All eyes turned to Alec, who shifted uncomfortably. "It's in the Northern Wastes," he said, his voice hoarse. "He's consolidating power there. Every infected, every twisted loyalist is being drawn to it. It's like… it's alive."
Finn frowned, his hands resting on a jury-rigged device he'd been tinkering with. "Alive? You mean the fortress itself?"
Alec nodded. "It's more than stone and steel. The Shadow's power runs through it. It feeds off the infection and… the monoliths."
Selene's expression darkened. "Then destroying it might be harder than we thought."
"And that's assuming we can even get there," Evelyn added. She tapped a finger on the map spread out before them. "The Northern Wastes are a death trap. Few who go there come back."
Zoe, who had been silent until now, spoke up. Her voice was quiet but firm. "Mia would've wanted us to try. She gave her life to stop the Shadow. We can't let her sacrifice be for nothing."