D E L P H I N I U M

The helicopter blades chopped through the air, taking us low over the Romanian plains. We were too close to the ground to see far ahead, meaning the army was still out of sight. But we'd be there soon. Within minutes.

We had been gone about two days, but it had seemed like weeks since we were in the mild rolling hills with our army. The morning sun gleamed through the churning blades of the helicopter. It would be a hot day compared to the ones past. Not a bad day to go out on.

In the distance to the right, I could see the wide expanse of the forest approaching. The plains stayed relatively open to the left. Still no sign of the army. I bit my lip; this meant they were closer to the fortress than we expected. Perhaps even ready to march on it.

It wasn't a shock, but my heart plummeted anyway, as human hearts tended to do when faced with certain doom. Though I was stronger than I'd ever been, though I had been preparing myself for this day, I was still feeling the effects this place always gave me.

Glancing over at my friends, I saw that Gigi looked out the side window in wonder, taking in the wild beauty below. Riley—who'd never been one for heights—simply stared ahead with a look of pained concentration, determined to not give in to her fear.

Like Gigi, I watched the golden-green ground pass in a blur beneath us. This could be the last time I was seeing it; this could very well be our last flight into Romania—one we wouldn't be returning from. I was suddenly very aware of the weights of my daggers, the coldness of the chair and the way the harness held me down. All the things that made me feel like I was alive were magnified under the anticipation of what was coming.

There it was: on the horizon, I could just barely make out the massive fortress. It was a smear of iron-gray against the cerulean, cloud-peppered sky. A stain of darkness against the beauty of the earth.

Just at the sight of it, so far away, I felt the power wake within me and rear its head. I wanted to bring it to the ground and then burn its ashes. But this time, I would make sure its brutal master died with it. No matter the cost.

My gaze dropped to the ground below it. Gigi took in a slow breath behind me; their forces were massive, flooding the crater-like divot in the earth that the fortress was situated into. From here, it was a sea of black-suited men, tents and Scorpions. Somewhere down there were the children of Orion, the enhanced soldiers, and the secret weapon built specifically to deter us. A note of horror filled me—I had always known an estimate of the numbers Orion possessed, but this...this was insanity. It hardly seemed real.

His plan was clear now: to let us win a few battles, therefore reeling us farther and farther into Romania with each victory until we were on his doorstep. Still high off our successes, he would crush us once and for all, thus destroying all his opposition.

If we lost today, he wouldn't just win the battle: he'd win the war.

My gaze fell to our own gathered army, smaller than the assembly of Imperium's full forces. We had Jaxon's father's weaponry, we had the hundreds of thousands of soldiers that had joined after my speech and we had desperation. I wasn't optimistic about our odds. No matter what angle I looked at it from, Imperium had the upper hand.

Be that as it may, I would fight until the end, no matter what it brought.

The helicopter dropped lower. A flock of white birds flew by the windows, fleeing with the innate intuition that something bad was about to happen. I half-wondered if they were smarter than us for it.

It was too late to back out now, as the helicopter touched down on the battlefield behind our gathering army. The door slid open with a barely-audible click. My long braid lashed the air with the wind from the still-rotating blades. Eyes shuttering against the wind, I jumped down, followed by my two friends. We only looked to the few tents peppered between the olive green and black uniforms of our army, even as the helicopter took to the skies behind us.

It was clear where we needed to go: the only large tent that was sure to house the strategists and generals of our army. Imperium was far enough away to not be able to shoot at us yet, but we were still dangerously close. I wondered what the leaders would have us do.

A few heads turned as we were permitted inside the tent. Our entire team stood inside, among the strategists moving markets around on a map. I could recognize our general by his decorated uniform and war-hardened face.

Benton approached. "What happened?"

The three of us shared a glance. "We...don't know," Riley said slowly. "They walked away without destroying the base, but..."

"They weren't happy after I broke the peace between us by burning the fortress with them inside and leaving them to die," I said. "You know how it is. Even if they wanted to join us, I'm not sure what Orion is holding over them to keep them loyal. They're as much a wildcard as ever."

"We'll deal with the children of Orion when the time comes," General Lawridge said, having been listening to our report. "They are not our largest threat; for Orion has finally rallied his enhanced soldiers for this final stand."

Gigi shifted her weight on her feet. "What can they do?"

"We can't be sure until they're using their power against us."

The shouting of our army swelled outside as they began to rally. Lawridge turned to the map-covered table. "They're readying themselves for the battle of their lives."

Arlo's gaze cut past me through the sliver of the open tent flap. "Their army is just standing silently. Waiting."

"They want us to go to them," a female strategist said, arms crossed and eyes hard. "It will weaken us, not to mention the fact that they inevitably have a surprise attack waiting."

Finn spoke softly. "Our spy, Arden Rong, claimed that Orion was creating something else. Everything else she warned against came true: the invasion, the enhanced soldiers. But not this, not the thing he was building specifically for us."

"We have an airstrike coming." Lawridge had no sign of fear that lined face. "It will hit exactly as our army reaches theirs, taking out their Scorpions and the tents of their own war leaders." He glanced at Finn. "Peterson, you and Traversa will go behind enemy lines and take out any leaders that remain." Gigi's spine straightened as he looked to her. "Henderson and Damari will be transported to higher ground to snipe our enemies from above."

Our eyes met and I knew he was about to give me my orders. But I spoke first. "I will go back to the fortress and murder Orion."

"Tesla, we need you here. If Orion is in the war tents—"

"He's not," I said, not trying to be disrespectful. "I know him. He won't risk his life for this battle that he sees as an easy win. And he might not be expecting an airstrike, but being down on the ground is too exposed. No, he will be somewhere inside."

