The rampart stones were cold beneath my palms. Six hours until dawn. Six hours to save everyone or watch everything burn.

"We need options," I said, turning from where Elena and Gideon had vanished into the darkness. "Something they won't expect."

Katheris hadn't moved. Still staring at the empty battlefield where her supposedly dead sister had stood moments before.

Marcus gripped her shoulder. "Later. Grief later. Right now we need you present."

She blinked. Focused. The vulnerability ...