50
I think I scream. Something burns in my throat that feels like a wail and a moan and pieces of splintered glass shredding the lining of my throat.
Not Rook.
Not him, too.
He freezes. Lieutenant Carter freezes. It feels like the entire room has come to a standstill. My surroundings move in slow motion as Carter’s brow furrows, and then his eyes widen.
“Stop him!” comes a voice that feels so distant and yet so familiar. General Sol is walking over, her long strides eating up the floor. “Guard!” she’s shouting. “Arrest him!”
Rook reacts. He’s on his feet. He shoves Carter in the chest. The man stumbles back, and then Rook leaps onto the table.
“Rook!” I scream as he runs, barreling down its length, jumping from one table to the next as the room erupts into chaos. More screaming as people leap out of the way.
“Stop him!” General Sol is shouting. “Don’t let him escape!”
Several Patrols close in, surrounding him on all sides. The Extinguishers scramble, trying to get in his way as the general’s Circle Guard approaches from behind. Everyone is trying to block his path.
A shot is fired. A beam of Spark careens toward Rook, and that’s when I finally snap out of it.
“Duck!” I scream so loud it makes my ears ache. Rook drops to the table just as the shot flies past and hits the wall, exploding in a shower of mortar and brick.
More screams. More shouting.
I’m on my feet.
“Leave him alone!”
Rook jumps off the table, lands on the floor, and hurtles for the exit, where several Patrols are still blocking the doorway. He rams into one of the officers before anyone can fire off another shot. The man slams into the frame, and then three other Patrols are on him.
They punch and grab, snagging his wrists as Rook fights wildly. A headbutt has a guard stumbling back, clutching her bleeding nose, while another howls in pain as he clasps his stomach.
“Stop him!” the general shouts again. Louder this time. “If you let him go, you’re all dead!”
What is she doing? Is this all an act? Did she betray us? Why invite us back to the city, just to do this now? I’m so confused that my head feels like it’s been stuffed with wet rags and shoved into sand.
“Rook! Run!” I’m screaming. I attempt to create a distraction by shoving Patrols and Extinguishers, knowing I’m this close to getting a stunner blast to the chest.
Through the chaos, Rook never stops fighting.
It’s four on one at the moment, but they have no idea who they’re dealing with.
Rook could probably battle them one-handed.
Now I understand what Summit Athira was doing when he trained his children. That fight in the Veil takes on new meaning as Rook’s every blow and block channels a father’s loving wisdom being passed down to his son.
Domino appears beside me. We’re knocking down Guards, dodging blasts, and trying to get in the way. People have flooded the aisles, and I can barely tell which way is up.
I lose Rook somewhere in the turmoil.
Finally, I spot him. Two of the general’s Circle Guards are detaining him, one cinching Rook’s wrists behind his back and the other holding up a pair of handcuffs.
I can’t let them arrest him. Something tells me that if they take him away, I’ll never see him again.
I shove through a wall of people, then run, never slowing my pace as I bodycheck one of the Guards. He goes flying, slamming into a table. Rook doesn’t miss a beat, punching the other in the face.
Then we’re all fighting, limbs flying.
“Rook! You have to get out of here!” I scream. He’s thrown against the wall, and the Guard advances. I launch myself up, leaping onto the Guard’s back and wrapping my arms around his throat, trying to crush his windpipe.
“Poet!” he shouts.
“Get out of here! Run!”
“I won’t leave you!” he shouts.
The Guard under me is flailing, trying to get me off his back, flinging his arms. He spins in a circle, one hand gripping my wrists so hard, it feels like my bones are turning to dust.
“Rook! Please!” I’m crying. “Run!”
My cheeks are slick with tears and sweat, and I taste salt on my lips.
He has to leave. He has to run.
Agony crosses his expression. His features sag, and his eyes are shining.
Our gazes meet for one long moment. I don’t know what comes next. I don’t know if this will be the last time I see him, but I need him to save himself.
“Now!” I order him. “Go!”
A second of indecision and then one more prolonged look before he turns around and takes off.
His arms and legs pump as he runs for his life.
I watch him leave, still clinging to the man under me.
A moment later, I hear more footsteps and shouting. Someone grabs me and yanks me off the Guard’s back. Others start running after Rook, and all I can do is hope.
Suddenly, I’m turned around to face the front of the room, where General Sol stands.
“What did you do!” I scream. “What have you done?”
General Sol meets me with a cold look, her lips firm and her eyes dull. I don’t understand whose side she’s on, but I’m becoming increasingly sure it was never ours. She waves a dismissive hand. “Someone deal with her. She’s hysterical.”
I feel someone grab my wrists and yank me toward the front of the cafeteria.
I’ve gone entirely numb.
My heart turns to liquid, melting through my ribs.
My stomach cramps, and a sharp pain behind my eye throbs in time with my pulse.
My spirit empties, draining out through my feet.
My wrists are circled by the cold steel of handcuffs.
I feel nothing. I am nothing.
And then I’m dragged away.