The servant takes a step back, her arm outstretched as if to shield herself.
“Incapacitate only,” I plead, turning to Myna.
Her jaw tightens, but she nods. The servant’s eyes widen further as Myna moves, swift and precise. I wince at the dull thud of her body hitting the ground, guilt clawing at me even as we move past her.
As we round the corner, my heart rate picks up at the sight of the single sky-carriage swaying in the wind. I scan the deck, and relief blooms in my chest when I see no other guards or servants.
Nyssa and I pile into the simple wooden carriage, nowhere near as elegant as the ones used by the rest of the court. I turn back to Myna, waiting for her to join us.
She doesn’t.
“Quickly,” I urge. “We’re running out of time.”
She makes no move to enter, instead closing the half door and taking a step away.
“Someone needs to pull the lever, Aella,” Nyssa says softly.
“What?” I turn to her as the horror of those words rattles inside my head.
I lunge for the door. My mind screams with terror as my body screams in protest, but I’m too late. Too weak.
The carriage jolts as the lever is pulled, and then begins to make its descent.
“What the fu—” I shout, but the rest of my words fail me as I watch Myna with wide eyes. She moves away from the ledge before sprinting toward it. I can’t hear past the roaring of blood in my ears, the pounding of my heart, as she kicks off from the marble.
The carriage jolts as Myna’s body slams into it, the force rocking it violently. My stomach lurches as the wooden frame creaks, swaying precariously in the wind.
“Myna!” I scream, my voice raw with terror.
She clings to the edge, her fingers white-knuckled as she hauls herself over the half door. The moment her feet hit the floor, I collapse into my seat, chest heaving.
Nyssa flops down beside me, scrubbing her hands over her face. “I think my heart stopped beating.”
“Never,” I say, glaring at Myna, “scare me like that again.”
She grins weakly, slumping into the seat across from me. “I’m glad to know you care so much.”
I almost wish I didn’t.
“Here,” Nyssa says, pressing something into my hands. Tears sting my eyes as I stare down at my mother’s dagger. “I know it’s the only thing you have of hers, so I kept it safe.”
“Thank you.” The words are barely a whisper, but they shake from the weight of the emotion they carry.
With trembling fingers, I loosen the blade’s holster, readjusting it so it fits across my chest. My eyes close as the carriage shudders, its slow, creaking descent echoing like a countdown to the inevitable. The three of us ride in silence, not uttering a single word.
I peer out the carriage window, watching the landscape below twisting into shadowy shapes. The docking platform I spotted weeks ago from the palace courtyard now rises ahead, an ominous silhouette against the darkened trees. The cables from the sky-carriage stretch toward a gaping, illuminated maw that devours the platform in its glow. To the left, a long, narrow building juts out from the trees like a skeletal rib cage, its facade broken by the black voids of stable gates. In the distance to the right, the lights of Vilea flicker mockingly, taunting like distant embers, a haven out of reach.
“We’ll need to jump out of the carriage before we get too close to the platform. They normally have twenty guards stationed here. Half on the platform and the rest around the perimeter.” Myna’s urgent voice cuts through the silence. “They will have noticed the carriage approaching, but they won’t anticipate anyone leaping from it. The cover of darkness will conceal us.”
My eyes drift downward, taking in the thirty-foot drop to the ground. A knot of dread tightens in my stomach. With enough luck and the right technique, we might survive the fall, but even at full strength, serious injury would be almost certain—and in my current weakened state, the odds are even grimmer. “When?”
“As the carriage slows, you’ll feel it begin to straighten—then it’s a drop of just ten feet. When we get down there, head straight for the trees near the stables.”
A heavy silence settles between us once more. When Myna rises and strides toward the carriage door with clear intent, Nyssa and I instinctively fall into step behind her. My muscles tighten, anticipating the sting of pain, but I push the thought aside and exhale slowly, steadying myself. The grating whine of the pulley wheels pierces the night as the carriage slows, and I feel the angle shift.
Myna pushes the door open and, without a second glance, springs from the carriage. Nyssa lingers just long enough to give my wrist a final, encouraging squeeze before following her.
Thoughts thunder through my mind as I hesitate a moment longer, yet one thought emerges above the rest.
