We fled Sector 1 in brittle silence.

  Gina huddled in the corner seat, arms locked around the cuffed suitcase like it was a sleeping child. Faye sat sideways, one leg tucked under her, staring out the viewport. The ember of her cigarette glowed and dimmed with each slow, deliberate drag. I sat between them, thoughts spinning. Arthur Jr. was dead. Faye had killed him. Not in self-defense. Deliberately.

  Then her phone buzzed.

  She glanced at the screen, answered, and spoke in a voice stripped flat.

  “Yes, Dad. Junior’s dead.”

  “What?” The word tore out of me. “Who’s that?”

  Faye lifted one finger—wait—without turning.

  “Okay, Dad. I’ll pass by.” She ended the call.

  “Who was that, Faye?” My voice came out too loud in the small cabin.

  “My dad,” she said simply. “We need to take a detour.”

  “What detour?”

  She rose, crossed to the controls, and entered new coordinates with quick, practiced taps. The nav screen refreshed: Union Capital, Sector 4.

  I surged to my feet and caught her arm. “Faye—”

  Gina’s pistol was suddenly steady on my chest.

  “Let her be, Cho. She just wants to see her father.”

  I stared at Faye. “After he sentenced you to death? After he was ready to hang you? You still want to see him?” My throat tightened. “Did Joe order you to kill Arthur Jr.?”

  “No.” Her voice cracked on the word. She looked away, biting her lip until her eyes shimmered. “I killed Junior for revenge. He… he did terrible things to me when I was younger. Forced himself on me. That time I tried to speak to Uncle Arthur—to give the Union a real chance—Junior blocked me. He said the only way I could reach the Emperor was if I let him have me again.” Her shoulders began to shake. “He deserved it. He deserved to die.”

  “Do you have any idea what happens when your uncle finds out his heir is dead?” My voice trembled despite every effort to keep it level.

  “I don’t think he’ll ever know it was me,” she whispered.

  Gina eased the pistol down a fraction. “Actually… your mask slipped. Surveillance caught you.”

  Faye’s face collapsed. She gave one small nod, and then the sobs broke loose.

  Gina holstered the weapon and rubbed slow circles on Faye’s back. I stepped forward, gently nudged Gina’s hand aside, and pulled Faye into my arms.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I murmured into her hair. “I would have killed that bastard myself.”

  She clung to me, crying harder. Gina pressed in from the other side. The three of us stood locked together in the cramped cabin while Faye’s grief poured out.

  Eventually the sobs tapered. Exhausted—from the mission, from the tears—she curled on the seats and fell asleep. I draped my coat over her like a blanket.

  Now it was just Gina and me.

  She carefully uncuffed the suitcase from her wrist and slid it into a hidden compartment beneath the deck.

  “You knew?” I asked quietly.

  “Yes.” No hesitation. “She told me during one of our late-night girl talks. All the things Arthur Jr. did to her… it started back when you two were still together. She was his… you know.”

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  My fist clenched until the knuckles ached white.

  “Then why the hell didn’t she tell me? I would’ve torn him apart with my bare hands.”

  Gina’s voice softened. “She didn’t tell you because you were so serious about the Academy. So loyal to the Empire. She was terrified Junior would ruin your future—get you expelled—if she refused him. She gave herself up… for you.”

  The words landed like a fist to the sternum. She had sacrificed everything so I could keep my dream.

  Gina rested a hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay, Cho.”

  I let my fist open. Our eyes met. Slowly she leaned in. Our lips touched—long, gentle, careful.

  The console chimed.

  “Destination ahead.”

  We pulled apart.

  Below us sprawled the Imperial fleet: carriers, destroyers, battlecruisers, even submarines, arrayed in battle formation around Union Capital Bay. Our Dragonfly still broadcast fake Imperial registry codes, so the picket ships waved us through. Once inside Union airspace, the cloak engaged. Invisible now, we ghosted past tanks, rocket batteries, cannon emplacements, and patrolling fighters poised to defend against an Imperial strike.

  The Dragonfly settled silently onto the capital’s private helipad.

  Faye stirred awake. We changed fast—shedding Imperial uniforms for matte-black Dead Men's gear. Faye slipped into an elegant grey dress that looked far too delicate for what lay ahead.

