The WARCROSS duology electrifies with newly revealed WILDCARD cover!

Marie Lu‘s Warcross ended on a hectic, foreboding cliffhanger that seems to throw everybody for a loop, so it’s no surprise that the conclusion to the duology is called Wildcard.

Thanks to EW, we now have our first looks at the anticipated sequel, including the stunning new cover, an excerpt, and the synopsis.

The Wildcard cover features the same bright, 3D-style design as Warcross, but it’s got a darker vibe and a few added details that give it some more depth and dimension.

Now that you’re all hyped up by the electric design, we bet you need a little something to tide you over. How about the entire first chapter?

Eight Days until the Warcross Closing Ceremony

Someone is watching me.

I can feel it—the eerie sensation of being followed, an invisible gaze locked on my back. It prickles my skin, and as I make my way through Tokyo’s rain-soaked streets to meet up with the Phoenix Riders, I keep looking over my shoulder. People hurry by in a steady stream of colorful umbrellas and business suits, heels and oversize coats. I can’t stop imagining their downcast faces all turned in my direction, no matter which way I go.

Maybe it’s the paranoia that comes with years of being a bounty hunter. You’re on a crowded street, I tell myself. No one’s following you.

It’s been three days since Hideo’s algorithm was triggered. Technically, the world should now be the safest it’s ever been. Every single person who has used the new Henka Games contact lenses—even just once—should now be completely under Hideo’s control, rendered unable to break the law or harm another person.

Only the few who still use the beta lenses, like me, are unaffected.

So, in theory, I shouldn’t be worried about someone following me. The algorithm won’t let them do anything to hurt me.

But even as I think this, I slow down to stare at the long line wrapping around a local police station. There must be hundreds of people. They’re all turning themselves in to the authorities for anything and everything unlawful they’ve ever done, from unpaid parking tickets to petty theft—even murder. It’s been like this for the past three days.

My attention shifts to a police barricade at the end of the street. They’re directing us to detour down a different block. Ambulance lights flash against the walls, illuminating a covered gurney being lifted into the vehicle. I only need to catch a glimpse of officers pointing up at the roof of a nearby building before I figure out what occurred here. Another criminal must have jumped to their death. Suicides like this have been peppering the news.

And I helped make all of this happen.

I swallow my unease and turn away. There’s a subtle but significant blankness in everyone’s eyes. They don’t know an artificial hand is inside their minds, bending their free will.

Hideo’s hand.

The reminder is enough to make me pause in the middle of the street and close my eyes. My fists clench and unclench, even as my heart lurches at his name. I’m such an idiot.

READ THE FULL CHAPTER VIA EW

Wildcard (Warcross #2) hits bookshelves on September 18, 2018. You can preorder it via Amazon or Indiebound. In the meantime, check out the official summary below.

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo’s new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she’s always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side. Determined to put a stop to Hideo’s grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone’s put a bounty on Emika’s head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn’t all that he seems–and his protection comes at a price.