Klara stood, face flushed and lips set in a thin line, in the main cabin of Vera’s Revenge with Mikhail, Yuri and Elana. With some care, they’d avoided pursuit and crawled back to the airship, which still sat hidden in the mountains close to the mines.

  Yuri and Elana stood before Klara, their backs to the sweeping windows encasing the room. Mikhail sat at the table behind her, his fingers drumming incessantly on the wooden surface. They had excluded the rest of the squad. A “family discussion” Elana had called it.

  “I think it’s time you told us what’s going on, Klara,” Elana said.

  Klara’s jaw twitched. “We were trying to rescue your cursed Sila and deliver a blow to the Alchemists.”

  “Really?” Elana said, folding her arms. “I’m beginning to doubt that. You were calling for retreat until the moment that Voronina turned up, then suddenly you wanted to continue?”

  “I got scared, all right?” Klara said, her frown deepening. “Then I realised Yeger would want us to continue.”

  Mikhail snorted. “You’re so full of muck, Klara.”

  Klara spun on him. “Says the man who pretends his mother is dead!”

  Thick silence filled the air following the comment, and Mikhail’s brow sank as he stared back at Klara, meeting her gaze.

  “Mikhail, I’m still me. I’m not possessed by the Sila,” Elana said, her voice soft. “It’s a part of me now, but it doesn’t possess me.”

  Mikhail lurched to his feet, his eyes flashing as he pointed a shaking finger at his mother. “My entire life you’ve never so much as hurt someone, but how many people have you killed since you ‘bonded’ with the Sila? You’re not my mother, because my mother would never kill. You’re a monster who has taken my mother’s body and corrupted it. And the worst part is you won’t even admit that. You just stand there, pretending to be her.”

  Elana’s jaw tightened. “The Sila is not in control, nor will she ever be again. If I let her again, there’s no coming back, not now I’ve twice sacrificed Sila to save you. She’s furious about that.”

  “What about your supervisor? The Guild said you killed her when you destroyed the place. Was that you? Or her?”

  “Kid,” Yuri said, “now is not the time to worry about that. We’ve got bigger things to be concerned about, like how we’re going to survive the coming war.”

  “And that’s another problem,” Klara said, rounding on Yuri. “We never even had a chance of succeeding with you refusing to help us. With just a few extra people this mission could have been a success.”

  “Frankly, I’m glad I never sent any of my crew with you. I don’t need them sacrificed for a petty revenge mission,” Yuri said, his eyes narrowed.

  Klara growled. How could they not see? Voronina needed to be put down. She was out of control. “It’s not a revenge mission. It’s not about Voronina, it’s about saving the Sentinels. It’s about putting a stop to this war before it tears Serovnya apart.”

  “I want to believe you, I do,” Yuri said. “But I know you, Klara, and you haven’t changed. I’d hoped that after Katavsk you’d learned the cost of revenge. But I can see in your eyes you’re still willing to do anything to kill Voronina.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing?” Klara asked.

  “No. It’s not.” Yuri took a step towards her, his scarred face soured by a frown. “Right now you’re willing to put every single one of our lives at risk so you can find Voronina. How many need to die before you’re satisfied?” Yuri asked.

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  “No one’s dead,” Klara said.

  Yuri threw his hands up. “This is exactly what I mean! You refuse to take responsibility for what happened, and you’re minimising the cost.”

  “Well,” Elana said, “regardless of whether this is a revenge mission, we still need to rescue the Sila.”

  “No!” Yuri bellowed, his face suffused with blood. “Me and my crew aren’t gonna be a part of this madness any longer. We’re gone. If you want to stay in get yourselves killed, be my guest. But I’m not helping.” He stomped to the door, each step shaking the floor.

  “Coward!” Klara yelled at his retreating back.

  Yuri froze, and for a moment Klara thought he’d have the courage to face her.

  “Bah!” He ripped open the door and slammed behind him.

  Klara raked a hand through her hair. They didn’t need him, they could still pull this mission off without him. She’d just have to see if Maria could fight. “All right, Mikhail, I’ll get the rest of the squad together. You and Elana make another parachute. We’ll still need that.”

