"I didn't need to. Breathe, Hala," Void ordered, and I sucked down air, trying to stay calm.
Freaking out in a fight only got you hurt.
"Void, catch," Mav called, and I jumped when a big, blocky object sailed through the air and into Void's waiting hand.
"That's … a big gun," I breathed, staring at it. It was as big as Void's arm, and Void's arm wasmassive. Covered in different chambers, one see-through with shadows twisting inside—pure void magic. I'd seenthatbefore, at least. But I'd seen it eat a weapon from the inside out, so it wasn't too comforting.
"Void gun," Mav said, catching me around the waist with a strong tentacle. "Don't I get a kiss for luck, too?" he teased, turquoise eyes glittering but his voice still that steely hard tone from earlier.
"Always," I replied, gasping when he wrapped me up in tentacles and lifted me off my feet so my lips could reach his.
I groaned at the hot, devouring kiss he swept in my mouth, his tongue conquering and lips demanding.
"Mav," I breathed, "do you want to be my mate?"
"Thought you’d never ask," he said against my lips, smirking. "Hell yeah, I do."
"Really?" I blurted, my eyes wide at his easy acceptance. "Even though—"
"Yup. Even though. Nothing could stop me, certainly not a little murder among friends."
I laughed, my heart winching tight at the thought of losing him.
A heavy thud came from the opposite end of the room, Sang arming himself. A reminder of where we were—the armoury, preparing for battle.
"Fight like hell, firecracker," Mav said against my lips, his expression hardening. "Let's give them everything they deserve."
As if the keepers heard, a huge crash sounded from the floor above, and I tilted my head back as if I could see through the roof to what was happening.
When a hollow clank much, much closer made all of us tense, I had a feeling I knew exactly what happened. They'd blasted the lift doors apart … and jumped down to land on top of the lift.
It would take them a minute to break open the hatch on its ceiling, maybe another minute to pry the doors open.
We were out of time.
23
"Dibs!" Sang cried out, his yellow eyes glowing and a huge grin on his face.
It hit me then, as he raced towards the lift and wrenched the doors open with big, clawed hands, that he was really, deeply insane. I blinked for a moment in shock, but shook myself out of it and lifted my gifted knife when Mav set me on my feet. He and Void arranged themselves defensively in front of me.
"Look what I've got!" Sang said excitedly—to the people in the lift, I realised. Not keepers, not yet. They'd sent weapons ahead of them to do the dirty-work.
"Oh my god," I breathed when Sang brought his bulging arm around in an arc, muscles straining his tight, sleeveless shirt and a shining silver whip in his hand.
It coiled around the neck of a weapon I didn't recognise, and the red-haired man instantly screamed, making me jump.
"Cool, right?" Sang asked, bouncing on his heels. "I covered it in razor blades."
Oh my god, he was certifiable. And I thoughtIwas crazy.
"Sang," I warned, spotting four other people in the lift. Two of them I knew—a blonde woman who could turn her whole body to fire, and a black man with piercing green eyes who could summon a storm in glowing-blue hands.
Sang giggled and unwound his whip from the red-haired weapon, making the man scream again as the blades slashed open his throat. He fell to the ground, halfway out of the lift, and gurgled before going still.
"Who wants to play next?" Sang asked breathlessly.
No one moved for a split second, but then carnage and panic erupted.