ional map of Planet Xylos. It was a primordial death-trap, a wild landmass encased by deep
s head as if his skull might fracture from the news alone. "Is th
n. To these kids, a Class-4 beast was a walking ni
4 core through his soul-flame, it would be the absolute perfect catalyst to rebui
lly into Cillian's forearm. Mace swallowed hard, puffing out his chest as he forc
e sheer bravado coming from a guy w
d flight officer droned through the ceiling speakers
s olive-drab paint had been stripped bare by years of brutal re-entries,
ced forward seat behind the pilot console. Kieran simply stepped a
seat near the emergency hatch. Leo strapped in beside him, the poor kid'
ough the hull as the pod ejecte
ic friction. The small viewport glowed a violent, superheated orange. As the craft tore th
pod shudde
nsole flashed a blinding crimson: Warning: Anti-Gravit
ately wrenching the manual controls as the jungle c
e!" Talia shrieked
r erupted across his skin, attempting a partial be
faint, unnatural energy severance within the pod's primary conduit. Someone had deliber
grabbed the hyperventilating Leo by the collar, and shoved the
ad down," Kie
la in the air. A flicker of white flame-the Saint Lotus of Starlight-bloomed invisibly across his palm. I
o
g century-old ironwood trees like dry twigs befor
ose seats from their mountings, tossing the unshielded elite cadets around like rag dolls. The emergency impact foam de
ured engine bay, filling the wreckage
rier, the crash had felt like little more than a bumpy elevator ri
The metal plate flew off its hinges an
ngs. They were deep within the untamed jungle of Planet Xylos. Giant ferns towered twenty
de the wreckage. If he hadn't subtly absorbed the worst of the
ourselves, Kieran thought, rubbing his temples in mild e
ifted from the dense und
ng a heavy, predatory pulse of biological
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