Chapter 36 · The king!

He tore the mask off and threw it into the crowd.

Several soldiers saw his face.

Their formation broke.

"The king!" someone yelled.

"You absolute idiot," Sylvia said.

Cassian looked up at her. "Now jump."

She jumped.

He followed, landing beside her. They sprinted through the open gate as bolts struck the cart behind them. Cassian grabbed a hanging chain and pulled it free from the gate mechanism. The iron bars began to drop.

"Move!" he shouted.

Sylvia ran under the descending gate. Cassian came after her.

A soldier caught his coat and yanked him backward.

Cassian slammed into the bars, trapped on the wrong side.

Sylvia turned.

"Go!" he ordered.

"Not happening."

"If you stay, they take you."

"If I leave, they take you."

"That is not the same problem."

She ran back.

Cassian fought three soldiers at once, but the gate was already at his shoulders. Sylvia dropped to her knees, slid beneath the bars, and grabbed his wrist.

His fingers locked around hers.

The metal gate struck his back.

He folded with a harsh grunt, dragging her beneath it.