Page 197 of Problematic

“I thought the tower systems were compromised.”

“They are.” His thumb moved across the screen. “Vale set up a separate emergency network after the first freight-route breach. Patrol captains, ward commanders, and a few people inside the tower kept access. It runs through old municipal relays instead of Lux’s main system.”

“Why?”

Kalon glanced at me. “Because Vale assumes every security system will fail eventually.” Another message flashed across the screen. Kalon read it, jaw tightening, before he locked the device.

“What did it say?”

“Scarn is ordering northern fighters and tower personnel to report for reassignment.”

“That sounds bad.”

“It is.” He slipped the phone back into its holster. “It also means he wants everyone gathered in one place.” Something shifted in his face. The calm remained, but it had stopped being passive. He was calculating. “What’s the plan?”

The room went silent.

All three of them turned to me.

“There’s supposed to be a plan?” I said half jokingly.

Mandi blinked. “You declared war with no plan?”

Sam stepped closer and took both my hands. Hers were warm. Mine felt icy despite the heat crawling under my skin. “Start with the bond.”

I gave her a dead, wet-eyed stare. “The bond?”

“Yes. You should be able to feel where he is.”

“I can feel that he’s hurt and upset.”

“It works for me and Daniel. Just try it.”

“Daniel uses it to find you in Hell-Mart,” Mandi said.

Sam glared. “It was one time.”

“You were in the candle aisle for twenty minutes.”

“I can’t believe he told you that!”

“I have quite the way of getting information out of people. You bought something called Haunted Brunch. Where is he, anyway?”

Sam pressed two fingers against her mate mark, her face tightening as something passed through the bond. “Daniel’s on the southern border with the Guard.”

“He let you come here without him?” I asked.

“He wanted to follow me. I told him civilians at Angelfall needed him more than I did.”

“Was he convinced?” Mandi asked.

Sam’s mouth pulled tight. “No. He’s furious, terrified, and sending enough panic through the bond to give me heartburn.”

“We need to focus,” Kalon said.

Sam squeezed my hands. “Close your eyes.”

I shut my eyes.