MY CRUEL PROTECTOR
I whispered.
He was there, pulling me out of the muck. He was covered in soot and blood, but he was breathing. His heart was beating. He was alive.
He looked back at the collapsed tunnel, at the world we had just destroyed to save a single heart. The Cónclave had won the battle—they had destroyed the city and 'neutralized' the signal—but they had lost the war. Because the Shield was back. And he was no longer afraid.
"They'll think we're dead," Nevan said, his voice a low, lethal rasp.