Chapter 23 · Tamer of the Ash Wilds - Chapter 23: Last Ride to Nine

The train smelled like rust and old blood.

Lin sat in the back corner of the cargo car, one hand on Crunch's scruff. The grey beast was coiled tight against his leg, ears flat, every muscle locked. Outside the slatted walls the Wilds blurred past—burnt trees, cracked earth, the occasional skeleton of a pre-collapse tower. Zone Eight to Zone Nine was supposed to be a four-hour ride. They were two hours in and Lin hadn't let go of Crunch once.

Vira sat across from him, arms crossed, eyes on the door. She hadn't said a word since they boarded. The file ash was tucked inside her jacket, wrapped in oilcloth. Lin could see the edge of it every time she shifted.

He wanted to ask what she'd found in those last pages. He didn't.

Because Crunch was shaking.

Not the normal kind. Not the pre-fight kind. This was different. Lin could feel it under his palm—tiny tremors running through muscle and bone, like something was pulling at Crunch from the inside. The beast's pupils were too wide. His breathing was too shallow.