When the staff heard Natalie's request, he actually gave her a nod of approval. "Good time to buy. Prices are low right now, but word is more survivors made it than anyone guessed. A few days from now, the market will go back up." Natalie thought for a second. "Any bigger units?" The staff didn't even look up from his form. "No. Layouts are set. You can only pick the floor. Six stories total. Which one do you want?" "Fifth floor," Natalie decided. "Six hundred square feet?" "Yeah." The staff finished the paperwork fast, then sent people downstairs to unload the grain. Once the truck was empty, Natalie and Cassian got the keys. They were about to check out the place when two men walked out of the lobby. She recognized them—they'd been at another counter upstairs when she signed her forms. The younger guy grinned wide and said, "Uncle, you're amazing! You grabbed so many units at once! We'll be set for life. Just renting them out or flipping them, we'll be rich without lifting a finger!" Natalie blinked. The world is ending, and people are still flipping houses? Cassian noticed her staring after them. "What—thinking of grabbing a few more yourself?" She shook her head instantly. No way. She had no energy for that. If she wanted money, she had plenty of other ways. Buying up apartments wasn't worth it.She only knew what was coming up to the Frostfall. Braxton said there'd be an Evernight after that—who knew what else? With the world this unstable, if the base collapsed, all those houses would turn to nothing. They drove over to check the new place. Tower 2, Building 3, Unit 501. Two units per floor, square and plain. Just as she'd pictured—ordinary and quiet. Once she was sure the place was fine, Natalie drove one more loop through the half-built base. Nothing new. Before curfew hit, they left. The ride home was easy. Music played, and they were in high spirits. She was excitedly talking to Cassian about dinner when she froze. "Wait. Why's the car shaking?" Cassian snapped upright in the passenger seat, eyes sharp. "It's not the car. The whole ground is moving." "What?" Natalie's pupils shrank. An earthquake? That isn't supposed to happen—at least not in my past life. Before she could think, the SUV rocked harder. With a thunderous crack, the road split wide open in front of them. Natalie's heart hammered. One hand stayed locked on the wheel while the other grabbed Cassian. She aimed at a safe spot, blinked forward a hundred yards, and the car and both of them skipped past the gap. But the ground kept tearing. The blacktop ripped apart like weak paper, new cracks opening one after another.Sweat covered Natalie's palms as she clung to Cassian's hand, eyes locked ahead, blinking them again and again to safer ground. She didn't even dare hide inside the storage space. She didn't know where the exit would open when they came back out. If the world had changed, they might pop out right into a crack. So she had to focus hard on safe spots and keep blinking at them. By then the car had reached the foot of Greenhaven Mountain. Just when Natalie had finally dodged all the cracks and felt a little relief, a huge boulder came crashing down the slope. Cassian's eyes went wide. He turned and grabbed Natalie, pulling her behind him to shield her. Boom ... They landed on the couch in the storage space villa, holding each other, both of them sweating. Natalie felt weak all over. For a moment she had seen Cassian and the falling rock as one. The terror of almost losing him ripped at her chest. She realized she wasn't just afraid of dying. She was afraid of him dying too. At that moment Natalie understood that Cassian was more than a boyfriend she was testing. He mattered to her a lot. After a long time, Cassian finally let go and breathed out. He checked her from head to toe. "Are you okay?" Natalie shook her head. "I'm fine." Good thing they moved fast. Half a second slower, and both of them would've been crushed along with the car.Too bad about the Hummer. She had been so scared, she hugged Cassian tight and forgot to secure the car. She let out a breath and looked at him. "Are you stupid? That rock was huge. Standing in front of it didn't help—we would've both been squashed." Cassian ruffled her hair. "It was just instinct." Inside he thought, Even if it wouldn't change anything, at least I tried to protect you.