  “Are you serious?” Mikhail asked, shaking his head. “Uncle Yuri is right. You’re obsessed with Voronina. She’s all you care about, not Yeger and Matvei, or what might happen to them. I’ll help them, but I’m not having any part in your revenge quest. I’m done.” He strode to the door, exiting.

  “We don’t need him.” Klara said, turning to Elana. “He’s useless in a fight, he’ll just slow us down.”

  “Klara,” Elana said, “we need them all. We don’t have a hope of succeeding without each one of them. I’m sorry, but it’s over. We both failed.” With that, Elana left, leaving Klara standing alone in the quiet room.

  She walked to the railing and leaned against it, looking out into the inky blackness of the night. She tried to find the anger that had warmed her only minutes before, but found nothing. Only an icy well remained, colder than the snow beyond the glass, leaving her numb.

  Yuri just wanted to protect his crew.

  Mikhail just wanted to save the squad.

  Elana just wanted to rescue the Sila.

  And her? She wanted to cut Voronina’s hearts out.

  A shiver wracked Klara’s body. They were right to distance themselves from her. She’d watched Elana kill Alchemist soldiers and had cringed at the satisfaction in the woman’s eyes. Now she couldn’t help but wonder what her family would see if they watched her kill Voronina. Would they witness the same pleasure in her eyes?

  Her gut twisted. She remembered the uncontrolled loathing that burned in her as she’d beaten a white warrior to death in the Veter during the attack on her squad. Mikhail had had to pry her away from the man’s corpse.

  What if she lost control like that again? At least when Mikhail had raged, he had the excuse of being controlled by a Sila-infused extract.

  What excuse did she have?

  The door creaked behind her, and Klara squeezed her eyes shut. Who had come to rub her face in her mistakes now?

  The newcomer padded across the room, and the railing shifted next to Klara.

  Still Klara kept her eyes shut.

  “They looked mad.”

  Klara recognised Maria’s thick, Machtvollian accent and cracked an eyelid, casting a sidelong gaze at the woman. Her face was pale, but otherwise she looked all right.

  “Mad,” Klara said, tasting the word. “You could say that. I’d be inclined to use something a touch stronger, though.”

  Maria barked out a laugh and grimaced.

  Klara winced in sympathy. “Yeah, I took a week to recover after Katavsk.”

  “Golubski said I may never fully recover this one. He didn’t have the right healing extract for such deep damage. But it’s all right, I’m well enough to get Yeger and Matvei back.”

  Klara started. “What?”

  “Yeger and Matvei, you got them captured, yes?”

  “I did not!”

  Maria just stared at her, blank faced.

  Klara blew out a sigh. “Maybe I was partially responsible for their capture.”

  Maria continued to stare at her.

  “All right, all right! I wanted to kill Voronina for what she did, and my focus on that blinded me to the dangers. But despite what they claim, I was also trying to save the Sentinels.”

  The barest hint of a smile graced Maria’s lips. “I know, but even if you were just out to kill Voronina, I’d fight with you. I heard what she said, that guildless witch murdered Alarick and Irmina. They were family, Klara, just as Yeger and Matvei are—even if they’re rather cogheaded at times.”

  Klara snorted.

  “So are you going to just stand here, pouting and miserable because you upset your family, or are we going to rescue our squad?”

  “Good luck convincing anyone else to join us,” Klara said. “They hate me because I want revenge.”

  Maria shook her head. “They’re your family, they don’t hate you. You just hit them from the blind side. No one likes a surprise in the middle of a mission—especially from conflicting objectives. It creates confusion and leads to people being hurt.”

  “So, what are you suggesting? They don’t trust me.”

  “I’ve found humility and an apology go a long way to healing wounds.”

  Klara cringed. Maria was right, of course. She knew how quick she’d been to forgive her father when he finally apologised for how he’d treated her growing up. Bah! Now she’d been the one clinging to her pride.

  “Just stick with the truth this time, all right?” Maria said. “There’s a reason the Sentinel Code demands it. Now wait here, I’ll get them back.”