“The soldiers injected her with a poison,” I say in a rush as her mother reaches us.
Talin’s mother chokes out a sob at the sight of her, then starts ushering us inside. “She’s still breathing,” she says in a rush.
“She’s ice cold,” I add.
“It’s a calming serum,” the lab worker tells us as we burst into the estate’s main hall and into a dining room. A table has already been cleared for us.
“What for?” the mayor asks.
“The Chief Architect used to keep it on hand in case any of our Skyhunter candidates became overwhelmed and aggressive,” the worker answers. “It’s designed to put them into an unconscious state. Not to kill.” She tightens her lips as I gingerly lay Talin down. “But it will if she doesn’t receive a tonic soon to counter it. It’s not a formula meant to stay in her bloodstream for long.”
Talin’s mother looks sharply at her. “Do you have some of it?”
“We have some supplies from the lab complex,” she says hurriedly, waving at another worker in a white coat to run. “We couldn’t grabeverything before the city went to pieces. Go.Go!”she snaps at the other assistant.
Beside the table, Talin’s mother grabs her limp hand and leans down to whisper continuously in her ear. On her other side, Adena stands helplessly, looking on while Aramin keeps a hand on Jeran’s shoulder and watches, the two of them pressed gently to each other side by side. I can only watch.
After a while, I step out. It’s too much to see Talin like this. She had seemed unstoppable, had saved me so many times that, even after all she’s suffered, I’ve come to see her as invincible. And yet, here she is, pale and blue, her skin as cold as the ground.
“She’ll make it,” the mayor says as she approaches my side.
“I know,” I answer, my voice a growl. I still don’t dare look back.
“Raina told me how few of you make it into the Skyhunter program,” she goes on, folding her arms in front of her and giving me a stern look. “None of you go easily. It’s your defining trait. She’ll pull through, if only by sheer force of will. And if she’s anything like that mother of hers, she’ll be up and ravenous by dinnertime.”
“And then what?”
The weight of the loss of her allies seems to pull her shoulders down, and for a moment, the mayor looks lost.
But the hesitation lasts only for the blink of an eye. Then she turns her attention back to me and sniffs. “And then we do something about the mess that you are,” she retorts, glancing at what must be a mass of burns and dried blood on my back.
The mention of my injuries seems to suddenly remind me, and I wince as if on cue as the pain of it finally hits me. My back feels like it’s been set on fire.
“I’ve got a makeshift infirmary set up in the back courtyard,” she goes on. “Tend to yourself as needed. We’ll gather this evening to discussour next steps.” She reaches up to touch my chin, and the motherly confidence of her gesture sends a pang through me for all the missing pieces of my family. “You may be a Skyhunter, if a broken one. But you still need to rest up and eat. Understand?”
“Understood, ma’am,” I respond.
“Ma’am,” she scoffs, releasing me. “I haven’t been called ma’am in a decade.” She nods toward the dining room, where the workers administer to Talin. “Go on. I know where you want to be.”
I head back into the room and hurry to the side of the table, where Talin still lies unconscious, breathing slowly. The lab worker who had first seen her is now injecting a white tonic into Talin’s arm. Talin’s mother calls for a basin of hot water, then presses a wet cloth to her daughter’s forehead and chest to warm her.
I take Talin’s hand and squeeze it. Through our bond, there’s still only silence—but the beat of her heart comes through. At least that sounds strong.
Talin, I say to her, even though I’m not sure how much she can hear.We’re all here. All of us.
I hesitate, pushing down the lump that rises in my throat.
And I love you, I add to her. She doesn’t stir.I love you.
34
TALIN
I love you. I love you.
I hear Red as if from a vast distance. I try to turn toward him, but everything in me feels made of steel.
Other voices are familiar too. Jeran. Aramin. And Adena—her rapid talk, her falling into her meticulous habits in times of stress. Everything in me yearns to wake up to see them. What is she so scared of right now? They are talking about me. I can hear my name on their tongues.
