Sage whipped around. Muscles bunched. Then he launched, swift and sure.
A blur of speed.
A ripple of porcupine quills.
He shot past me, clawing around the corner.
I peered around the hallway’s edge just in time to see him streak across the vestibule and past the guard, loosing a high-pitched yowl that made my ears ring. He moved so fast he looked like a whirlwind of chaos, just like the brunnie in the training pit.
The guard let out a startled cry. “It’s heading toward the garage!” She jittered in place, unsure what to do. Cursing low, she drew her sword and sprinted after Sage as he vanished down a corridor.
I stared in horror as a dark shadow cast long over the scuffed floor right in front of the entrance to the barracks. The shadow was moving, and the grinding noise grew louder and louder.
Thanks to Sage, the area was cleared. The black hood of my shawl fell from my head, its long ends flapping behind me as I skidded around the corner and hurtled into the barracks entrance. A wide corridor stretched ahead, lined with a few doors and ending at a junction that opened to what looked like a mess hall. But fifteen yards in front of me, two gigantic adamere doors were sliding inward to seal the barracks shut.
No, no, noooo!
I hurled myself forward with everything I had.
The rasp of stone on stone hollowed out my ears as the doors drew closer together.
The gap narrowed—
Narrowed—
Adrenaline burned through my veins.
I pushed myself faster,faster.
The opening shrank to a slender slice of space with just enough to throw myself through before the doors met.
Boots thumped. A foul stench washed over me.
I was there—
Rightthere—
Running through the narrowing gap.
The fabric of my dress brushed the sliding stone.
And then I felt him.
A heartbeat of warning before cruel hands clamped around my upper arms and yanked me back.
My feet kicked wildly.
A screech tore from my throat only to be cut short when a hand slapped over my mouth. An arm banded my middle, dragging me up against a solid chest. Warm lips pressed to my ear, and the soft“Shoosh,”stirred the loose tendrils at my temple before Jett murmured, “Hello, Wychthorn.”
40
Graysen
The choppy thunder of rotating blades and the powerful twin engines of the Cyclone vibrated through its metal cage and trembled through my boots.
We’d left our estate in the helicopter, soaring across the wild forest with its leaves curling into fall, and now traversed like a dark shadow above the busy highway stretching toward Ascendria. Through the window, I spied in the distance the cityscape twinkling with morning sunshine.
I shifted uneasily in the utilitarian seat, the harness jingling softly with my movement. Nelle’s emotion skittered beneath my skin, humming through the otherworldly connection we shared, no matter how far apart we were. She’d erupted with urgency through the bond, and now she simmered with bitter anger. And, fucked if the anger didn’t worry me more. But she was on her own, as I needed her to be. She was cunning, and she’d handle whatever situation she found herself in. I had to believe she would.
