He knew Natalie never acted without being sure of herself, but sitting here instead of helping her fight made him feel terrible. Natalie was powerful—so strong she didn't even need him to protect her. He took a long breath and told himself to focus. He needed to train harder, grow stronger, and become someone worthy of her. Cassian raised his hand, signaling for everyone to stop and stay where they were. At the same time, Natalie had already appeared on the far side of the van. Inside the van, Philbert sat in the driver's seat, staring nervously in the direction of their enemies. Most of the Grayhound Sect members who had just run away kept going. A few were too tired to move and sat down near the van, gasping for air and trying to catch their breath. They had barely escaped alive. Now that they'd stopped, their legs were weak and shaking. They tried to steady themselves while watching Cassian's group from a distance. None of them noticed the woman standing quietly behind them. Natalie walked up to the van blocking the road and knocked on the passenger window. "What are you staring at?" she asked. Philbert, who had been watching the other side so closely, froze at the sound of her voice. He turned and met Natalie's calm, teasing eyes. He flinched, ready to shout—but before he could, a flash of white light burst out, and the world outside the window suddenly changed. A moment ago, fog covered everything, and you could barely see a few yards ahead. Now the sky was bright and clear, with the sun shining down.The place looked beautiful. A wide green lawn, rare trees and flowers, a clear spring, and a grand mansion that looked like it belonged to someone rich. When he looked further, he saw something strange—rows of crops. If not for the neat lines of eggplants and green beans, he would've thought he was standing in some foreign estate. Everything looked so peaceful. Since the apocalypse, he hadn't seen anything this calm or perfect. The only things that seemed out of place were him and the old, beat-up van. Philbert sat frozen, staring in shock. This wasn't Greenhaven Mountain anymore. It didn't even look like Northlorn. That meant she had moved him hundreds of miles away in just a second. And all she did was touch the window. That was terrifying. He quickly locked the doors and stayed inside, too scared to move. Everything had happened too strangely and too fast. From what he'd learned, the prettier a place looked, the more dangerous it usually was. There was no way that woman had brought him somewhere safe. A quiet place like this had to be hiding something bad. Outside, the tired grunts resting near the van felt that something wasn't right. Two men who had been leaning against the van suddenly fell backward onto the ground, shouting in surprise. Everyone turned around—and there was Natalie, holding a gun. But the van that had been filled with bombs was gone. Not just the van—Philbert, an entire person, had vanished too. A chill ran up their legs. How could a whole van disappear like that?This woman could teleport herself—fine, that was already crazy enough. But she could also teleport other things along with her? A whole group of men were so terrified of her that they stood frozen, shaking all over, not daring to say a word. None of them even thought about rushing in to attack. How could they fight her? She could use strange powers, and she also had an assault rifle slung over her back. Next to her, they were just easy targets. So they stayed frozen. The smart ones slowly lifted their hands to show they were giving up. Natalie gave them a small smile. "What are you waiting for? Run!" It was like she had set them free. They turned and ran as fast as they could. Natalie's smile grew. She called out toward the fog where Cassian was waiting, "All clear! Keep shooting!" The ones running away nearly tripped over themselves when they heard that. What the heck? She's giving orders to both sides now? Cassian heard her shout and moved forward with Harold and the others, ready to fire. Harold paused, unsure. "Are we clear? If we start firing, won't the bombs go off?" Olivia looked worried, too. "Nat's still up ahead. What if we hit her by accident?" Cassian didn't hesitate for even a second. "She said it's fine." He trusted Natalie completely. Then a familiar voice spoke from behind them. "Yep. Go ahead. The explosives are already taken care of." They all turned around—and there was Natalie.Even though the gas mask hid her face, Cassian could tell she was smiling underneath it.