D E L P H I N I U M

Outside of the burning fortress, the world was in chaos.

Our army had advanced, mixing with Imperium's. There were no more fighter jets in the sky, but the victor of their battle was unknown.

A few heads turned when I exited the massive doorway. And their eyes narrowed in on the masked head I carried in hand.

Their leader was dead. Their empire had been ripped up by the roots. The sun would never rise on Imperium.

Looking up, I took in the decorative spikes that lined the path to the gaping entrance.

And I left empty handed, with Orion's masked decapitated head on a pike for all his men to see.

While gaining the upper hand over the Imperium army, the soldiers on my side parted before me, allowing me to get behind the front lines and into safety. I may have made myself appear forbidding enough, but on the inside, I felt ready to collapse. I knew I couldn't take another fight.

As I wove between the olive-clothed men and women, I searched for any sign of my teammates. When there were no immediate sightings, I had the horrible fear that I would be the only survivor of our crew. What if I searched and searched and never found them? Or what if I recognized their faces among the fallen?

In that moment, I knew I would rather die than live out the rest of my life without them.

My panic grew every passing second until I came to a bit of a clearing from which the soldiers kept their distance. Huddled together, my teammates stood in it.

I began to let my gaze roll over them all, silently counting that everyone was there, but stopped when my eyes locked with Jake's, who was standing apart from the group.

For a moment, I simply stared at him, took in his hardened expression. There was no change in his face when he saw me. He was bleeding in a few different places, but still stood solidly. He was alive. He was alive.

I wasn't sure whether it was because of the ordeal of war or because he was standing there still alive and well, but I found the courage to close the distance between us. I'd deal with the repercussions later. Right now, I didn't care about the walls we'd both built up. I didn't care that the scars from our pasts ran too deep for us to ever be ordinary. I didn't care that our circumstances and his trauma would keep us from ever really being together in a normal way.

Noting the way his whole cold body went still, I threw my arms around his solid self and let the emotions come tumbling out. He smelled of blood and death and suffering, but I didn't mind. He was safety. Home.

Practically teeming with shame and restraint, he barely reciprocated. But I understood. The only things he was well-versed in were treachery and death. Anything else was a mystery for him.

Still, I could feel how shallow his breathing was, as if he had to remind himself to continue doing it.

After what seemed like too little time, I pulled away, wiping at the wetness from my eyes. I faced the others, leaving him to wonder what the hell had just happened.

When I saw what the others were circled around, all the oxygen was choked from my lungs.

Finn's dead body.

No, no, no, this wasn't possible. Out of all of us, Finn was the best. He kept us grounded, reminded us that there was still light left in us. This had to be some figment of my paranoia, my deepest horror projected into reality.

But I wasn't imagining my teammates' downturned faces, Gigi's bloodshot eyes, how Finn's chest failed to move with breath. Arlo was really there, kneeling at Finn's side and staring at his face like he was unsure how he'd gotten there.

"He won't wake up," he whispered as if he couldn't believe it. "This isn't real."

"Oh, Arlo..." Riley said, not sure how to get words out at a time like this.

Then Arlo leaned his tearstained face to the heavens and began to laugh—the type of laugh that came with great shock. I cringed at the sound of it, knowing he'd never experienced anything like this before. This was by no means a normal reaction, but I supposed it was fitting for him.

"It's so stupid," he said when he caught his breath again, a wild and unhinged smile on his face. "I was planning to die for months. Months. And he was the only one who knew. He even helped me make peace with it. And now look at us: I miraculously survived and he died instead. It's so fucking stupid."

I closed my eyes against a second peal of hysterical laughter.

No one said anything, for there was nothing that could fill the hole that Finn left in our world. But Jaxon put his hand on Arlo's shoulder as a silent comfort. Leaning against unmovable Kane—who appeared to have insisted on staying here despite losing half his leg—Riley wiped her eyes. I didn't have any response but to stare at Finn's pale face in shock and horror.

Someone approached from the side. Glad to not be faced with the reminder of Finn's corpse for a few seconds, I turned.

It was Arezo, having shed her weapons. Her tan face was covered in rivers of drying blood, and she looked timid to be approaching us. Though she only wore an undershirt after removing her Imperium uniform shirt, I was surprised no one was suspicious of her yet.

Noticing her at the same time I did, Gigi stood to face Neve's sister.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Arezo spoke, a light accent in her words. "I don't wish to intrude, I only wanted to say that I'm sorry I turned my back on you that day, even after all you did for my sister. I was feeling immense grief. I hope you can understand."

"I understand," Gigi responded softly. "I felt the same way. I still do. Just know...that she was trying to protect you. Everything she did, she did for you."

"I know." A pause. "She even joined Orion's cause when I was taken. And now...she's gone. It's strange to be without her." She said it as if she was just realizing it herself.

"Orion's children are dead. Where will you go?"

Dead...? Had they stayed loyal to Orion and gotten killed by our army? But I followed the flick of Gigi's gaze behind me to see between our own soldiers the mass of bodies that lay over the plains. The enhanced soldiers. Had they...died when I killed Orion?

Arezo's face slumped. "I am not sure. If the Imperium agents catch me, they will kill me for simply having this conversation with you. But if I am caught by your leaders, they will convict me of my crimes."

"You were being commanded by an abusive madman," Gigi said. "Our leaders will be lenient. Especially if you offer them all you know about Imperium."

"I will go willingly if it means all Orion's agents hiding out in the corners of the earth will be dug up."

Gigi looked to Benton to ensure Arezo had no hidden agenda. He gave a nod, prompting her to say, "If you come back with us, we can take you directly to the ONNT."

Arezo lowered her head in gratitude. "Thank you."

There was a silence. Gigi moved beside me, Arezo standing on her other side. "I saw what he did," she said, gesturing to Finn. "The power he wielded was awe-inspiring."

"Yes," Gigi replied softly, eyes on him. "He sacrificed himself so that we could all live. He's a hero."