"And I need you alive!" His voice is raw. Guttural.
"Listen to me." I cup both sides of his face, and he automatically wraps his hands around my wrists. "I'm not going to die here. We know that much."
"We don't know that, Ada. Nothing is written in stone."
"Bain," Kage says hesitantly. "We need to do this while they're distracted."
"Wait!" His eyes pierce mine. "Did you see this? Did the Flame?—"
"No! I told you everything I remember!"
"I don't like this." He turns toward the spectacle.
I grab his face harder. Force him to look at me. "We are fated, Malachi Bain. We are written in stone."
His eyes darken. "Fuck this. You're coming with me."
He grabs my hand and hauls me toward the stairs.
I yank free at the corner. "I'll slow you down and you know it!"
"Godsdamn all of this." He glares at me.
"Bain."
"Go!" he roars at Kage. "I'll catch up!"
My heart pounds. "You need to get up there before anyone notices."
"Then come with me. I'll carry you." He lunges. I jump back instinctively.
I close my eyes. Breathe. Roll my shoulders back.
"I need to get to the ground level."
"Why? To run out there and?—"
"No." I grab his tunic. "I need to feel what's beneath it. I can't explain, Mal. I just... need to."
"You're going to use your gift of serephony here, of all places?" He seethes, bringing his face closer. "Are you out of your godsdamn mind?"
"Maybe." I hold his gaze. "Maybe I get down there and nothing happens. Maybe I run toward that platform and try to stop something I can't stop. I don't know. Neither do you. That's the point. We don't know anything except the prophecy."
He scowls and looks away.
I pull his face back to mine. "You asked me once if I regretted making my bargain. I told you to ask me when this was over." My voice breaks. "I don't need to wait. I'd make a million bargains if they'd tether me to you. If anything happens..."
"Ada," he warns, eyes wary.
I swallow past the knot in my throat. "Remind me. Remind me you once made me feel like the most important woman you'd ever met. The most powerful. The most beautiful. Even though I was only an apprentice. Only an empath."
"Menace." A whispered plea. "Please?—"
I rise on my toes and haul his mouth to mine. He makes a sound against my lips, something broken and desperate, and kisses me back like it might be the last time.
My knees are shaking when we pull away, but somehow, I will myself to start running. The last thing I hear before the crowd swallows me is Mal's roar of fury, but it's not what I feel through the bond. There, I find warmth and strength, and that's enough to keep me going.
Heart pounding, I raise my hood and start snatching people's amulets as I push through the crowd. When I get back to the edge of the tunnel, I set my foot on the sand and jerk back. The onslaught of emotion nearly drives me to my knees.
