Determined, Tee stood and followed her comrades out of the infirmary.

  As she walked, memories of her previous awakening and the encounter with the elders flashed through her mind. Her hand instinctively rose to her neck, brushing over the cursed mark that remained.

  Her shoulder-length hair had become tangled over the area, likely covered again by Primus’s concealer. But where was the blackmailing? Tee tugged her collar higher to hide her neck, dismissing any thought of revealing her hybrid nature to her teammates. There would be time for that later, she reasoned.

  Outside, the world was pitch black, but sleep was the last thing on their minds. Eager for some personal grooming, Tee dashed to her room, intending to spend hours perfecting her hair and repainting her nails a sleek black. Hunger, however, soon interrupted her plans. She hastily applied a leave-in treatment, letting her hair air dry, then slipped into her trusty dark blue outfit and sturdy boots before heading downstairs.

  In the kitchen, Tee found her comrades rummaging through cupboards and the fridge, scavenging whatever provisions they could find. Miko, however, took it upon herself to prepare a proper meal. Saeda, ever assertive, thrust a bowl into Tee’s hands with a forceful motion.

  Tee didn’t appreciate Saeda’s overbearing manner but let it slide. As they worked together in silence, Tee wondered if her teammates were still angry about her lie.

  “I’m sorry about that,” she muttered, as if they could read her mind.

  No one responded, merely exchanging glances. The tension in the air wasn’t from her lie—it was the weight of failure, the sting of not having eliminated even a single member of the Harbingers.

  Time seemed to fly in the bustling kitchen. Miko skillfully removed two trays from the oven, carrying them to the center table. Wisps of steam curled gracefully to one side as she set the trays down.

  “Voila!” Miko exclaimed, her radiant smile lighting up the room as she admired the fruits of their collective efforts. “Baked to perfection.”

  Curious, Tee approached the tray, scanning for the cookie that resembled her. Saeda mirrored her actions from the opposite end. Together, they admired the intimidating elders crafted from icing, cloaked in vibrant shades of yellow, red, blue, and purple. The Commander and Lieutenant appeared inseparable, their cookie likenesses intertwined. Amusingly, Miko had already set her sights on devouring the Commander cookie.

  Tee expected her cookie, with its distinct white hair, to stand out—but the icing had turned a disappointing gray. On the second tray, she spotted a cookie meant to resemble Jack, only to find his blond hair had baked into a dull brown. She silently regretted ignoring Miko’s advice to use regular icing instead of the bakeable kind.

  Beyond the five guardian cookies, they needed to decorate two more for close friends or relatives. Tee thought only of pairing Jack with Tetra, honoring their connection and friendship.

  Tee had suggested adding scars to Kie’s cookie, savoring the thought of his reaction. Miko, however, deemed it too insensitive and swiftly put an end to Tee’s devious plan.

  Saeda, undeterred, shook Kie’s cookie and adopted a deep, raspy voice. “Hey Zod, wanna fight?” she taunted, raising Zod’s cookie in response. Then, switching to a comically high-pitched tone, she added, “Sure, but I already know I’m gonna lose.”

  Tee burst into laughter as Saeda imitated fighting noises with spit, playfully clashing the cookies together. The sound caught Miko’s attention, and she froze, eyes wide at the unfolding scene.

  “No talking over the food!” Miko barked, her voice sharp. “Saliva is not an ingredient!”

  Startled, Saeda dropped Zod’s cookie, and both its legs snapped. Miko screamed in horror, rushing over to join Saeda as they stared at the unfortunate fate of the broken cookie.

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  Saeda stepped back, while Tee nonchalantly loosened her apron bow, seemingly unbothered by the mishap. She silently wondered what Kie and Zod must think after hearing the blood-curdling scream from the kitchen, quietly hoping they wouldn’t come to investigate.

  “We made exactly twenty cookie bases,” Miko muttered, furrowing her brow. “We need to bake another one ASAP, or Zod will feel left out—”

  Saeda interrupted, carefully repositioning the broken legs and grabbing the nearly empty icing tube. “We’re not baking anything,” she declared, deftly covering the break with icing. “Now he’s the only one wearing pants.”

