“And everyone else relies on you.”
“Yeah. Danica changed everything. Having a kid makes your priorities real clear real fast. I won’t let anyone hurt her. But I’m terrified we’re going to lose this war.”
Seeing Nevada so disheartened makes my stomach twist.
“What can I do to help?”
Nevada studies me. “Ellie is going to have her baby anytime now. She’s been having contractions for days. The backup plan is to get her to Tecar’s camp. But if the shit hits the fan and it looks like the Dokhalls are going to take our camp, I need you to be ready to grab Ellie and Danica and hide them. Get them to one of your contacts—I know you have friends on this side of the water.”
“What about Charlie and Dragix?”
“They’re our first line of defense against the Dokhalls. They’ll be our eyes in the sky. Dragix has agreed that if he can, he’ll help evacuate the kids, but if he goes down…”
“Are you sure about this?”
“Yes. You don’t need to hang back during the fight to protect the kids or anything like that—we have people to do that, and backup plans for our backup plans. But if shit gets out of control and the Dokhalls pull something we’re not expecting…”
I gape at her for a moment, and her gaze is steady on my face. I snap my mouth shut. She’s talking about if most of us are dead. If she and Rakiz have fallen in battle. If Charlie and Dragix have gone down. If Terex is nowhere to be found. The thought makes me feel sick. But she’s a mom, and she’s still holding it all together for the rest of us. If this is what she needs from me…
“Okay.”
She nods. “Thank you.”
I blow out a long, shaky breath, fighting back the urge to tell Nevada I can’t do it. That I can’t be responsible for the tiny little life in her arms. I couldn’t save Claire. I couldn’t—”
“Sarissa.”
I blink, and Nevada smiles at me.
“I don’t think it’ll happen, but if it does, you’ve got this.”
“Okay.” I struggle with that and finally push it away. I’ll have a panic attack later. “Back to battle plans. What does Rakiz have so far?”
“He agrees we need to be sneaky. Lining up all our troops and marching on each other is a dumb idea. We’ll need to make a show of force, of course, but we have to thin their numbers, and quickly.”
“We need to start doing that before they get too close to our camp. But we also need to lure them in.”
Nevada tilts her head. “What are you thinking?”
“Let me ponder it for a while.”
“Hey, guys,” a voice says, and I turn my head as Kate and Alexis arrive. My stomach clenches, nerves making my hands shake.
“Spit it out,” I order, and Nevada laughs.
Alexis gives me a look, but she doesn’t keep me hanging. “The AI system works. The chip has given us back full control of the ship.”
I stare at her. Relief, excitement, and something that feels a lot like despair are all warring within me, ripping me apart.
“You’re sure?”
Alexis narrows her eyes at me, and I wave my hand.
“Sorry, of course you’re sure.”
Alexis would never risk our lives if she didn’t think we’d make it.
Kate sits down next to me on the grass and smiles down at Danica. “We’re aiming for a hub planet called Brexos. The ship has research capabilities and provided us with a bunch of different options. Brexos is full of mercenaries, and weapons from across the galaxy. We’re going to need ships, money, and training, and according to the AI system on our ship, Brexos is our best bet.”
“How are we going to afford all that?”
“Makayla convinced Dragix to save his scales for us. We’ll use some of them in the battle, but apparently, even more developed planets have a need for dragon scales, and we can sell them when we arrive.”
“Wow.” This just got real.
Nevada tilts her head. “You don’t need to go, you know. Seems like you and the commander are finally on the same page.”
Clara and Makayla enter the clearing. Clara’s eyes widen as soon as she sees us, and she stalks toward us, her brow furrowed. Makayla follows at a more leisurely pace, flashing me a grin from over Clara’s shoulder.
“What’s the deal?” Clara asks, and Kate reaches up, squeezing her hand.
“We’re leaving.”
It’s like all the tension goes out of Clara’s body, and she folds like a puppet that just had its strings cut, slumping to the ground.
Alexis reaches for her, but Clara waves her off, her eyes closed. When she opens them again, they’re wet with tears.
“You’re sure? Sorry,” she says immediately. “Of course you’re sure.”
Makayla sits down next to us, listening quietly. She’s a mystery, this woman. I can never tell quite what she’s thinking. Apparently, she designed some of the best security systems on Earth. Agron must have been a surprise after her high-tech world.
Speaking of high-tech… I frown, staring into space. I’m already picturing getting on that ship. What if it gets damaged during the battle and we have to go through all this again?
“I just had an idea,” I murmur.
Nevada tilts her head. “What?”
“I think anyone who needs to board the ship should do it during the battle.”
She gapes at me. “Excuse me?”
“Their spies are watching us. If we all start traipsing toward the ship before the battle, they’re guaranteed to attack. Right now, they want to hit our camp—where it will cause the most destruction. If they see us heading toward the ship, their goal will be to either stop us or take the ship down so we can’t use it.”
Makayla smiles. “It’ll be the last thing they’re expecting. Because it’ll be dangerous as hell.”
“Why not wait until after the battle?” Kate asks.
I shrug. “Because their goal is to take the ship. If they don’t get it this
