the walls. Obrilian steel is impervious to magick and my skills are limited.”

We stepped out into the sunlight.

“We have a key, Lorance,” Vesper said. “An actual fucking key, and after we’re done, the stalemate will be broken. The Draco will finally fall, the Dreki will prevail, and humanity will be free.”

His optimism was a fire in my chest, the air beneath my boots. This was why he was in charge, why he was a general of an army. He made me feel like anything was possible. Fuck, he probably lured Dreki to their deaths with a similar speech.

Anya, I’m with you.

Azazel.

I dropped back a little to speak to him. “Can you take the leyroads?”

No. But I’ll find you. I always do.

And then he was gone, and we were on the other side of the settlement. Wex and Yasra were waiting for us along with two other guards I didn’t recognize.

Helgi broke away from me and ran toward the warehouse to pick up the walkie-talkies.

Vesper greeted the guards, huddling in to talk to them in low voices, and then Helgi was back with the tech and we continued out of the settlement into the barren land beyond.

Wex fell into step beside me. “It seems we may be fighting together sooner than expected.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.” I gave him a tight smile. “Combat will mean we fucked up.”

“The Draco have eyes everywhere. To get in and out of Sector 8 without cargo would be a feat; to get out with a horde of humans without alerting their security will be a miracle.” He touched the hilt of his sword. “Best to accept there’ll be conflict of some kind.”

I hated to admit it but the Dreki guard had a point. “Well, in that case, I’m in good company.”

His gaze warmed. “That you are, that you are.” He looked up suddenly, as if summoned, and then inclined his head and picked up his pace to join Vesper and Yasra.

“Do you think all Dreki are this hot?” Helgi asked. “It’s making my cunny hungry.”

“I thought you were into cunny not cock right now.”

“A woman can have both, at the same time if possible. You think that Talia would mind getting licked out? Have you seen her tits?”

Yeah, Helgi needed to get laid, and soon.

“I am not having this conversation with you, but yes, yes, I have. They’re voluptuous for sure.”

Helgi held out her hands as if about to pick some hefty fruit. “More than a fucking handful for sure.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Link hands,” Vesper ordered from up ahead. “Everyone needs to be connected.”

I linked hands with Helgi and she took hold of Bran until we were all connected.

Vesper walked up to me. “Maybe you should give me the key.”

I gave him a cool not-a-chance smile. “The key stays with me.”

He shrugged. “In that case.” He laced his fingers through mine. A tingle ran up my arm and settled at the crook of my neck. He locked gazes with me. “Do not let go.”

The warning was for everyone, but with his cobalt gaze fixed on me it felt like he was speaking only to me, that his concern was only for me. And then he took a step forward, tugging me with him, and the air seemed to melt and part, taking the dusty landscape with it. The atmosphere was suddenly fragrant and intoxicating. The ground beneath my boots was soft—an earthy path bordered by lush greenery and blooms.

Vesper’s grip on me tightened, and I realized mine had gone slack. “Just a few more steps. Do not let go,” he ordered.

I tightened my grip on Helgi.

Vesper pulled me along, past bright red and violet blooms and into a heady stream of pollen that made my mouth taste funny.

I caught a flash of movement to my left.

“Keep walking. Do not look at anything off the path,” Vesper warned.

The thing behind the flowers had eyes.

But the world was melting again, and my next step brought me onto the barren, rocky terrain of the Outlands.

I sucked in a sharp breath. “That was intense.”

“We go on foot from here,” Vesper said. “Five miles till the next leyroad. We’ll make camp until nightfall, then take the road directly into Draco territory.”

Five miles was nothing to me and Helgi; we’d trekked much further in our lives. Five miles was a stroll, and Vesper’s fingers were still laced with mine. I looked down at our joined hands.

He followed my gaze. “Your hands are rough,” he said. “Like a guard’s.”

“And how many guards have you held hands with, exactly?”

His eyes crinkled with humor and he released me.

We set off across the hard-packed earth. Mountains rose up in the distance, cutting patterns against a clear blue sky. The Outlands had a deadly beauty of their own, but to us Skins it was home, and boy did it feel good to be back.

“Feels good to be back, doesn’t it,” Helgi said, echoing my thoughts.

“It’s fucked up that I missed it.”

“I don’t know how you do it,” Lorance said, falling into step beside us. His gait was graceful and effortless, arms folded so his hands were tucked into his sleeves. “I hear it’s freezing at night.”

“It can be,” Helgi said. “But that’s what a good fire is for.”

“I’m still stunned by this development. I feel the mageri should have been informed.”

His tone was more than a little miffed and totally at odds with the groveling one he’d used on Vesper earlier.

I threw him a glance. “Maybe take that up with Vesper. But the key is mine; we’d have used it regardless.”

“Against Lord Vesper’s wishes?” He looked horrified.

“I work for me, and I don’t take orders from anyone—unless they’re paying, of course. And even then, I do the job on my terms.”

“Ah, yes, you’re a hired hand.” He said the words as if they were dirty.

I leaned in. “And you’re a mageri.” I put the same inflection on his status.

He tucked in his chin. “I apologize, I didn’t mean to sound judgmental.”

“Try harder,” Helgi said.

Bran

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