Chapter 15 · Fire Under the Arsenal

"Get away from the doors!" Cedric slammed his arm across my chest just as the arsenal windows blew inward.

Glass punched into the walls. Heat rolled over my face. I stumbled back, but his hand locked around my waist and hauled me against him.

"What the hell was that?" I shouted.

"The powder room." His voice stayed cold, but his grip didn't. "Don't move."

Another blast cracked through the fortress.

The floor jumped under our boots. Iron racks toppled inside the arsenal, spilling crates of cartridges and sealed oil cans across the stone. Fire climbed the far wall in one hungry sheet.

I shoved against Cedric's chest. "You knew this could happen."

"I knew someone was looking for a weak point. I didn't know they'd found one."

"You dragged me into the middle of it."

"You're the one who followed me."

"Because you locked me in a room and took my knives."

His eyes dropped to my mouth for half a second. Then they hardened again.

"And you still found a way out."

"You sound surprised."

"I'm not surprised. I'm deciding whether to be impressed or furious."

The roof groaned above us.

Cedric shoved me behind a stone pillar.