[POV: Sofia Lanka]

"You’re asking me to commit a quiet kind of suicide, Sofia. You’re asking me to watch the woman I love turn into a hollow shell just because the sky decided to throw a tantrum. I won't do it. I won't let you press that button. We can win this as we are, with the fire we already have in our blood. We didn't fight through the Sahara and the Northern Spire just to surrender the very thing that makes us who we are."

Lyon’s voice was a low, dangerous growl that vibrated through the reinforced glass of the command deck. He stood tall, his silhouette framed by...