Page 154 of Broken Sentinel

I try to speak, but my throat feels raw, as if I've beenscreaming for hours. I manage a raspy "Yes" that barely sounds human.

"Don't try to move yet," he instructs, adjusting something on a nearby monitor. "Your body is still recovering from severe cellular strain."

Memory floods back—the crystals, the resonance network, the crushing pressure as Haven children collapsed one by one around me. Then Adrian Lin's unexpected appearance, completing our circle at the most desperate moment.

"Did it work?" I ask, voice marginally stronger.

Reid nods, a tired smile touching his face. "The protocol was successful. The adaptive offer has been extended globally."

"The others?"

His expression tightens. "Eight survivors, including you. The strain was substantial, to say the least."

Three dead. Three of my fellow Haven children gave their lives to extend this offer of adaptive choice to humanity. People I barely knew, yet connected to in ways that transcend normal understanding.

"Lily?" I ask, sudden fear clutching my heart.

"She's alive," Reid assures me. "Her perceptive abilities actually helped her channel the resonance field more efficiently than most. She's recovering in the next tent."

Relief washes through me, followed immediately by more questions. "Where are we? This isn't Resonance."

Reid's expression darkens. "Unity forces breached Resonance's perimeter during the protocol. We were forced to evacuate once transmission completed."

"Evacuate? Where's everyone else? Where's—" I stop, sudden panic rising as I realize who I haven't seen. "Where's Trent? And Vex?"

Reid looks away, and dread pools in my stomach. "Dr. Reid. Where are they?"

When he finally meets my gaze again, I see something I never wanted to see—pity.

My stomach falls straight through me.

"There were...complications during the evacuation," he says carefully. "Unity forces broke through faster than anticipated. The defense teams covered our retreat, bought time for us to get the Haven children to safety."

No. No, no, no.

I struggle to sit up despite the protest of my aching body. "Where are they?"

Reid places a restraining hand on my shoulder. "You need to rest?—"

"Tell me!" My voice cracks with the force of my demand.

He sighs heavily. "Vex was wounded covering our retreat. Last report indicated he was alive but unable to disengage from the battle."

"And Trent?" I press, though something in me already knows the answer isn't good.

Oh god, oh god…

"Captured," Reid says quietly. "He was part of the final defense line that held Unity forces back long enough for our transports to clear the area."

The words hit like an explosion, obliterating my heart. Trent captured. Vex wounded and possibly dead. While I was unconscious, fulfilling the destiny my mother designed for me, the two men I care about most were sacrificing themselves so I could escape.

"How long?" I manage to say, voice cracking.

"You've been unconscious for almost eighteen hours," Reid answers. "We're approximately eighty kilometers from Resonance, in a temporary camp established for the survivors."

Eighteen hours. Unity would have transported Trent to a processing facility by now. And Vex...if he survived the battle, he'd be in Unity custody as well.

"We need to go back," I say, pushing against Reid'srestraining hand with new determination. "Now. Before they're moved to a permanent facility."

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