  The three girls stared at the cookie repaired with icing, before erupting into fits of laughter. Eventually, they left the kitchen, passing through the archway. The loud explosions and gunfire from the boys’ show reverberated through the room, nearly deafening. Tee couldn’t help but wonder why the speakers were cranked so high.

  “I hope you guys have an appetite for eating people, because we’ve got lots of them,” Miko quipped, setting one of the trays on the glass table.

  Knowing that their male counterparts only responded to the scent of food, Tee realized they had probably only looked her way after catching the enticing aroma. Zod promptly lowered the volume and shifted his attention to the treats Miko had laid out.

  Kie wore a white face mask he had acquired from Miko. It helped heal his fading scars and gave him a renewed sense of care for his skin. To Tee, however, the mask made him look eerily like a serial killer—only a chainsaw was missing to complete the image.

  The tantalizing aroma coaxed Kie to move his feet from the table and lean forward on the couch, eyes fixed on the vibrant array of baked bodies resting on the tray. “Gingerbread cookies? Aren’t those for kids?” he mused, his eyes and mouth visible through the mask’s perforations.

  “My leg!” Zod exclaimed, lifting his cookie—only to have both legs break off. Holding the remnants to his face, his eyes narrowed. “Looks like it was already broken too.”

  Zod’s dark green eyes flicked toward Tee, who sighed and looked away.

  Miko asked, “What’s wrong, Kie?”

  Kie hadn’t touched his cookie, instead staring at it intently with one hand resting on his chin. “I’m guessing this is supposed to be me,” he said, lifting the cookie by its head and placing it on his plate. “But who the heck are those two?” His gaze flicked back to the tray.

  Saeda replied, “Since you refused to divulge what your parents looked like, we had to improvise.”

  “You mean you made two more copies of me and then added a beard and… boobs?” Kie quipped.

  Zod erupted into laughter, burying his face between his clasped knees. Tee took a sizable bite of her cookie to hide her smile.

  “What’s so amusing?” Saeda asked, her eyes fixed on Zod. “We did the same thing for you. After that long-winded speech you gave us, nobody in their right mind would bother remembering half of it.”

  Zod lifted his head, a grin spreading across his face. “I can see that. Aren’t my parents absolutely gorgeous?”

  Tee sat cross-legged on the couch, quietly devouring her cookies. But the subtle movement of her legs caught Kie’s attention. His gaze traced from her thick black heel boots up to the smooth expanse of her thighs peeking out from the edge of her dress. Every second he didn’t look away made his heart race, aware of the risk of being caught.

  Tee’s dark blue dress clung to her form, accentuating her curves with effortless grace. Her hair was swept into a messy bun atop her head, revealing the elegant line of her neck—a detail Kie found particularly captivating. She was the only one bold enough to wear such daring attire, and it showed.

  He still remembered her lying about searching for the Harbingers. Deciding to omit that detail from his mission briefing to the Commander, he figured the truth wouldn’t have changed the outcome.

  Leaning back on the couch, he savored his food, his gaze once again lingering on Tee. Her hair glistened slightly, hinting at dampness and lending an almost hypnotic allure. It reminded him of the action heroines on the covers of his favorite sagas—drenched in rain, yet radiating an irresistible presence.

  Reluctantly, he admitted that Tee was undeniably pleasing to the eye. Her uncommon white hair and eyes had initially masked that fact, but over time, her unique features revealed her true beauty. Despite the many moments he spent watching her, Tee remained completely unaware of his attention. He resolved to keep his thoughts to himself.

  Kie cleared his throat. “I’ll need to brief the Commander on what happened during our mission. If anyone has anything else to add, say it now.”

  “We’re going to have to face them again,” Miko said, dragging her words as if each one caused her pain.

  “This is like a video game,” Zod added. “You die and try over and over again.”

  “Except we feel real pain,” Saeda interjected.

  “I want to know more about these god-like powers they’re talking about,” Kie said. “Three encounters with those creeps and still nothing?”

  Tee tensed, a flicker of unease running through her.