“No, you owe Logan an apology. You and that silent little creep.” A vein in Ian’s forehead throbs as he points behind me. I turn to see Elias standing a few yards away. When he meets my gaze, his blue eyes widen like he’s just been caught pickpocketing a guard in Lower Market.

“I owe Logan nothing.” Adam spits the words at Ian as if I’m not standing right beside him.

“You owe him your life,” Rachel says, removing her hand from his chest and glaring at him like she’s about to team up with Ian and take Adam down for the sake of my honor.

“Let’s all just take a moment and calm down,” I say, waving discreetly to Drake as he heads our way. He understands my request and changes course, gathering up those who hover near us with eager ears and shepherding all of them toward the canteen wagon parked at the edge of the field.

“He said you weren’t worth following. That we should wait for the Commander to catch up to us and rejoin our true leader,” Ian says, his fist still wrapped around the hilt of his sword, though he’s made no move to pull it from its sheath.

“I said I didn’t sign on to wander endlessly through the Wasteland at the whim of someone the Commander declared unfit for society.”

“I declare you unfit for society.” Ian raises his fists. “Every time I turn around, you’re huddled with Elias discussing the good old days when the Commander used to tell you how to wipe your nose and how to use a fork and how to—”

“He’s a great man!” Adam’s voice rings out across the field, and I push a hand against his shoulder when he moves toward Ian again.

“He was a monster who deserved to lose his city and everyone in it.”

“My family died that day.” Adam lunges forward, shoving past my restraining arm, and slams into Ian.

They hit the grass in a tangle of fists, feet, and limbs. Adam grabs the silver chain Ian wears around his neck and jerks it free, leaving a long red welt on the side of Ian’s neck. Ian howls with fury and pounds his fists into Adam’s face, shoulders, and back. I bend down, grab Adam’s shoulders, and pull him off of Ian. Rachel crouches beside Ian as he rolls over and slaps the thick tufts of grass with his hand.

“I’ve got it,” Rachel says as she hands Ian the chain, its little copper charm undamaged.

He takes it from her and rubs his thumb across the charm’s surface.

“Nice piece of jewelry,” Adam sneers, and I give his arms a sharp little shake.

Ian looks up, the sun gleaming off a thin trail of blood that leaks from a split in the corner of his lip. “My father made it. It’s all I have left of him. The Commander saw to that.”

The fight slowly drains from Adam, and I release his shoulders as I feel them slump. Rachel meets my gaze, and I nod as I read her expression. I can’t let this situation with Adam go unaddressed any longer.

“I understand that you don’t want me as your leader,” I say quietly as a faint rumbling echoes out of the Wasteland to the south of us.

“You’re nineteen! The same age as me. What qualifies you to tell me what to do?” Adam glares at me through eyes already starting to swell, courtesy of Ian’s fists.

“The fact that I have a plan, I know how to put it into action, and the majority of those who survived Baalboden voted to put me in charge,” I say, and Adam looks at the ground. “Why didn’t you leave with the others who headed east to find the Commander? Why stay with me if you despise me so much?”

“Because I couldn’t bear to leave my family behind.” His voice is raw with grief and the kind of unspent rage that sometimes lashes out of Rachel. “How was I supposed to know you weren’t planning to stay in Baalboden?”

I don’t know what to say to that, and the rumbling is growing louder. It no longer sounds like it’s coming from the south of us. Instead, it feels like it’s in the ground beneath us. The dirt shakes, sending mild tremors through my legs. My muscles tense as Ian looks at Elias, who still waits a few yards away. We need to get off of this field. Now.

“What about you, Elias?” Ian asks as the people behind us begin clutching each other and backing away from the center of the field. “What’s your problem with Logan’s leadership?”

He shrugs. “I guess I just need proof that he can really protect us the way the Commander could.”

The field shudders and sways, and the rumbling begins to sound like thunder beneath us.

“I think you’re about to get a firsthand demonstration,” Ian says as he lunges to his feet.

The rumbling becomes a muted roar, and a ripple shudders across the field, sending the metal Ferris wheel swaying in its berth.

“Get to the trees!” I yell as a crack begins to widen in the soil, and the Cursed One surges toward the surface.

Chapter Seventeen

RACHEL

People scream and run toward the edges of the field as the guttural roar of the Cursed One thunders toward us from beneath our feet. I whirl around and yell, “Quiet!”

When most of them ignore me, Ian steps forward and bellows, “Silence or you die!”

People moan and whimper, clutching each other or falling to their knees as the ground heaves beneath our feet.

“Get them away from the epicenter,” Logan says as he whips his tunic off and pulls at the rope that holds the Rowansmark device to his chest. The third button, the one that should send the Cursed One away from us, is still tied down, which means the device is malfunctioning again. If Logan’s booster pack doesn’t work, we’re dead.