Everett glanced up in alarm. “You didn’t know?”
“Smooth, Everett,” Arowyn drawled.
My mouth fell open. “No, I didn’tknow. Nobody tells me anything.”
My mind reeled. Both Noxandhis sister were part of Scarven’s experiments? No wonder he was so concerned about trust and protecting his people at all costs. The man had beentortured, for Fates’ sake.
I let out a breath as guilt for all the horrible things I’d thoughtand said washed over me. “Everything makes sense now,” I said. “He?—”
The carriage suddenly lurched. We all instinctively braced a hand on the nearest wall, exchanging glances of confusion.
And then it slammed forward, throwing us all to the side.
There was a loudcrackas Arowyn’s head hit the far window. She dropped like a rock, crashing into the bench before I could break her fall.
“Arowyn!” I screamed. I put a finger to her pulse, relieved to find it still beating.
The carriage rocked again. I looked out the window to see us hurtling down the mountain at an alarming speed, narrowly avoiding the edge of the cliff as we swerved to the left.
“What’s going on?” I shouted, struggling to regain my footing.
“It felt like a wheel came off,” Everett said with a grunt.
I glanced out the window again, my heart thumping wildly. “We’re going to go straight off the side if we don’t slow down.”
“We’re going downhill,” Everett pointed out, voice clipped. “There’s noslowing down, Devora.”
I squeezed my eyes shut. If Arowyn were conscious, she could easily stride us out of here. The carriage was moving far too quickly to jump out. What was the driver doing? Why hadn’t he noticed?
“Grab my waist,” I instructed Everett as I stepped over Arowyn and leaned into the door.
“Excuse me?”
“Justdo it.”
His hands came to my waist, planting me firmly in place. “Devora, what are you?—”
I unlatched the door and let it swing open enough for me to stick my head out and get a better look.
Wind whipped my hair in a frenzy. The harness had come undone—the leather appeared faded and worn from overuse. The driver was frantically trying to gain control of the carriage, but with the horses detached, we were left at the mercy of the mountain.
Everett was right. We were going downhill, too fast to slow down.
I looked over and saw the front right wheel had broken. It was still partially affixed to the axle, but the top half was cracked and hanging by a few shards of wood.
Taking a deep breath to center myself, I summoned my shadows and sent them flying to the wheel. I concentrated on strengthening them, molding them to the cracks and pouring more power into them until they formed a semi-solid curve over the broken half. A small bead of sweat dripped from my forehead.
It worked. The carriage ceased its jarring motions. Letting out an exhale, my shoulders sagged in relief.
“Devora, watch out!” Everett cried, his hands tightening around my waist.
I looked past the wheel and nearly fell out of the carriage.
We were heading straight for the edge of a cliff.
I barely had enough time to throw out my arms before the front of the carriage careened over the side.
An enormous cloud of black shadows sprang from thin air. It supported the carriage as it dipped further downward, a split second from tumbling off completely.
