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"I’ll get all ht away," Edilio snapped Then, "Sorry"

"I know you’re stretched thin, man"

"Thin? I’m stretched invisible, Sam There are maybe two, three dozen kids in the fields I have uns And the rest? You knohere they are"

"It’s the waiting," Sahway "Why doesn’t she just attack?"

"Maybe she knoe’re panicking Orfor the fire to do her work for her"

Sam looked up The sky was still afternoon blue, but there was a gray tint to the air "If she’s out there to the northwest of town like we think, then she’s closer to the fire than we are Maybe we’ll get lucky and--"

He stopped when he saw Edilio’s skeptical look

"Yeah," Sao after her If I wait, then she uses my oer to kill kids I have to try to take her down myself"

Edilio spread his hands as if to say, ButThere was no but It was the truth, and they both knew it

"The only other alternative is, you know, to, uive ive u he was to believe that he had to die to stop Gaia But that wasn’t what he heard, or what he saw in Edilio’s eyes

"She’s stronger than you are, Sa yourself and Caine and Jack and Dekka, all at once"

"Yeah"

"Talk to Astrid about it"

"I already talked to Astrid"

"And she’s okay with a suicide o to win, huh? Don’t go out there thinking you’re doing us a favor by getting killed"

Saaan, but that was all he had, that one word, that one-word plea for a different solution

"Take care of Astrid for me Try to keep her safe and don’t let her followpeople safe," Edilio said

"No,The grief is enough It’s enough You don’t need guilt on top of it"

Edilio looked grateful, but not like he believed it