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“Wait—hold up.” He stopped, jerking her arm backward. “Look at me.”

“What?” she demanded.

A pause, and then Malakai said, “Holy shit.”

“What?”Gods, she just wanted to get going!

A shadowy finger reached for her face?—

And poked her right in the eye.

“Ouch!” She pressed her fingertips against her closed eyelid.“Malakai!”she seethed. As if she needed any more injuries!

He grinned, his teeth suddenly visible. His silhouette—she could see it now. Vaguely. “I can see you!” he exclaimed.

“You poked me in the eye, you jerk!”

“I can fuckingsee!Life is good! Life isgreat!Praise Tempus, that lying motherfucker?—”

“You poked me in the eyeball with your germy penis hand!” Where was an eye-wash station when she needed one?

“Let’s go.” He snatched her by the arm and plowed on, practically dragging her, the street now dark gray instead of pitch black.

Buildings, fire hydrants, street signs, benches, bus stops—they were all becoming visible as they hurried farther north. The road was completely smooth too, as if the explosion hadn’t even grazed it.

The sirens got louder, and soon she could hear the cars, the honking of horns.

Soon, she could see working lights—streetlights glowing just beyond a gray veil. The darkness lightened with every step, until, eventually, the worst of it was behind her—a massive wall of billowing black clouds, stretching up and up andup.

Loren pulled her arm free of Malakai’s grasp and turned, walking backward, her jaw falling slack at the sight of all those Void shadows. “Oh my gods,” she breathed.

It was the most terrifying thing she’d ever seen. And to think she had been stuck in there for hours, her barely-reliable Sight the only reason she and Malakai had made it out alive…

Other people were still in there. Trapped and utterly blind. She would save them all if she were able—would run back in there and guide as many as possible to safety, if she knew it wouldn’t kill her. But she’d already worn herself thin, and without access to the Caliginous Chamber, she had no way of replenishing her magic.

Loren stared into the rippling blackness, her mouth bone-dry.

She had gone surfing only once in her life. About an hour into her lessons, a colossal wave had formed, knocking her off her board and sucking her beneath the ocean. The current had tossed her about until she couldn’t tell up from down. She had feared she might never find the surface. Thought she might die under there in the quiet, crushing blue.

This moment reminded her of that day. Only this was far, far worse.

The mass was groaning and creaking like an old house. Like a monster waking up and stretching its limbs after a long slumber.

Loren was not ashamed to admit that she was scared. Horribly scared.

How were they ever going to fix this?

A pair of fingers snapped in front of her face. “Terra to Blondie,” Malakai said, snapping again. “Come in, Blondie.”

She blinked, backing away from the inky wall. “Sorry, what?”

“Let’s get moving.” His hair was tangled and covered in dust, his eyes bloodshot. “Unless you’d rather walk your ass back in there, then be my guest. But I’m outta here.”

She shook her head—of course she didn’t want to go back in there—and looked out at the northern districts of the city, the buildings glowing with lights. With a deep and hopeful breath, she set off, following Malakai as he maneuvered the streets.

Combat and transport vehicles clogged the roads and sidewalks, and thousands of people had sought shelter insidebuildings. She had never seen so many fire trucks, ambulances, cop cars, and armored vehicles in a single place. There were even Fleet soldiers stationed on roofs, a few flying between buildings; she wondered if Roark was here.

About fifteen minutes later, they made it to a grid of streets lined with more ambulances and fire trucks, as well as frame tents. Members of search-and-rescue and the police force had set up tables, where they provided citizens with bottled water, snacks, and other supplies.