Chapter 25
Myra
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Myra said as she paced the length of their beat up minivan. They’d stopped to stretch their legs and get some fresh air, and everything had felt relatively calm until Cipher dug into his computer and confirmed what she already dreaded.
Of course they had. Because nothing in Myra’s life ever came easy.
From the open trunk, Jace let out a giggle at the sound of her swearing. It was the kind of laugh that would have eased the tension in her chest on any other day. But right now it only made her want to pull her own hair out just to release the pressure building under her skin.
Cipher’s voice cut through her spiraling thoughts, infuriatingly calm. “We’re an hour away at most. Maybe we should just drive in that direction while we figure out what comes next. Otherwise, we’re just wasting time.”
Myra stopped pacing and ran a hand through her hair as she stared out to the horizon. She’d never found it difficult to make decisions under pressure, but today the choice she had to make felt impossible.
Cipher shifted his weight, still leaning against the van, though now, he looked a little less calm than before. “I’m just saying, every minute we stand here is a minute lost, and we don’t have the luxury — ”
“Cipher,” Myra cut him off as she pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose. Her tone wasn’t angry, just frustrated from the strain of having too many choices and not enough answers. “Please, just give me a second to think.”
He fell quiet.
Her mind spun through their options. She had to decide between heading to Sonora or AZ-7.
Logic said Sonora because if she forgot about Luci and Alex and drove straight for the border they might actually make it.
A bitter part of her whispered that maybe she should.
They’d left her behind, so why should she risk everything just to find them?
But then her gaze drifted to Jace who sat on the edge of the van’s trunk. His legs were swinging as he traced shapes into the dust with his finger. He looked up at her with wide eyes and a bright smile.
She was the only family he had left.
If Myra was going to protect him, she couldn’t afford to be the kind of person who walked away from the opportunity to be better than the people who’d wronged her.
Myra dragged a hand down her face then clapped her palms together and started moving. “Alright,” she said, calmer now. “Everyone back in the car.”
Cipher gave her a confused look but didn’t argue. He pushed off the side of the van while Jace scrambled into the backseat, all elbows and excitement. Myra slid into the driver’s seat and waited until she heard all their seatbelts click before she started driving.
Cipher leaned back with his arms crossed over his chest, “So,” he said, “where exactly are we going?”
Myra gripped the steering wheel and stared out the windshield. “We’re not going to Sonora, not without Alex, Luci, and Luna.”
His brow lifted in surprise. “So this is a rescue mission now?”
“Yeah,” Myra said with a laugh. “Might as well be.”
Before any worries could settle in, Jace perked up in his seat. “A rescue mission?” His grin split wide and his eyes gleamed with an excitement she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen. “Like in my games? Finally!”
Myra glanced at him through the mirror and couldn’t help but laugh again. It was easy to forget how young he was, how much he’d already lost. If this gave him something to hold onto, even for a moment, then maybe that was reason enough to chase after Luci and Alex.
Cipher shook his head and muttered something under his breath, but Myra’s lips remained in a smile.
Rescue mission or not, they were in this together.
The van hummed along the road as they drove. Jace hummed softly to himself as he toyed with the strap of his seatbelt. Cipher sat beside her, tapping something into his laptop, his face lit by the screen’s glow.
Then he froze, and his eyes widened.“Holy shit,” he whispered.
Myra’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. “What?” she asked, already bracing for bad news.
Cipher didn’t look up but his fingers raced over the keys. “The alarm system at AZ-7 just lit up. Security breach, multiple alerts. It’s — ” He stopped and shook his head. “This is bad.”
For half a second, Myra’s stomach dipped. But then clarity hit her like a beam of lightning.
She knew Alex and the way his mind worked. She knew he would refuse to bend the knee when it came to Luci. “If the alarms are going off, it has to be because of Alex.”
Cipher turned to her. “You’re going to gamble everything on that theory?”
“This isn’t a gamble,” Myra said as she slammed her foot down on the gas. The engine groaned as the van lurched forward. “This is our shot.”
In the backseat, Jace yelped at the sudden burst of speed. Cipher twisted around in his seat and braced himself against the dashboard. “Jace, hold on to something. Now!”
The boy scrambled to clutch the handle above the window, his eyes wide. But the thrill in his smile betrayed him. Myra kept her eyes locked on the road. Whatever chaos waited for them at AZ-7, they would meet it head on.