War doesn't wait for you to be ready.
[MARCUS'S HOUSE - PRESENT]
The figure in the doorway stepped into the light.
Colton Vex.
The obnoxious council liaison who'd tried to claim me after Darius's rejection. Who I'd dismissed as harmless. Annoying but ultimately powerless.
Except he wasn't powerless at all.
"Surprise," Colton said, smiling. "Miss me?"
My mind raced. Retracing every conversation. Every meeting. Every piece of intelligence that had somehow reached Gideon at exactly the right time.
Colton had been there for all of it.
"You," I said. "You've been feeding him information."
"Guilty. Though 'feeding' makes it sound so one-sided. I prefer 'strategic partnership.' More professional."
Declan clapped him on the shoulder. "Our man on the inside. Couldn't have done it without him."
[CAMPUS - 30 MINUTES EARLIER]
Darius stood in the command center, coordinating defense with grim efficiency.
"East perimeter holding," Caleb reported. "But they're testing for weaknesses."
