Chapter 21 · The Author’s Name

The city did not notice when they escaped the Sanctum.

It noticed when Noa Vey touched the street.

They burst through a service door beneath the eastern aqueduct and stumbled into rain. The storm had turned the lower district into a maze of black water and trembling lamplight. Behind them, the Sanctum groaned beneath the earth. A column of white fire punched through the roof of the old courthouse, followed by a concussion that rattled every window for three blocks.

The nameless girl clung to Evelyn’s coat with both hands. Evelyn kept one arm around her and the other locked beneath Noa’s ribs, holding her upright.

Noa’s left side felt flayed open. Heat crawled beneath her burned skin. Every breath tasted of iron and ash.

“Can you run?” Evelyn asked.

Noa looked at her through the rain. Evelyn’s dark hair had come loose from its braid, plastered against her cheeks. Blood ran from a cut above her eyebrow and disappeared into the water dripping from her jaw.

“I can limp with ambition.”

“That wasn’t my question.”

“It’s the answer you’re getting.”

Evelyn’s mouth tightened, but her hand pressed more firmly against Noa’s waist. The touch was careful around the burns.