Myheartdrops.Myknees nearly buckle.
He’s alive. He’salive.
Bleeding scrapes and gashes line his face and arms, but besides that, he appears uninjured. A large sword dangles from his hand, glinting red with blood.
Zev’s pounding footsteps draw the attention of the remaining Arbinji soldiers. Their mouths part.
“Commander!” one of them shouts. “It’s the Comm—” A thick root tunnels through his abdomen, emerging on the other side covered in dark, thick blood. His knees squelch as they collide with the damp earth.
Zev doesn’t spare a glance for the dead man. His eyes are fixed on me. Five more strides, and I can touch him. I can tell him how I’ve agonized about whether he still lived.
Tumaas beats me to it. “Thanks for not dying,” he says to Zev. He jerks his head toward me. “She’s been driving herself—and us—insane.”
Zev’s eyes blaze with the force of a tempest as he looks at me. My voice catches in my throat.
“We need to find Sura,” Tumaas says, glancing between us.
“She’s in the children’s tent,” Zev replies, still looking me over. “There’s a safe room dug beneath the floor.”
“You saw her?” I ask.
“Yeah. I went there first. I thought you might—” He cuts off abruptly, gesturing impatiently at Tumaas. “Go check on her and the kids. They were fine when I left, but that could’ve changed. Stay with them.”
Tumaas looks poised to argue, Zev’s commands grating at him. But in the end, all he says is, “Tides protect you.” I’m not sure if he’s speaking to me or Zev. A single nod, and then he and Mona dart off.
I raise my glowing palms to Zev’s face, but he clasps them, bringing them down to my sides.
“Save your reserves,” he says gruffly. “You’ll need them.” Rough hands cradle my face, tilting my chin to inspect the shallow cuts marring my face.
“I’m fine,” I whisper. “It’s—it’s Arbinj.”
He nods, his expression grave. “They’re here to rescue me.”
Ice frosts my veins.
“Do—do you want to be rescued?”
His gaze cuts away. “Even if I return with them, they won’t let anyone here live.” His jaw clenches. “So, no. I don’t want to be rescued.”
I don’t know how long we run through the camp, stopping and helping where we can. Digging people out from rubble, killing Arbinji soldiers along the way.
My clothing is drenched with more foreign blood than rainwater by the time we reach the kitchens. There are more rebels here, wielders scrounging for whatever they can find to maintain their reserves. Zev cuts through the panic, his massive body easily weaving through the crowd. He returns with two loaves of bread and three apples and thrusts them at me.
“Eat.”
Crumbs scatter across the muddy floor as I tear a loaf in half and hand it to him, along with two apples.
We eat quickly, then emerge back into the frenzy.
So much pain. So much death.
We’ve rounded a corner when a wave of water crashes into us, sending me tumbling into Zev. He catches me, hands clutching my hips. I’ve scarcely regained my bearings when another wave swirls up to my thighs.
And freezes.
My head shoots up.
Three warriors stand before us, clad in blue and white.
