Chapter 54 · You had better be right

He pushed through her arms. The wheel spun under their shared grip, aligning the carriage with a narrow seam in the stone. Sylvia saw no gate. No door. Only old blocks darkened by age.

"You had better be right," she said.

"I am always right."

"You were dismantled on an altar."

"That was a temporary setback."

The carriage hit the wall.

Stone exploded.

The impact ripped the front axle apart. Sylvia flew forward. Cassian caught her body in the same instant, pulling her back against the seat. His arm locked across her waist. Her back struck his chest, though he was only a presence inside her skin.

The wall burst inward.

The carriage plunged through a cloud of dust and broken rock into darkness.

Sylvia coughed. The horse stumbled but kept running. Behind them, the tower collapsed with a roar that shook the ground.

For three heartbeats, there were no hounds.

No soldiers.

Only the rattle of the ruined carriage and Cassian's arm around her.

"You can let go now," she said.

"Can you stand?"

"I am driving."

"That was not an answer."

"Yes, I can stand.