Together, we push through a group of healers, breathlessly apologizing. My skin tingles with urgency, my chest so tight I can barely breathe.
Please don’t let me be too late.Please.
Neris slams Leon’s door open, and Albion whirls, dagger in his hand. Behind him, Leon is still unconscious, still in the same state he was last time I saw him. Still alive. For now.
“Get away from him!” I’m already moving, but Albion ducks to the left, barreling into Neris.
Her head hits the stone wall with a crack, and Albion darts out the door.
“Go!” Neris roars.
I go.
Albion grabs Roisin, pushing her at me, and I slide left, slamming into Axia.
“Neris,” I gasp out. “Help her.”
Albion sprints out of the healers’ quarters.
I follow his fading footsteps.
Unsurprisingly, Albion knows all about the hidden corridors.
He bashes into the wall near the healers, directly into Rorrik’s garden. I hesitate for a single moment and then plunge in after him, letting the door swing closed behind me.
I gulp in a breath of cool night air and leap over a fallen log as he sprints into the cover of the trees.
I don’t see the wyvern, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to appear at any moment, ready to catch the prey currently scurrying through its territory.
Branches crack, bushes rustle. There’s no way for Albion to hide his tracks here, and he must realize the same because he begins to move back toward stone walls.
He can’t return to the guardant quarters. His only option is to flee the ludus.
And I won’t let that happen.
I catch a glimpse of curly blond hair as Albion makes it to the stone, slamming a shaking hand against the wall. Another hidden door slides open, and I pump my legs faster as it begins to close. I make it through the space with inches to spare, and the door slides closed behind me.
My eyes struggle to adjust. This corridor is filled with shadows thatseem to jump and move of their own accord, regardless of the aether lamps. The walls are so dark, the stone is almost black, and I can barely see Albion ahead of me.
I lose sight of him as he rounds a corner, and my boots slide on the smooth floor.
I force my knees to lift higher, my arms to pump harder.
I’ve never seen Albion train. He has no business being this fast.
Where is he going?
I round the corner and get my answer. The silver door to the library glows like a beacon, and Albion rushes through it, slamming it behind him.
He’s bought himself a few seconds as I wrestle it back open, but he’s allowed himself to be cornered. There’s nowhere for him to go.
Pushing through the door, I freeze.
I haven’t trapped Albion.
He’strappedme.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
