J A X O N

Riley arrived back at the compound in the nick of time. Soldiers had already arrived; we'd been given the new mission of going after Delphinium. The ONNT was sending us off very publicly—they'd even made a statement about it so that everyone would be alerted we were hunting the most notorious terrorists in the nation.

And hopefully, word would reach Imperium. They'd been strangely silent ever since the attack a week ago, but if they knew exactly where we were, they'd send their best soldier again. Delphinium could be captured and we could figure out how to deal with her.

At least, that was the ONNT's plan. I was skeptical of how well it would play out. The worst case scenario would be a total slaughter and from the looks on my teammates' faces, they knew it too.

Under Kane's watchful gaze, Riley casually made her way to Jake. "I found it," I heard her mutter softly and narrowed my eyes. If the ONNT soldiers weren't here, I would have asked what she'd found and why. Jake seemed to realize the same thing and didn't give her any sign he'd heard her.

No one said much as we were handed our weapons and led to the train of military vehicles parked outside. The ONNT was no longer safe for us to trust. We had to be very careful what we revealed around them, for the soldiers reported back to their director who seemed to be looking for every opportunity to lock us up.

No one had disclosed where we would be going. None of us asked; we knew it was no use. The six of us were little more than the attack dogs of Marcella Krasowski, meant to do whatever we were asked without question, without fail.

I wasn't sure how much more of this I could take before I snapped. And what would I do then? Perhaps wipe that superior look off Krasowski's face, no matter the cost.

Maybe I really did have a problem with authority.

"What are we going to do when we get there?" Finn asked in a whisper, more to himself than to anyone in particular. "This is a suicide mission." It was perhaps the first time I'd ever heard him be so...not optimistic.

"Maybe then we'll be put out of our misery," Arlo said flamboyantly, to which Finn dealt him a sharp look.

"We'll do what we always do," Riley told him. "Fight like hell."

"We won't kill her," Kane said, folding his hands before him. "But we will make everyone who comes with her pay the price."

"Aim for her eyes," Jake said suddenly. It was the first time he'd spoken this whole ride. "That's her weakness. As long as she's blind, she can't use her abilities."

I moved my arm up to feel the bandaged wound through my stomach. She'd stabbed me when I'd tried to incapacitate her. It was the first time I'd been injured like that in battle for a long, long time. "She's trying to kill us."

"We noticed." For that, I shot Riley a dirty look, not having an insult on my loose tongue, for once. Her red-painted lips split into a sharp smile, knowing she'd won.

"Your brother," I jerked my chin to Kane, "Said their lunatic leader wanted all of us alive. Something changed now that he's sent her to finish us off."

Everyone was staring at me now. "You think he wanted to put us all in those machines?"

I shrugged. "What else would he want us for? We're his enemies, and therefore, we're a liability. I just think it's strange that Orion changed his mind."

"Or they don't need our power anymore," Kane realized grimly, crossing his arms. The weight of his statement hit me in the chest.

"The question is: what could they possibly have to out-power us so significantly?"

Arlo sucked in a breath of air through his teeth. "I have a feeling we're about to find out."

He then let loose a string of the loud curses when he saw what was happening ahead. I leaned forward looked through the windshield of the armored vehicle only to have my breath exit my body.

The truck ahead of us was flipping into the air, propelled to the side by some mighty, unseen force. Delphinium. The driver yanked the wheel to the side to avoid a collision and our truck veered to the left, throwing the six of us into each other.

Before the truck had even stopped completely, Arlo's eyes went wide. "We need to get the hell out of here. Now." He clearly heard something we couldn't.

Kane ripped the back doors from their hinges and we all flooded out. Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the other soldiers from following trucks doing the same.

Bombs rained down on the vehicles, exploding anyone who hadn't gotten out in time. My ears rang but still I ran, leading my team. We had to get out, had to get out, had to-

I stopped once we'd rounded the line of trucks, making everyone else behind me stop abruptly. Originally, I'd been meaning to simply scope out the ground our enemy stood upon and get an idea of their numbers. But now, I saw what lay ahead. They stood on an open field with guns aimed for us. An ambush. There were twenty or thirty of those Imperium soldiers, but my gaze didn't dwell on them for long. No, I was watching who stood before them like a dark queen.

Delphinium. Strapped with more weapons than I'd ever seen on her, white hair tousled and body free from any signs of injury or weakness. Even from where I was sheltered, I could see the steel in her eyes. She stood stoically, with purpose. And that purpose was to see us all slaughtered.

