Her dragon shrugged into her mind. Not as thick with cuckoo mage vibes. And maybe fresher. I think there’s a shaft leading up to the surface.

Sera pushed forward with renewed energy. If she could just get out of these tunnels, to where actual people were… Then what? Would Death’s Army scuttle off, their tails between their legs, at the sight of a few humans? Unlikely. Humans meant nothing to them. Their lives meant nothing. Alden would murder every one of them in the city—all those millions—just to get at her, to warp her into his instrument of death. But why? Why her?

A piece of wall exploded nearby, pelleting her with razor-sharp shards of rock speckled with metal. Right, priorities. She could torture herself with these questions all she wanted later. First, she had to make it out of here. A second blast erupted from the wall. Sera shot the telekinetic behind her a nasty glare, the only retaliation she could muster. She didn’t have enough magic to bathe the hallway in fire. Unfortunately. That telekinetic was none other than Olivia Sage. After the shit Olivia and her brother had put them through last month, Sera was salivating at the thought of payback.

But she had other things to worry about. Like the fireball that had just cruised over her head, singeing a few of her top hairs. Sera patted down her head. At this rate, she’d need to go buy a wig when she made it out of here. If she made it out of here.

A draft of cool air tickled her nose. The shaft! She could feel it. And, as she barreled around the corner, she could see it too. Magic and rock exploded at her heels, urging her to run faster. There was something else, something drawing her forward.

“Kai!”

Sera could feel his magic pounding out in hard, heavy beats. It poured down from the hole in the ceiling up ahead, searing the air with his scent. Hot and sweet and spicy—and most of all dragon. She burst forward with everything she had.

Behind her, Olivia’s snickers echoed off the walls with wicked glee. “He’s not here, little girl. Even he couldn’t find you, not with all the iron in the walls.”

Sera’s step stuttered. Olivia was right. Kai had no way to find her here. Her mind was just playing tricks on her. Or Alden was playing tricks on her.

She’d reached the hole in the ceiling and peered up. The shaft dripped darkness. She couldn’t see how far up it went—or whether it even led anywhere. One thing was for sure, though: there was no way she could climb up that thing. The mages would blast her right out of the ceiling. This was the end of the road. Sera spun around, drawing on every shred of magic left in her. A barrier of flames and lightning snapped up in front of her. Here she’d make her final stand.

“That won’t keep you safe for long,” Olivia snarled through the barrier. “Alden wants you, and Alden shall have you. But if you put away your magic and come quietly, I promise not to hurt you.” A saccharine smile slid across her full lips. “Not until we get back to Alden.”

A tendril of lightning-bound fire snapped out from the barrier like a whip, cracking the air in front of Olivia. The telekinetic jumped back, hurling curses.

“I think I’ll pass,” Sera told her.

“Fool,” Olivia spat, waving the other mages forward.

They raised their hands and blasted the barrier with their collective magic.

“Not…good enough,” Sera told them, wincing under the onslaught.

Satisfaction washed across Olivia’s face. “Oh, but we’re just getting started.”

The mages beat at her barrier. Again. And again. And again. Sweat beaded Sera’s brow, dripping down her neck. She wiped her slick palms on her pants.

“Sera.”

She ignored the voice. It called to her again.

“Go away,” she growled, keeping her focus on the barrier. It was all that stood between her and Alden’s army. “I know you’re not real.”

“She’s delusional. Probably dehydration coupled with severe exhaustion,” Dal’s voice said.

Sera licked her cracked lips. It felt like scraping sandpaper over an open wound.

“Have a look at that barrier!” exclaimed Callum. “It’s eating their magic!”

“There have got to be at least fifty mages down there. She’s holding off the magical onslaught of fifty mages,” Tony said.

Since when had the commandos become figments of her imagination?

“Sera, I’m coming,” Kai called out.

Another figment of her imagination. An illusion. But she wasn’t falling for it, not this time.

“The drop is too big,” Callum said. “We need to set up the ropes and rappel down there.”

Sera stole a glance up into the hole. Flashlights beamed down, blinding her. She blinked and returned her attention to her barrier.

“No time,” said Kai.

Wind howled out of the hole, and a second later, Kai dropped down on the wings of magic. Sera didn’t even look at him. She didn’t have time to talk to herself—or Alden, if that’s who was really behind the illusion.

“Sera, we have to go.”

A boulder exploded against her barrier. Tiny fissures split across its orange-pink surface. She poured magic over the barrier, trying to seal the cracks, but a second explosion fractured it again.

Can’t hold it…any longer, her dragon said, then winked out of her mind.

Sera fell to her knees, broken rock scraping her exposed skin. But the pain in her legs was nothing compared to the agony in her head. Spots danced in front of her eyes.