  We started toward the main entrance. Faye stopped abruptly.

  “Wait. I have a better idea.”

  She led us across the manicured grounds to a secluded parking area. There—her personal car.

  She unlocked it, started the engine, and motioned us inside.

  “Where are we going?” Gina asked as we pulled away.

  “Facility 64.”

  My stomach lurched. “You’re serious?”

  “Yes.” Her knuckles whitened on the wheel. “I need to set them free.”

  Before I could argue, her phone rang again.

  She answered on speaker.

  “Hello, Daddy… Yes, Daddy… No, Daddy. If you want this, meet me at Facility 64. I’ll give you the seed there.”

  She ended the call.

  “What seed?” Gina asked.

  “He thinks we went to Sector 1 to retrieve a Black Christanium seed for him.”

  Gina blinked. “Do we actually have one?”

  “No. Only Marcus can authorize release of a seed—and I know he’d never let my father have it. Neither will I. I’m just luring him there.”

  We reached Facility 64.

  The moment we stepped inside, the memories slammed into me—cold sweat prickling my spine. Faye led us through a concealed door only she knew about. The hallways still carried the scars of our last visit: dried blood, bullet-pocked walls, overturned equipment. No one had bothered to clean up.

  We rode an elevator deeper than I’d ever gone.

  When the doors parted, the horror hit like a physical force.

  Rows of glass enclosures stretched into shadow. Hundreds—maybe thousands—of chimeras. Mutated bodies, glowing eyes, clawed hands scraping desperately at the transparent walls.

  Gina pressed tight against my side, fingers digging into my arm.

  Faye walked to the center of the vast hall and turned to face us. She gave a small, sad, genuine smile.

  “You two look good together,” she said softly. “I hope you’ll be happy.”

  We stood frozen.

  The elevator dinged behind us.

  Joe Tassle—her father—stepped out alone.

  Tall as his brother, grey hair, the same piercing blue eyes Faye had inherited, now looking obscene above his immaculate grey suit.

  “Faye, baby,” he called, smiling. “Do you have it, darling?”

  “Yes, Daddy. Here it is. Come and get it.”

  His gaze flicked to us. “Who’re they?”

  “You remember Cho, Daddy. And this is Cho’s girlfriend.”

  Joe chuckled. “Ahh, I remember. So you moved on already? Good for you, son.” He turned back to Faye. “Now, baby—where’s the seed?”

  Faye looked at us one final time, eyes shining.

  “Gina… take care of Jericho for me, okay? I love him.”

  She drew a small remote from the folds of her dress.

  Joe frowned. “What’s that, baby?”

  “Redemption, Daddy,” she whispered. “Redemption.”

  She pressed the button.

  Every enclosure unlocked with a heavy, simultaneous clunk.

  Chimeras erupted into the corridor—screaming, snarling, a black tide of claws and fury. They surged straight toward Joe.

  Faye spun to us, tossed a keycard, and pointed at a hidden side elevator.

  “RUN!”

  I lunged for her hand. She shook me off.

  Gina yanked me backward. We sprinted. Behind us, Joe’s scream rose—high, raw, agonized—as the swarm tore into him.

  We slammed the keycard home. The doors hissed open. We tumbled inside and hit close.

  Through the narrowing gap we saw Faye standing calm, smiling at us as the chimeras reached her. Claws closed around her. The doors sealed.

  The elevator rose.

  We burst onto the surface, sprinted to her car, and peeled away.

  In the rearview mirror: chimeras poured from the building like spilled oil, flooding across the grounds. They slammed into Union defensive lines—tanks, soldiers, artillery. The creatures were merciless, unstoppable.

  We reached the helipad, boarded the Dragonfly, and lifted off.

  From above, the capital burned. Thousands of chimeras ripped through Union forces.

  Explosions flowered across the city. Chaos

  swallowed everything.

  I looked back one last time.

  A memory of Faye flashed—her smile, her laugh, the way sunlight caught in her hair. The girl I once loved. The girl who had always loved me.

  Gone.

  Taken by the very monsters she chose to unleash.

  The Dragonfly climbed higher. The burning capital shrank beneath us.

  And we flew on.