat and burnt rubber, which isn’t helping any.

“No you’re not.” She reaches under her seat for the med pack. “And I’m not carrying you ashore, so take the damn pill already.”

When I shake her off, she rolls her eyes. “Were you always this paranoid? Believe me, if I wanted to knock you out, I would’ve done that back on the sub.” She cracks her knuckles. “And I wouldn’t have used a pill.”

That finally earns a chuckle from Vin, who’s been brooding ever since we left Brenne and Astrid. They’re on the other Crawler with Thea, cruising through the dark water somewhere behind us. Unless, of course, they’ve already hit a mine or smashed into a rock. There’s no way of knowing, since we cut all communication an hour ago to avoid detection.

“Hey.” Lily nudges Vin’s knee with hers. “You made the right decision. Brenne will be safer on the other Crawler.”

“Yeah?” Vin crosses his arms. “And how do you know?”

“Because if we hit a mine” – She puffs out her cheeks to mimic an explosion – “then they’ll know which way not to go.”

Vin turns to me, a half-smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Don’t know about you, but that makes me feel a whole lot better.”

Despite the sarcastic edge, I can tell he likes Lily’s answer. Wish I could say the same. Of course I want our friends on the safer Crawler, but it would’ve been nice to hear the real reason why we were separated from the start.

“Then you lied,” I say, shooting Cael an accusatory look. No point in trying to sift for deception with this damn blocking collar on, but I’m still determined to pin him down. “Splitting us up had nothing to do with balancing the weight in each Crawler, did it?”

“No.” Lily’s boyfriend glances up from the slicer he’s been tinkering with for the past fifteen minutes.  “That’s incorrect. If you do the calculations, you’ll find –”

“Don’t you ever give a straight answer?” I snap before he can finish. “I may not be the brilliant engineer here, but even I can figure out Brenne and Lily weigh about the same. You could’ve switched them if you wanted.”

He sets down the weapon, dark blue eyes meeting mine. “True, but we couldn’t all fit in the second Crawler. If we get hit, at least your friends will have a chance to escape.” His gaze shifts from me to Vin, brow creasing like a question mark. “Maybe I misread you, but I thought you both wanted it this way.”

“Of course we do,” I concede, noticing how he just reached for Lily’s hand. If what he’s saying is true, then she’s sacrificing her safety for Brenne’s. Then again, maybe they just want to be together in the end if this turns out to be a suicide mission.

Lily arches her brow. “Then what’s the problem?”

Something about her dismissive tone makes my cheeks burn. “The problem,” I say through clenched teeth, “is that we don’t appreciate being lied to. If you won’t tell us the truth, how are we supposed to trust you?”

“Trust.” Lily draws out the word, making it sound like a taunt. “Well, that cuts both ways, doesn’t it?”

“What?” I squint at her. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m saying you haven’t exactly been honest with us.” She turns to Vin in a slow, deliberate motion. “Come to think of it, maybe he hasn’t even been honest with you. Do you know the real reason why he’s so desperate to return Astrid’s dad to power? Let me give you a hint: Augustin Blake isn’t Gant’s only hostage.”

Vin’s mouth drops open as the significance of her words sinks in. She knows about my sister. But how? I’ve only shared my secret with two people – Vin and Astrid – and neither would betray me. Unless…

“You should have told us about the girl,” Lily continues. “Did you honestly think you could rescue her on your own?

“But how?” I swallow the knot in my throat as shock turns into anger. “How long have you known?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Vin answers with a grunt. “They’ve been spying on us from the start.” He tugs at his blocking collar. “That’s what these are for, right? Bet they’ve been listening to every fragging word we say!”

Cael holds up a hand to calm him down. “That’s not true. We only learned about Wil’s sister when we intercepted Gant’s vid transmissions to York.” When he turns to face me, I’m struck by the genuine sadness in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Wil. So sorry for what that monster’s been putting you through.”

I don’t need to sift to know he means it. The sympathy in his voice drains away what’s left of my anger, leaving only fear in its wake. Hearing someone else acknowledge Gant’s threats only makes them that much more real. He’ll make my sister suffer for my defiance. But how am I supposed to rescue her from the Crypts? I don’t even know if she’s still alive.

