Despite the late hour, the whole city is awake and terrified. People hurry by us in every direction, some carrying belongings, others clutching small children, all fleeing Hadrien’s army as it marches through the streets. All around us, metal soldiers lash out with their spears, spreading chaos and destruction as they stab anyone unlucky enough to stumble across them. Sometimes, they use their hands to snap a neck or toss someone out of their way.
Fury at Hadrien tries to claw its way out of my chest as a metal soldier breaks down the door of a darkened shop and saunters inside, carelessly scattering glass. A woman, who must have been hiding there, cries out and is quickly silenced.
The spirits inside those iron bodies, the ones doing the killing, are no better than Shades. They’re just as violent. Just as senseless. I suppose listening to Hadrien long enough would be enough to turn anyone’s mind into something almost as twisted as his.
A crash draws my gaze straight ahead. Two metal soldiers have toppled a clothing stall in our path, forcing us to change direction as they march toward us.
Valoria gasps and Jax curses, shielding her, as we nearly collide with a group of frightened-looking women in charcoal-gray habits. It’s the Sisters of Cloud, the nuns who maintain the temples of Vaia’s gray-eyed face. We follow them through a gap between two dark, seemingly deserted buildings. The one on our right, I realize after a brief glance, is the tailor’s shop where Karston and I found a gate for our trip to the Deadlands.
Simeon trips over a piece of a shattered door that’s been wrenched from a shop and thrown into the street. Still holding my hand, he nearly pulls me down with him. We stumble for a moment, then quicken our pace to catch up to the others.
There are more hazards like the broken door in our way—chunks of glass, pieces of wood, dropped belongings.
Grenwyr City hadn’t even begun to rebuild in the wake of its last battle against Hadrien. I have a feeling it will take even longer before recovery begins now, with hopes and funds already so low.
“Any sign of him?” Simeon asks me once in a while, in the same would-be-casual tone he used back at the temple.
Each time, I shake my head. I’ve been searching for Danial and the volunteers in every alleyway we pass, no easy task in the deep darkness. But the only bodies I’ve glimpsed among the rubbish have been unrecognizable.
As Simeon shivers and squeezes my hand, I resolve not to dwellon the possibilities. I have to hope Danial is still out there somewhere, still fighting. Just like Meredy.
Somewhere along our flight through the city, we lose the Sisters of Cloud. I stop noting which twists and turns we take, mindlessly following Kasmira. As we splash through a dark substance that stains the pale tiles of Merchant Square, Azelie coughs and gags. Moments later, the smell of carnage overwhelms me, and I swallow hard to keep from retching.
“Almost there!” Kasmira whispers over her shoulder, careful not to attract the attention of the few metal soldiers nearby.
Lucky for us, they don’t seem to take notice of our little group, too busy storming into buildings and throwing bodies out of windows.
We quicken our pace. Nipper bounds along at Azelie’s heels, for once not straying off on a whim. As the clouds roll back, I get my first glimpse of the harbor, moonlight glinting off ripples in the water.
There are a few other ships hastily drawing up their anchors and setting sail, ships full of panicked people who most definitely aren’t the captains and crew of the vessels they’ve commandeered.
But theParadisestays anchored, what remains of her crew standing proudly on the deck, their blades drawn. No one goes aboard without Kasmira’s permission, like always.
I never really understood how she could love that patched, scarred, hopelessly waterlogged ship more than any living creature—until now. TheParadise, whispering of escape every time she creaks in the wind, is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
We’re almost to the ship when someone behind me cries out.
It takes me a moment to realize who’s made the sound, because it comes from a voice I’ve rarely, if ever, heard raised in pain.
Jax.
I was so focused on reaching the ship, I didn’t see the three metalsoldiers breaking away from their companions. One leaps in front of Valoria, blocking our path to the ship’s gangway. Another positions itself at our backs, spear raised, hindering any hope of retreat toward the city. The third soldier pins Jax to the ground with a spear shoved into his chest.
I draw my blade. Just as I told him the day I followed him into the Deadlands, I’m prepared to die for him. Valoria pushes her way through her guards toward the back of our group, trying to reach us.
My heart drowns out every other sound as the metal soldier pulls its spear unceremoniously from Jax’s chest, leaving him for dead.
Valoria beats on the metal soldier’s chest with her fists, but it remains unmoved. “Why are you doing this?” she screams. The crew on the ship are shouting something to us, but I can’t make out the words over Valoria’s continued screams. “You don’t belong in this world! I won’t let you have it! If you want to kill someone, take—”
Her words are replaced by a choking sound as the soldier wraps its free hand around her throat and squeezes.
I lunge at the soldier throttling Valoria. I may not be able to wound the blasted thing, but I can at least distract it by jabbing my sword into its eye holes while both its hands are occupied, and hopefully allow Valoria to break free.
As the tip of my blade nears the soldier’s face, strong hands pull my arms back so hard and so quickly that I think they might have dislocated my shoulders. Another soldier has me in its grasp, making me drop my blade and pinning me against its chest. It holds me like shackles, impassive as I kick its iron shins and scream every curse I can think of.
I don’t know why it’s not just snapping my neck. The other metal soldiers seem to be trying to kill everyone else while I’m forced to watch.
As Valoria’s guards attack the soldier who has her by the throat, its companion picks the human soldiers off one by one, knocking them unconscious and throwing them into the harbor. There’s a flurry of movement and more shouting as theParadisecrew tries to assist, saving whomever they can.
