The wind was very strong as we ran through the woods at night.
Shadows danced between the branches of the trees as they slid past me, and Rowan's smell led the way. I wasn't running away from anything this time.
I was running fast in its direction.
A few minutes ago, the second clone, the unstable one, broke through the South barrier. She wasn't being held by any dogs. She moved like she didn't belong in a body. Even though gravity didn't change anything for her.
But neither Rowan nor I were letting her go very far.
Never again.
"She is on her way to the lower ridge!" Vaulting over a falling log, Rowan called back. "She will regain access to the broadcast servers if she makes it to Blackwood Tower!"
"And change the world as a whole!" I pushed too hard and broke. "Not taking place."
Caught in the web of tree limbs, the moon glowed overhead. My mark throbbed in time with my heartbeat, more powerful than before. The power beneath my skin felt tighter ever since I made the bond with Rowan. More aware.
Before I saw her, I heard her.
A static-like sound.
Then—glitch.
She appeared between two trees, sparkling. The same face. same body. Her edges, however, wavered this time, as if she were being drawn from memory.
My stomach turned over. "She is unstable."
Rowan slowed next to me. "This indicates that she is dangerous."
Her eyes flashed white as she turned.
She rasped, "There you are." Her throat seemed to be unable to maintain the shape of her voice, as it broke in places. "The bride with the brand."
I took a step forward. "You are not a part of this world."
"You don't either," she growled. "You were supposed to burn."
She suddenly lunged.
First to move, Rowan grabbed her in midair and slammed her into the ground. In a flash of flickering light, she twisted, rolled, and glitched, teleporting three feet behind him.
He turned too late.
She ran her claws over his side.
With a grunt, he sprayed blood on the leaves.
"No!" Half-human, half-wolf, I changed mid-sprint and tackled her, slamming us both into a tree so hard the bark cracked.
As she hit the floor, she laughed.
She croaked, "You can't kill me." "I am the policy for insurance. The perfected override
"What even does that mean?" I snarled.
She raised her head and grinned too broadly. "I was designed to destroy you."
I took hold of her wrist and felt it—where a true crescent should have pulsed, beneath her skin. Rather, it flickered. synthetic. Glitching.
She was having trouble with her code.
I slammed her head into the ground.
"I'm difficult to remove."
With his hand by his side, Rowan stumbled in my direction. "Maris, take a look at her pocket!"
From her jacket, I tore a silver case.
A folded map inside. Paper. drawn by hand.
but with circuit lines intertwined.
One name, PROJECT MOONFALL, was written at the top in a bright red ink.
My blood froze.
Three places were shown on the map. Sanctuary has already been circled. The Vault is the second.
And the third one...
I gasped.
Core Crescent.
The Council vowed that the location didn't exist.
When I turned around, the clone had vanished.
There was only ash left.
"No," I muttered.
Rowan shifted next to me, his arm covered in blood. "She exhausted herself."
"No," I replied. She got away. This was a distraction, and she was aware that she was glitching.
Grimly, he nodded. "To help us stay focused on her while the others go on."
I glanced down at the map once more.
Three places.
Two hits.
Only one remains.
Core Crescent.
"What is it?" I inquired.
Rowan took a deep breath. "The initial center for research." where the prophecy was initially translated into facts. and where the prototype for the first living bride was made.
I gave him a look. "And if they turn it on once more?"
The entire bloodline tree will be rewritten. deprive you of your claim. Make you a myth.
I tightened my jaw. "Then we proceed there."
Rowan spoke softly as he leaned in closer.
"Not this evening. You're hurt.
"I'm all right."
"You're worn out."
"I'm not interested."
He covered my hand with his.
His mark softly flared, just as mine did.
"If you burn out before the battlefield, you can't lead a war."
I detested the fact that he was correct.
The fact that I was beginning to listen made me hate it even more.
Nevertheless, I kept the map in my pocket.
Rowan suffered injuries.
Elian was not conscious.
The last piece was already being taken by another bride who was out there.
The leaves rustling in the chilly night air was the only sound as we turned to return to the estate.
Then Rowan came to a stop.
"What?" I inquired.
He cocked his head.
listening.
"I hear a drone."
I went cold.
Softly, the hum began.
Then it gets louder.
Dozens of red lights flickered on from the trees above us.
Swarm for surveillance.
I took hold of Rowan's arm.
"They're filming us."
"No," he replied. "They are broadcasting us."
Overhead, the biggest drone dropped a screen.
It came to life briefly.
And another face appeared—live, in high definition.
One more bride.
distinct hairstyle. Different build.
However, the mark remains the same.
The same eyes.
She purred, "I see you."
I said, "I see you too."
Her smile was poisonous.
She said sweetly, "I just finished registering with the Council." "I will be the bride who makes it out alive."
The screen went blank.
Drones vanished.
Rowan then faced me.
"She's been identified already?"
Slowly, I nodded.
"Then we're already at war," I muttered, the only thing I could.