Contents
Chapter 16
Overview
Wren meets Cross at Haven with Pasha’s help. They reconnect, and Wren discovers Cross was beaten and stripped of command; Radek now runs Silver Elite while Travis consolidates power and Roe forms a hunting unit targeting Mods and Faithfuls. Wren presses Cross to defect, but he refuses. They part without a plan, acknowledging rising danger for Xavier and Wren.
Summary
Wren arrives at Haven, a brothel she once infiltrated, using Gray’s network contact. Bartender Pasha, a telepathic ally, slips Wren upstairs to a private room where Cross ambushes her playfully. Their reunion turns fervent and intimate, briefly eclipsing their original purpose for meeting.
During a pause, Wren discovers Cross’s extensive bruises and broken ribs from his recent punishment. Cross reveals he was surveilled but shook his tails to come. He admits he has been removed from command of Silver Elite; administrative captain Radek now runs it, while Travis withholds intelligence and keeps Cross sidelined.
Cross outlines shifting power: Travis, newly acting as General, is focused on crushing the Aberrant Uprising, and Roe is assembling a personal “hunting party” against Mods and Faithfuls. Wren challenges Cross’s complacency, condemns slave labor and persecution, and urges him to join the network and the Modified cause.
Cross counters with moral ambiguity, citing Adrienne’s mind-wiping of his father as evidence the Uprising can be ruthless. He admits he wants to protect Wren but can’t do so while separated and mistrusts her allies. Wren affirms her commitment to the network and rescue missions, asks Cross to defect, and he refuses, fearing imprisonment or death if he’s captured.
They discuss Xavier Ford’s peril; Cross instructs Wren to warn Xavier he cannot return to Sanctum Point due to a red threat. With limited time before Gray retrieves her, Wren and Cross share a final affirmation of their bond. They part without a shared strategy, the stakes heightened by Cross’s loss of power and the brothers’ escalating crackdown.
Who Appears
- Wren (Stella Hess)Protagonist; arranges a covert meeting at Haven, reunites with Cross, urges him to defect, commits to the Modified.
- Cross ReddenWren’s lover; beaten, stripped of Silver Elite command, reveals Travis’s and Roe’s moves, refuses to defect, warns about Xavier.
- PashaBartender and telepathic ally; escorts Wren through Haven and covers her presence.
- Gray SutlerEscort and pilot; arranges network contact, will retrieve Wren after the meeting.
- TravisCross’s brother; acting General consolidating power, excludes Cross from intel, targets the Uprising.
- RoeCross’s brother; recently empowered lieutenant forming a hunting unit against Mods and Faithfuls.
- RadekAdministrative captain now placed in charge of Silver Elite after Cross’s removal.
- Xavier FordDetained ally; Cross says he faces a red threat and cannot return to Sanctum Point.