We abandoned our entourage of guards in the elevator on the top floor. No one cared that it would be too easy to deduce where we were heading. Hopefully by the time anyone snapped out of Cinder's brainwashing, we'd be long gone.
The research wing's emergency service elevator was kept on its own, in an alcove tucked away from the rest of the wing. It was our final obstacle, and Cress had taken care to ensure it would be functioning properly when we arrived. She stumbled ahead of us to punch in the code.
The elevator opened and we crowded inside.
No one spoke—whether out of respect for Dr. Erland, or out of a tenuous hope that we were so close, so very close ...
The doors opened onto the rooftop. Dusk was climbing over the city, glistening off the palace windows and coating the landing pad in purple shadows.
And the Rampion was there, its ramp lowered toward us.
Cress laughed—an abrupt, delirious laugh.
Iko let out a victorious whoop and ran for the ramp, screaming, "We did it!"
Wolf alone slowed down, baring his teeth. Kai was still draped over his shoulder.
"Jacin—ready for takeoff—now!" Cinder yelled toward the ship. "We're—" Her words fell short and she slowed, then stopped altogether.
I unholstered my gun.
A figure appeared at the top of the cargo bay ramp. Her white coat and long sleeves made her look like a ghost haunting their ship, blocking our way to freedom.
When I glanced behind, I saw that Sybil wasn't alone. Half a dozen Lunar guards had crowded in behind us, blocking off our path to the elevator.
Which meant we had no place to run. No place to hide. We were forty steps from our ship, and we were trapped.
"What a lovely reunion," said Sybil, her sleeves snapping in the rooftop wind. "Had I known you were all going to come to me, I wouldn't have wasted half as much energy attempting to find you."
I kept my focus on Sybil as I took stock of my allies. Cinder was beside me, coiled with tension.
Wolf was slightly in front of me, snarling as he set Kai on the ground. Though he wasn't showing any pain, I could see a small spot of blood on Wolf's dress shirt—his stitches must have come undone, reopening the wound.
Iko wasn't far from him, the only one of us not panting.
Cress and Thorne were to Cinder's left. Thorne had a cane and, I thought, he might still have his gun too. But he, Wolf, and I could easily become liabilities, weapons to be toyed with by the thaumaturge, unlike Cress and Iko, who couldn't be controlled.
"How many?" Thorne asked.
"Mistress Sybil in front of us," said Cress, "and six Lunar guards behind."
After the slightest hesitation, Thorne nodded. "I accept those odds."
"So charming," said Sybil, tilting her head. "My little protégé has been embraced by cyborgs and androids and criminals—the scum of Earthen society. Quite fitting for a useless shell."
Cress lifted her chin, with a look more confident than I had ever seen on her.
"You mean the useless shell that just disconnected the link to all your palace surveillance equipment?"
Sybil clicked her tongue. "Arrogance doesn't suit you, dear. What do I care if the connection has been severed? Soon this palace will be the home of Queen Levana." She nodded. "Guards, leave His Majesty and the special operative unharmed. Kill the rest."
I heard the thunk of boots, the rustle of uniforms, the click of guns being released from their holsters.
Suddenly, in unison, all six guards turned toward the edge of the rooftop and threw their guns as hard as they could. Six handguns sailed out of sight, clattering somewhere on the tiled rooftops below.
Sybil let out a screech of laughter. "You have learned a few things since last we saw each other, haven't you?" Sybil paced down the ramp. "Not that controlling a handful of guards is any impressive feat." Her gaze flickered to Wolf.
Then he swiveled toward Cinder, his face contorting with a feral hunger.
Cursing, Cinder took half a step back.
Wolf launched himself at her.
Ducking, Cinder held her hands toward his abdomen and used his momentum to flip him over her head. He landed lithely on his feet and spun back, aiming a right hook for her jaw. Cinder deflected with her metal fist, but the force drove her off balance and she fell onto the hard asphalt of the landing pad. Planting both hands on the ground, she drove her heel up toward Wolf, catching him in the side—his wounded side. He grunted in pain and stumbled half a step back.
Cinder sprang to her feet, already panting.
Wolf licked his lips as he prepared to charge for her a second time, revealing the glint of his sharp teeth.
A Lunar guard jumped between me and Cinder, cutting off my view of what happened next.
He swung an elbow and I ducked, then jabbed one back. It caught him in the ribs. He coughed and hunched over. I dug a hand into his hair and brought my knee up, bashing him in the nose. He crumpled to the floor.
At the same time, three others collapsed. Sweat dripped down Cinder's brow from her effort.
Wolf came up behind her.
I tore across the rooftop and slammed into the back of his knees. He fell to the floor and I scrambled on top of him, pinning my legs around his neck.
