Chapter Thirty-Eight. Gin
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
GIN
I run as fast as I can up from the vaults, through the passageway. All around me prisoners are running. And when I make it out of the tunnels and into the main house, it’s utter chaos. Everyone is running, guests, nobles, servants. I see a familiar face amid the fray.
“Where’s Eban?” I ask Silva.
She shakes her head. “He stayed behind to make sure everyone got out, but I haven’t seen him since. I thought he found you.”
House Dominant is burning. The fire that started in the arena has consumed almost the entire estate, and everyone is running for their lives. Most are running out toward the main roads, but I head back toward the fire, down toward the garden that leads to the shore.
I can only hope that he’ll meet me outside.
He promised.
He would free the prisoners and I would get the relics and we would meet as planned at the eastern garden by sundown. But when I get there, there’s no sign of Eban.
A boat arrives at the hidden dock. Perlah at the helm. “Do you have the relics?” she asks.
I nod.
She looks around. “Where’s Darius? Eban?”
I shake my head. “Darius is dead” is all I tell her. And Eban … Eban promised he would meet me here. He promised he would live, that he would survive. But he’s not here. He freed the Ophir but he is not one of them. I have to face it.
Eban is gone.