Chapter 42 · The Last Mark

"Mara, get behind me!"

Dorian slammed into me so hard my lungs emptied.

The bridge bucked under our boots.

Not the river. The shield.

Blue fire ripped across the iron rails and folded inward. The council seal above the entrance flashed white. Every gate slammed shut at once.

Black metal plates dropped over the far end.

Trapped.

Dorian caught my arm and dragged me behind him. His fingers dug into my skin. Heat poured off his body, and his rough breath brushed my hair.

"Let go."

I shoved at his back.

"Your council just sealed the bridge."

"I noticed."

"Then stop standing there like you still trust them."

His jaw locked. "I don't trust the council. I trust the people still alive behind those gates."

A sharp click came from the tower above us.

Dorian froze.

His grip crushed my arm.

"Dorian?"

His eyes went empty for half a second.

Not blank.