"Sorry. About. This," I grunted in time with my punches to his face.
He grabbed the back of my collar and threw me to the side. I landed on my back. I coughed—it sounded wet.
Wheezing, I rolled onto my side, then pushed myself to a sitting position.
I looked up and froze.
Thorne had Cress in a dip, a supportive arm scooped beneath her back. The other was cradling the back of her head. Cress' hands were looped around his neck.
And he was kissing her.
If felt like something hot and thick shot down my throat, zipping into my lungs, my veins. It was squeezing, choking, suffocating, slamming into my rib cage from the inside. The air around my head was on fire, hot and stifling.
Thorne righted Cress and she seemed to sway on her feet.
Then something crashed against the back of my head.
I groaned and turned in time to get a punch to the jaw. Before the Lunar guard could land the next blow, I shot him in the head.
Slowly, I staggered to my feet, an arm clutching my side. I turned my head and spit a gob of blood onto the cement, then faced the rest of the conflict.
Another guard charged. I hit him with the butt of my gun and he fell. I picked up my foot and slammed it on his nose. His eyes went dim.
Something sparked in my chest, something that sent my blood roiling hot beneath my skin. Something that sent a rush of intensity through me, heady as wine.
I saw red as I kicked the next guard off the roof.
A scream split through the wind.
Not just a scream, but a scream made up of pain and delirium, torture and agony. A scream so chilling it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Sybil had fallen on the ground and was twitching and digging her nails into her scalp. The scream went on and on as she twisted and flailed, craning her head so fast it smacked against the asphalt, then curling up on herself like a fetus, searching for relief that wasn't coming.
Cinder still appeared unconscious, with Wolf hovering over her. But then he whipped his head like a bedraggled dog and sprang away from Cinder with wild, remorseful eyes.
Cinder stayed corpse-like on the ground.
Wolf was shaking her, but she wasn't responding. Sybil's screams tapered into uncontrollable blubbering as she convulsed on the ground.
I raced to Cinder's side and met Thorne and Cress there.
"Cinder," I said. I shook her shoulder, but she didn't wake up. I slapped the side of her face. "Cinder!"
"Maybe Cinder has to be rebooted," Thorne said. "That happened once before. Here." He reached beneath Cinder's head and there was a click.
Cinder's eyes popped open and her hand snapped around Thorne's wrist. Crying out, he fell over onto the ground.
Sybil's sobs dwindled to whimpering.
"Don't. Open. My control panel," she said. Releasing Thorne, she shut the plate in her head.
"Then stop going comatose on me!" He stood up. "Can we go now, before the entire Commonwealth military shows up?"
Cinder sat up, blinking. "Iko..."
"Right. Wolf, could you get the android, please? And the emperor, I trust he's still around here somewhere?"
The emperor. In all the chaos, I had forgotten all about him.
"Sirens."
I looked at Wolf. His head was cocked to one side.
"Heading this direction."
"Which means the military won't be far behind," said Cinder. "I take it there's no sign of Jacin?"
No one responded. There had been no sign of our getaway pilot since the fight had started. Had he betrayed us? Had he told Sybil about our plan?
"Figures," said Cinder. "Thorne, you're with me in the cockpit. Jacin and I practiced takeoffs ... once. You can help jog my memory."
Together, we hurried to carry Iko's broken body and Kai, still unconscious, into the cargo bay.
Then there was heard laughter. High, strained laughter that dropped ice down my spine.
Sybil was struggling to stand. She made it to her feet and took a couple wobbling steps, before falling back down to one knee. She laughed again and bunched her fists into her long, unruly hair.
Wolf trudged down the ramp and grasped Sybil by the front of her white coat, yanking her toward him. Her eyes rolled back into her head. "Where is she?" he yelled. "Is she still alive?"
Even from the top of the ramp, I could see the hatred burning in his eyes, overshadowed only by his need to know. To be given any sliver of hope that Scarlet was still out there. That he still had a chance to save her.
But Sybil's head only collapsed to one side. "What—what pretty birds!" she said, before she was overcome with a fit of incoherent giggles.
Wolf snarled, baring his teeth. For a moment, his entire body was shaking and I thought he was going to tear her throat out. But then he dropped Sybil to the ground. She fell hard, whimpered from the impact, and rolled onto her back. Then she started to laugh again, staring up at the sky. The sun was just setting, but the full moon had already risen high over the city's skyline.
Turning away from her, Wolf marched up the ramp. He did not meet anyone's gaze as he passed.
Sybil raised both arms up toward the sky. Cackling. Cackling.
The ramp started to rise, slowly blocking the sight of Sybil and the bleeding guards who were scattered around the rooftop. The roar of the engines soon drowned out both the mad laughter and the sirens blaring beyond the palace walls.