Chapter 38 · Mara Quill

Then Cassian lowered himself to one knee.

The drain flared the second his knee struck the iron floor. Black lines raced up his neck. His fingers dug into his thigh to keep him upright.

I stared down at him.

He'd knelt before council heads. Before dead captains. Before kings.

Never before me.

"Mara Quill," he said, his voice strained, "I can't promise I'll never lie again."

"That's a hell of a way to start."

His mouth tightened. "I can promise I won't hide the blade from you while I do it."

"You want credit for warning me before you stab me?"

"No."

"Good. Because you don't get any."

The tower groaned. Another crack split across the ceiling, and water poured through in a brutal rush. The floodgate lever jerked behind him.

Cassian glanced over his shoulder.

"We've got less than eight minutes now," he said.

"Then talk faster."

"If I open the gate, the lower wards flood. If I leave it closed, the pressure tears through the east wall."

"And Evelyn?"

"She's waiting for me to choose the city over you."

"You already did that once."

His stare snapped back to mine.

"I know."

The words came out bare.