The only thing missing was the massive emerald landscape ornament. Everything else was an exact copy of his office. Even the arrangement of furniture hadn't changed. Then it struck Cassian. The gold bars piled up in the lobby downstairs, could those be the very ones he had once locked in his secret wardrobe? The thought almost made him laugh. So Natalie hadn't robbed anyone else at all. She was just robbing Peter to pay Paul, stealing from her own man. Natalie cleared her throat. "About that mall break-in. And the armored SUV—" Cassian waved her off. "No need to explain. I know it was you." His gaze swept the room with an amused smile. "Didn't expect you to have such faith in my taste." Natalie blinked, startled. "Wait, how do you know for sure?" "There was a security camera nearby. It caught a blurry shot of your profile." When he saw her stiffen, he added, "Don't worry. No one else could recognize you. The footage is aleady gone, and no one will ever know about the storage space." Natalie gave a small nod, a weight lifting off her chest. She'd thought she'd covered every track, but clearly, a slip had still shown. Next time, she'd have to be even sharper. They finished circling the place, and when the clock was nearly up, they started planning their exit. But where to exit mattered. Step out in the wrong spot, and they could land in danger all over again. Cassian suggested, "The ground's unstable. Front, back, every side is risky. Let's head upward." Natalie paused, caught off guard. "Heading upward?" Of course! Why hadn't she thought of that earlier? The space could stretch about 300 feet in any direction. If they angled upward, they'd land on the winding mountain road. Surely the mountain itself hadn't been leveled flat. "Alright," she agreed. "We'll shift to the mountain road. If anything goes wrong, we'll jump back in." "Got it. You handle the jump. I'll watch the perimeter and pick our next landing spot." "Alright." Natalie chose a location from memory, grabbed his hand, and blinked them out. They got lucky. The first landing was safe. But the mountain road wasn't the smooth stretch she remembered. A few boulders had rolled down, throwing her off balance. Her foot slipped, and she almost toppled off the slope. Cassian's reflexes saved her. He yanked her back just in time. Once steady, they instinctively glanced down the mountainside. A shiver ran across their scalps. The place where they'd been just 30 minutes earlier—the Humvee was gone. Or rather, not completely gone. It should've just been crushed under falling rocks. Instead, only a mangled corner of the vehicle jutted out of the earth. Cassian broke the silence. "Looks like after we slipped into the storage space, the ground here split open and then sealed shut again."Natalie's gaze locked on the Humvee, its frame wedged in the dirt. A chill ran down her spine. The real terror wasn't the ground cracking open. It was the way it closed. If someone fell into a fissure and it wasn't too deep, there might still be a chance. But once the earth sealed, there'd be no hope. Her face darkened. "I don't know how Lucky and Olivia are holding up. We need to get back." If the two of them were at risk even out in the open, then the house might be worse. At least the villas were scattered on the hillside, not packed tight like high-rises in the city. That gave her a sliver of comfort. Cassian tried to steady her. "The house will be fine. Remember the last Frostfall? You came here then, and every villa was still standing. It'll hold this time too." But Natalie frowned deeper. "No. This earthquake isn't the same. Cassian blinked. "What's different?" "The timing. Last time, the earthquake came after the fog ended. Now the fog hasn't even started, and it's already here. And the tremors feel stronger." Cassian went quiet for a beat. "Then maybe we're already looking at the butterfly effect." Natalie hummed in agreement. Whatever the reason, since it had already happened, they could only face it head-on. She pulled the armored SUV out of storage and drove uphill. Rocks littered the road, but with her blink ability, she steered them past each obstacle. They hadn't gone far when a figure scrambling over a giant boulder froze her in place.Her eyes widened. "Lucky?" The boulder stretched across the road, tall and solid, cutting it in half. As she steered closer, she spotted Lucky scrambling awkwardly, then tumbling to the ground in a heap. When she left the house earlier, the AC was still on. She never imagined Lucky would wander out, so she hadn't bothered with his thermal suit. Now, under the blazing sun, his short snout made every breath rough. He must have pushed past countless barriers to get here. His tongue lolled out as he panted desperately. Natalie hurrled out of the armored SUV just as Lucky stumbled toward her. She scooped him up as he whined and wagged, pressing his body against her. Lucky's barks came out sharp and frantic, almost like words, brimming with worry.