"You are a total mess, big guy," Juno scolded him gently. "You pushed your human body way too far today.""I had to," Landon said simply.The warm golden magic flowed into his chest. His broken rib snapped perfectly back into place. His torn shoulder muscles healed instantly. Landon breathed deeply for the first time in hours without feeling any sharp pain."I am completely out of healing magic for the day," Juno announced, wiping sweat from her forehead. "So please, do not break any more bones tonight.""I will try my best," Landon chuckled softly.While Juno was healing the team, Jin and Sera were not resting.The two brilliant computer hackers had found a completely unbroken computer terminal on the wall of the ruined atrium. They plugged their cracked laptops into the Aether Dominion's main network.Their fingers flew across the keyboards with blinding speed. Click-clack-click-clack."I am searching for General Rauth's energy signature," Jin explained, her dark eyes glued to the gl

The inside of the swirling, dark purple portal was an absolute nightmare.The beautiful, white Aether Dominion dropship flew straight into the magical vortex. Instantly, all the bright lights inside the ship's cabin flickered and died. The ship was plunged into total, pitch-black darkness.Landon Hale sat in the pilot's seat. His large, muscular hands gripped the glowing steering controls so tightly that his knuckles turned completely white."Hold on!" Landon roared over the deafening noise.Outside the thin metal walls of the ship, the universe was violently tearing itself apart. Jagged bolts of angry, red lightning smashed against the windshield. The hot, boiling air of Lagos, Nigeria, was fighting against the freezing, icy wind of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The two different worlds were crashing together inside the magic tunnel.The ship shook incredibly hard. It felt like they were trapped inside a giant washing machine."We are losing engine power!" Jin screamed from the back seat. S

Because he was born with the massive, destructive Kinetic Echo magic, he had always thought he was a dangerous freak. The Iron Order had treated him like a battery. The world saw him as a weapon. He had always believed he was just a monster meant to punch things until he died.He never, ever believed that he deserved to be loved. He thought he was too broken, too violent, and too dangerous for a beautiful, brilliant woman like Claire Arden.But looking down into her tear-filled eyes, hearing her speak those three perfect words, Landon finally understood the absolute truth.He was not just a weapon. He was a good man. He was a protector. And he was completely, perfectly worthy of her love.The massive, heavy burden of his lifelong core struggle finally lifted completely off his broad shoulders. He felt incredibly light. He felt entirely free.Landon reached out and gently took Claire’s beautiful face in both of his large, bruised hands."You will never lose me, Claire," Landon promise

"They are trying to copy your magic, Landon," Sera explained in pure horror. "They are building bombs that create a fake, massive Kinetic Echo vibration when they explode. General Rauth wants to drop these bombs into Lake Michigan. He wants to use the fake magic vibrations to fully wake up the Deep One. If those bombs leave that factory, the ancient monster will drown us all."The entire basement went dead silent. The stakes were incredibly high. They had to stop those bombs today."Okay," Landon said deeply. He looked at his trusted team. "We split up into three strike teams. We hit all three targets at the exact same time."Landon pointed at Kade and Marcus. "Kade, Marcus," Landon ordered. "Take a squad of thirty militia fighters. Go to the Northern Rail Yard. Blow up the tracks. Destroy the trains. Do not let any weapons leave that yard.""You got it, brother," Kade grinned fiercely, patting his rocket launcher."Consider the trains smashed," Marcus laughed in his deep, booming voi

Claire sprinted out from behind cover. She aimed her silver pistol and fired. She didn't aim at the invisible monsters. She aimed directly at the heavy, overhead fire-suppression pipes running along the ceiling.BANG!The water pipe burst open. A massive shower of freezing cold water rained down onto the metal floor.The water hit the invisible Mutants. The cold water sparked violently against their hot, toxic purple magic.The water short-circuited their invisibility. The three Mutants sparked with wild purple lightning, completely unable to turn invisible while they were wet."They are visible!" Claire yelled. "Hit them now, Landon!"Landon did not waste the brilliant opportunity. He dropped his useless rifle. He closed his eyes.The stakes were too high. The Mutants were too fast. He needed his team. He needed the perfect coordination of the War Resonance.But he couldn't just connect to Claire. He needed to connect to his entire army across the city.Landon reached deep into his s