Chapter 13 · Ash Ledger - Chapter 13: Don't Open That Door

"Row."

The voice came through the stone like it was traveling up from the bottom of a well.

I pressed my palm flat against the core. The heat pulsed under my skin, steady as a heartbeat. "Say that again."

"Row, don't open the door."

My chest locked up. Nobody called me that except one person, and he was supposed to be three hundred miles south in a training camp that didn't let recruits send letters.

"Derry?" My voice cracked on the name.

Mara stepped closer, her hand still on the core next to mine. Her fingers were shaking. "Rowan, that's not—"

"It's him." I cut her off because I needed it to be true. "Derry, where are you?"

A sob came through the stone. Wet, ragged, the kind that scraped your throat raw. "I don't know. It's dark. There's water on the floor and something's scratching at the walls."

"Tell me what you see."

"I can't see anything. Row, I'm scared."

The core flared hot under my hand, bright enough that the whole vault lit up white. Mara hissed and jerked back, but I kept my palm down. The light carved shadows across her face, made her eyes look hollow.