Chapter 33 · Steal the Starlight - Chapter 33: Ugly Truths in the Rubble

"Don't touch her!" I shoved Wren's hand away just as the slab above us cracked.

Concrete dropped where her fingers had been. Dust punched into my mouth. I coughed, grabbed Wren by the front of her torn jacket, and dragged her under the bent remains of a support beam.

She hit the ground hard enough to grunt. Her palm landed against my chest. Heat flashed through the power link between us, sharp and bright.

"You just threw me into a collapsing building."

"You're welcome."

"That wasn't a thank-you-worthy throw."

"Then stop reaching for things that can crush you."

Wren pushed up on one elbow. Her face was streaked with gray dust, one side of her golden braid hanging loose. A cut above her eyebrow leaked down toward her eye, but she still looked more furious than hurt.

Good. Furious meant breathing.

Behind her, the girl was trapped beneath a pile of shattered stage panels and broken light rigs. She couldn't have been more than twenty. Her silver costume had been ripped open at the shoulder, and one leg was pinned under a steel frame.

She kept trying to pull free.

The frame groaned.

"Ellis," Wren said, quieter now.