“You’ve known all this time.” I glance from Cael to Lily, taking their silence as confirmation. “Then why didn’t you say something sooner?”

Lily sucks in a deep breath before answering. “I wanted to confront you right away, but Thea insisted we wait. She thought you’d share your secret when you were ready.” She frowns, eyes narrowing. “Guess that’s not something a Stalker would understand.”

I turn to Cael, ignoring the jab. “And you agreed with Thea?”

He nods, head bobbing with a sudden jolt of turbulence. The waves are coming closer together now, building in intensity. “Hoped you’d tell us before we reached the landing zone, but it looks like we’ve run out of time.”

“Wait!” I hold his gaze to let him know we’re not done with this conversation. Not when he might have some of the answers I so desperately need, starting with the most important one. “Do you think my sister’s still alive?”

He looks down at his hands, suddenly mute.

“Just tell me!”

“We don’t know,” Lily finally admits for both of them. “But think about it. There’s a good chance she isn’t even real. Gant could have fabricated an imaginary sister to exert control over you.”

“But I saw her!” I protest, thinking of the frightened Settler girl with eyes just like mine. I picture those eyes pleading with me now, pupils swollen with fear. When I squeeze my lids shut, I imagine her high-pitched screams as a ripper tears into her skin.

“What you saw could have been a hologram,” Cael points out. “Or any girl, digitally altered to look like a female version of you. The ‘Great’ One was a master of manipulation, and so is Gant. That’s one of many things they have in common.”

“No.” I clench my fists, remembering how the Prime Enforcer tortured her through dream enhancement. I felt a connection to that poor girl that couldn’t have been imagined. I flinched when she flinched. Felt her terror clawing at the back of my throat. “She’s real. And after we’ve freed Astrid’s father, I will find her. With or without your help.”

Cael and Lily exchange resigned looks. Guess they expected this reaction. “Of course, we’ll help –” Cael starts, but he’s interrupted by the urgent whoop of an alarm. We all turn to the front of the cabin to find our pilot, peeking out from his seat at the helm.

“We’re entering the channel,” he announces in a gruff voice, thick eyebrows drawing together with concern. “Better secure your harnesses. Rough water ahead.”

“How long?” Cael asks as we tighten our straps.

Before he can answer, the Crawler lurches hard to the right, then drops like an anchor. Propulsion jets scream to life as the pilot fights to regain control, the vibrations shaking my body and rattling my teeth like a seizure. I shut my eyes as we flip upside down, scraping against something massive. Metal crunches against rock. Grinding. Tearing. Making the kind of gut-wrenching sound that can only mean one thing: our hull is being ripped open like a tin can. I hold my breath and brace for the crush of water.

But it doesn’t come. After five terrifying seconds, I open my eyes to find we’re right-side-up again and dry, floating in a miraculous pocket of calm. Before I can let out a sigh of relief though, a loud hiss and whirring noise erupts all around us, followed by the gurgle of rushing water. The hull must be breached, but where? I shoot Cael a panicked look.

“Coming from the outside!” he shouts above the chaos. “Crawler’s extending her legs! We just engaged the sea bed!”

His explanation triggers a recent memory. Something about Mudcrawlers being designed to lay cable in the surf zone. Maybe they’re built to withstand this kind of abuse! As if in confirmation, the cabin lurches up and forward, then smashes down with a bone-rattling thud. Lurches, then slams down again. Up, forward, thud… up, forward, thud, repeating the jerking motion until I imagine us advancing, crab-like, toward the shore. The progress may be agonizingly slow, but I’ll take it. When I glance sideways at Vin, he gives me a tight smile and thumbs up sign and I allow myself to think the impossible. Maybe we’re going to make it.

The hope grows stronger with each lumbering motion forward. Rise… crash… We’re going to make it. Rise…. Crash… We’re going to make it.

Ten more powerful lunges and I hear a new sound: a rhythmic hiss and roar, soft and then deafening, each crescendo chased by a physical jolt.

Waves! Crashing against our hull! Even though I can’t see them, I picture the Crawler fighting and clawing its way through the boiling surf. We’re so close now. Against all odds, we’re going to make it.

I whip my head around to face Vin, finally daring to say the words out loud.

They’re still forming on my lips when the explosion hits.

***

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