Ari ran faster, and the flames of destruction in the near distance illuminated a large, swiftly moving shadow. A taneen. A really big one from the size of its legs. The great desert lizard was sniffing her out, had probably caught her scent a mile away. It paused when it saw her, crouching low. Ari eyed the creature and recognized the broken plating.
“Big Mama?” her voice scratched. “That you?”
The taneen pounced, knocking Ari down, and she waited for the moment when its enormous needle teeth pierced her in a hundred places at once. Instead she got a great wet tongue across her arm and shoulder. Two people slid down from Big Mama’s back. Val and Gwen threw their arms around her.
“How long was I gone?” Ari said, ready to hear some Nin nonsense—that they had been separated by months or miles.
“A very miserable hour,” Val said, finally letting her out of the hug. “Long enough for us to assume the worst. We didn’t know if we should stay where we came out in the dunes or make our way toward the city. Then the freakin’ dragon found us.”
“We told her to find you,” Gwen said.
“Oh, no.” Val held his hands up. “I didn’t approach the terrifying Ketchan dragon. That was all Gwen.”
Gwen held on to Ari, radiating nerves. “What is it?”
“Remember before we left, she had those eggs? She’s alone now. Her…” Gwen’s voice choked, her own loss vibrating through Big Mama’s. “Her babies are gone.”
“We’ll find them,” Ari said, speaking of the hatchlings, but also of their little one.
“What if Mercer—”
“Mercer doesn’t kill things they can sell.” It wasn’t exactly comforting, Ari knew, but it was true.
Gwen took the sides of Ari’s neck, directing Ari’s face toward her. “What about Arthur?”
“At rest.” Ari closed her eyes. “Finally.”
She breathed out, looking for that place inside that had never been lonely, that had always been a listening ear or a guiding voice. She could feel the change deeply, as if the eternal candle that was Arthur had truly been extinguished and only the waxy-scented smoke remained.
One king gone from the universe, a new one rising to take his place.
One nightmarish lady in the past.
One monstrous corporation destroying this future.
Not to mention one unforgiving time lock.
Gwen could sense Ari’s fear. “What is it?”
“Later,” Ari said, squeezing Gwen’s hand. “We have to search for survivors.” Her words were eclipsed by a blast of sound and ferocious spin of air. A shuttle pressed down on them out of nowhere, landing hard in the sand so close to Big Mama that the taneen went wild, biting at the air, clawing toward the vessel.
The very familiar vessel.
“That’s not Mercer!” Val shouted.
The headlights on the ship blinded them at first, and then lowered to a humming glow that illuminated the craft. Ari’s gaze traveled to the spot beneath the cockpit’s viewscreen. To the hand lettering Kay used to risk his life to touch up once a year. He’d shimmy into his old space suit, heading into the void with a fraying tether and a worn-out marker.
ERROR
The ship had dropped from the dark skies as if it had been looking for them. Ari thought of her moms and went wild with hope. “Whoa!” she yelled at Big Mama, who was beginning to butt the tiny starship. “Whoa!” She’d been gone too long; this taneen was no medieval horse.
When the cargo door opened, two silhouettes waited on the loading dock. Ari knew instantly that neither of these people were Mom or Captain Mom; still she ran with Gwen and Val toward the open door, caution thrown aside.
She recognized Jordan first.
No longer mortally injured or forced into a handmaiden’s dress, Jordan seemed taller, broader, and stronger than ever. She wore half of her armor from Lionel, as if she’d kept the pieces she truly needed and tossed off the rest.
Ari didn’t recognize the other person, but something about this big, tall, curvaceous warrior with brown skin and long black hair was beyond familiar. Ari thought she looked like… but no, that was impossible.
Gwen threw her arms around Jordan.
Ari hugged both of them. “I have never been so relieved to see you. And Error.”
“Thank the gods you’re alive,” Gwen cried, kissing Jordan’s cheeks.
“Alive and in a very real hurry,” Jordan said, beckoning them in. “Where are the others?”
Val and Ari exchanged looks. Gwen spoke solemnly. “Lam stayed behind. Merlin is… taking care of the baby in a safe place… for now.”
Jordan nodded once, but Ari saw the sudden bright sadness of Jordan’s eyes. She closed the door, and Ari chased her toward the cockpit.
“We can’t leave Big Mama. The city is on fire.”
“She’ll be fine in the desert,” the newcomer said, right behind her. “We’ve been monitoring her since Mercer arrived. You don’t even want to know how many associates she’s eaten.”
“I’d love to know.” Val was looking from the new person to Ari and back again in a way that made Ari want to elbow him.
Jordan rushed Error into the sky, and then through the atmosphere to space.
Ari scanned the view for a black or white Mercer ship, her old habits sliding into place like muscle memory. “Where are they?” she muttered.
“Gone,” Jordan said. “They made their point. You’re lucky you arrived when you did. Had you been here earlier, you would have returned during the worst of it. The planet was overtaken by them.”
“How did you know how to find us?”
“This is the spot where I came through the portal weeks ago. We’ve been scanning the dunes for days. I knew you’d come back when your people most needed you.” She glanced at Gwen before adding, “I won’t make the situation sound better than it is—”
“Have you ever?”
Jordan ignored Val, throttling faster as Error charged through space. “Mercer took most of the Lionelians. And your parents, Ari. They