I glanced to my teammates to make sure they'd seen what was before us. Narrowed eyes gazed at our enemies. I knew they were sizing Delphinium and her soldiers up as I had—trying to decide how big of a threat they all were. Though he was still healing from the gunshot wound from a week ago, Kane tightened his fist around his spears, looking even more grim than usual. Arlo muttered some colorful curses at the sight of her. But Jake...the crime lord was looking at Delphinium like this was the first time he was seeing her.

Then her eyes locked onto us and I knew this was where we began. The other soldiers were regrouping, funneling through the breaks between parked trucks. They began to exchange gunfire with the Imperium soldiers. But Delphinium's attention was on us.

As she began to stalk closer, Kane lifted the nearest truck and overturned it, making the vehicle flip and roll in its path toward the assassin. It got close enough to her that she disappeared from view, but I knew something that small wouldn't stop her. The military truck exploded, sending shards of metal and glass everywhere—except they all missed her body in their paths. She kept onward.

We all gripped our weapons and walked forward to meet her, unsure of who would make the first move. Then, Finn's fire spewed outward, attempting to keep her at bay. She whirled, uprooting a nearby tree and launched it toward the six of us. As it flew through Finn's fire, it arced, flaming, into the middle of our group. A spray of chilling ice came from Jake and the fire was quickly extinguished.

But Delphinium got what she wanted in the end. She was near us now, having successfully pushed us backward. She went for Jake first, whipping her knives in the air just inches from his throat. Riley attacked her from the side, hoping that the assassin's attention would be diverted. It wasn't. She kicked her back and swiped out again for Jake at the same time, blades clashing against two dagger-like icicles.

I quickly rooted around in my bag, hoping I wouldn't be shot by the surrounding soldiers. There it was. An invention made specifically for her. I'd had almost no time to test it, but...

"Fall back!" I yelled at my other teammates, who were fighting for their lives against the assassin. She was fighting them all at the same time with ease; after all, this was what she'd been trained for.

When they all ducked to the sides, I lobbed the metallic ball toward Orion's Reaper. Riley's rapidly growing plants tangled Delphinium's feet and held her in place for just a second too long. My invention hit the ground at her feet and launched spires of lightening-like small electric spires into her. As soon as they touched her skin, she gave an unearthly scream. I thought we had her. I thought this was it; she was down.

But gritting her teeth, she used the power within her to push the electric bomb away from her. Her eyes turned to me, knowing I'd been the one to create it. Faster than I'd thought possible, it was sent streaking toward me. Out of instinct, I went invisible and dove to the ground so that it sailed above my body. My stab wound ached at the impact but I hardly noticed.

Because of the bomb, I'd put distance between my crew and the assassin. They all stood together, looking as though they were ready to do this for a long time. Not being able to see me, she faced the others with the woods at her back.

The trees behind her began to bend. Several cracks sounded. Birds flew out of the trees and took to the air. She was going to crush us and leave without a scratch.

Riley realized her plan at the same time I did. Throwing out her hands, she forced the trees to grow upwards, stronger and steadier than before. Birds swooped down and aimed their sharp beaks for Delphinium. Riley's power was divided.

A great crack echoed. One tree fell, gaining momentum with every second. Kane caught it and heaved it to the side before it could touch any of us. Jake shot a volley of ice shards toward Delphinium but they were blocked by a second fallen tree. It barely missed Finn as he lunged out of the way. With a flick of her hand, the incoming birds were deterred with a whirlwind of dust and dirt.

As the other three worked to keep her occupied, Finn, Arlo and I ran for her at the same time—Finn with his fire, Arlo with a knife in each fist and me with my bare hands.

Ducking under Finn's columns of flame, Delphinium's feet rammed into Finn's legs. As he stumbled back, she hit him cleanly in the face with the hilt of her dagger. When Finn was temporarily down, she whirled on Arlo and their knives began to clash—all while the other three did their best to root her to her spot. She didn't stay in one place long enough for them to be very successful. One of Jake's icicles soared through the spot she'd been just a second before.

I reached the spot where she and Arlo were sparring and succeeded in kicking her back. She was a few steps away from Arlo and I now. From the lethal look on her face, I knew she might cut us down where we stood. But Kane came up behind us and shoved her back, giving us the time and space to regroup.

The strongman had done his job well. The assassin went flying. Though she landed on her feet in a low crouch, she was at a disadvantage. We could now come for her all at once.

When the sound of an engine roared above us, Delphinium's head snapped up to look at the sky. An airplane flew relatively low overhead. I knew what was about to happen. "No!"

It was too late. With a yell fit for a battlefield, she wrenched the aircraft from its course and brought it hurling down to be rid of us once and for all.