Lawridge looked like he might turn me down, but another woman looked up from her notes. "Killing Orion is our best chance at killing the enhanced soldiers. We don't know much about the Mind Sweeper, but we do know that his mind and the minds of its victims are connected..."

Benton raised an eyebrow. "You think once Orion's dead, the enhanced soldiers will lose their connection to him." He gave a one-shoulder shrug. "It might be our best chance."

Eyes narrowing as his mind wove a plan together, the general simply said, "The rest of you will kill a pathway through the Imperium army for Tesla to get to the fortress. Protect her at all costs. She must get through."

I looked to Kane, Benton, Jake and Jaxon, who were armed with two machine guns, nine visible blades, two spears and their power. Together, we held a stockpile of weapons that could easily arm several more men. If the army was too great for us to get through...

No, we would get through. I would ensure it. Even if I had to slaughter half the army myself, I wouldn't stop until I did it. I'd paint the world red in their blood if it meant we'd win. Once, I'd thought that destruction was all I was good for. Well, now it was time to be the best.

Lawridge got a call from another higher-up soldier, not bothering to say anything more to us as he took the three strategists with him. The nine of us watched him leave. And then we were alone again. Just as we had begun.

As I looked at the shadowed, grave faces of my friends, it hit me: this was the end. Even if we did win, even if there were survivors and we returned home to help rebuild the world, nothing would be the same. Because the truth weighed in the air around us: not all of us were going to make it out alive. In fact, we would be lucky if any of us did.

But as I stood in the presence of the only people I loved and trusted, I knew I wouldn't regret our time together, even if the end was so bitter.

"You should say something, Delphinium," Riley said, though if anyone was giving a speech here, I would have chosen her. "You set the events of this war in motion by burning the fortress down over a year ago. Now, it's your honor to finish it."

I began to get hesitant, especially when I saw all their eyes on me; I wasn't good at piecing together speeches on the fly. Even the speech I gave in New York had been prepared beforehand.

For a moment, I was quiet as I gathered my scattered thoughts. What could I possibly say? How could I put into words how much they had done for me?

"In the beginning..." I started, "In the beginning, everything was so new and strange. It's funny, because I was terrified then. Of you all. Of everything. And now, I just look back and think how...naive I was. I was terrified of you all and my terror blinded me to the ties binding us together, whether we wanted to be or not. I never knew what great things would come out of our working together."

I paused, trying to gather the right words. "You've all done so much for me—more than I know how to say. Each one of you pulled me from the darkness in your own ways." Turning to Jaxon at my right, I said, "You showed me what friendship is meant to be. You've always been there for me...even when I wasn't there for myself. I will return the favor until the day I die."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Riley take Kane and Jaxon's hands. Without a moment's hesitation, Jaxon slipped his hand into my own. I watched the others follow suit—Kane, a reluctant Benny, then Gigi, then Finn, a very obliging Arlo, who had no sense of self-preservation and grabbed Jake's hand. The crime lord looked as if he was about to murder him, but froze as I threaded my fingers through his, closing the circle. He didn't look at me.

"Riley"—my eyes met her own feline ones—"I was always secretly jealous of your unwavering confidence. It was something I never had. But you remind me how to accept myself for who I am—not who I should be." Her red mouth tightened, like she was trying to hold back a wave of emotion.

I turned to the boy towering over her. "Kane, you have a certain quiet strength and...I think I speak for us all when I say that we feel safer in your presence." He humbly bowed his head. "I know you don't show it often, but to anyone looking, it's clear how loyal you are to us all. And I want to thank you for it."

Then I looked to Benny, into the only face I thought I could trust during my imprisonment—for once, not covered with a sly facade. "Benny...the road to recovery after Imperium has been difficult, but you walked it with me. You took it much better than I did. You still do. And I admire you for it. I can only hope to be as unapologetic and unbound to the past as you are."

"Gigi." I locked eyes with her from across the circle. Where hate and fury once filled them, was now nothing but genuine care. "If I had never met you—if we had never broken apart—I never would have learned that, with enough raw strength, anyone can turn from their darkness. And though we did have a falling out, I think we became stronger because of it. I'm happy to have you as a friend. As a sister."

Finn smiled a bit as I moved to him and there was something like pride in his face. On my behalf. "You're...good, Finn. Despite all that has happened, despite the secrets and lies and violence we've been through, you haven't lost that goodness within you. I used to think good people didn't truly exist and that kindness and goodness were weak. And then I met you. Now, I don't know what we would do without those things."

"Arlo...despite all you've been through—being subjected to experimentation and never seeing the light of day, and later your illness—you never let it break your spirit. You never waver, never hesitate. You're unbreakable. I think we could all use a bit of that, especially now." His grin didn't waver, even as he could undoubtedly hear the army on the horizon—thus proving my point.

"And Jake..." I trailed off, trying to put my feelings into words. He stared straight forward at the floor. "If I never met you, I never would have seen the true power of ambition. I never would have understood that if something you want is out of reach, you fight for it." I smiled a bit. "I'd never admit it anytime other than now, but you've saved my life more times than I can count. I owe you." Though his freezing hand remained slack in mine, I knew he felt the weight of the words.

I chewed my lip, gaze unfocused on the center of our little circle. "If we have to die, at least we'll be together, even in death," I addressed them all, eyes prickling. "There is no one I would rather perish beside."

With that, I dropped my head and stared at the ground, finally ready to meet whatever end was inevitable coming.