Page 343

When he opened his eyes, Taly was no longer in his arms.

blink

Suddenly, he found himself standing a solid five feet from where he’d been, right inside the doors to the Swap. He stumbled to a stop—

blink

Ren landed on the floor beside him.

blink

Then those two massive doors leading into the Swap were dissolving, the top edges turning to dust.

blink

Now they were gone entirely, and the people still outside, who had just been pushing and heaving their bodies against solid wood, came crashing through.

He skipped back a few steps to keep from tripping, eyes searching—

Taly. He had to find—

He found her.

Shit.

Shiiiiit.

The courtyard was a tableau of frozen movement—chaos and carnage caught in a single breath. Harpies hovered mid-lunge, their claws poised to strike, inches from the kill. People still ran, expressions trapped, unfinished, never to finish forming.

And in the middle of it stood Taly.

Golden aether lashed wildly, swirling like a storm around her, whipping at her blood-soaked hair and clothing.

With a groan, she ripped the shard of wood from her side. Blood and entrails spilled out only to be pulled back into her body. She threw it to the ground, stumbling as the wound continued to heal.

He could taste the next flash coming, could feel the power building, and he lunged for her—

blink

She stood in front of him, both hands on his chest.

His eyes found hers. “Don’t,” he breathed, and knew that he was begging. Knew that she could see it. “I have to get you out of here. Please, Taly, don—”

She gave one solid push.

blink

He went flying. But this time, he saw it—the spectacle of endlessly slow movement playing out all around him.

And Taly, weaving through it.

Screaming faces twisted in slow motion as she moved between them, plucking bodies from danger, shifting them like puzzle pieces.

She packed them closer, filled the gaps, made space—threading the lost back into the picture, stitching them into a place of safety.

Kato’s body was still soaring, flying backwards into the Swap as the doors began to reassemble, particles of dust rising from piles on the floor.

Taly met his eyes as she walked past him. Golden aether gilded her body from head to toe. But it wasn’t the magic that terrified him.