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Not as vines pushed through the beds of her fingernails.

Not as they lifted from the scrapes on her neck.

Even when they sliced their way across her vision, she made no sound.

Darkness edged in, but she rejected it. She wouldn’t go softly. She would stare them down until the light left her eyes.

The thorns punched through the wall of her throat, curling out of her mouth in jagged coils. Razor-sharp edges shredded her lungs. Through the haze of agony, she searched the faces in the crowd.

Searched for something to hold onto.

Only one pair of eyes met hers.

Small. Wide. Familiar.

Luck.

She sat at the edge of it all, knees drawn to her chest. For the first time, her gaze wasn’t hard, but searching.

Luck looked at her—not past her, not through her. At her.

“Make her yell,” one of the Sanctifiers crowed. They stood around her, laughing and cheering as her body convulsed.

The thorns tightened. Pain tore through her body, a raw, endless fire. But Taly held onto Luck’s stare, clung to it like a lifeline.

And she clamped her lips shut.

A rough yank snapped her head back. “I respect what you’re doing,” the earth mage drawled. He had a knee to her back. She could hear his smile. “But dignity won’t matter when you’re dead. Give us a show,” he urged, like he was asking for a favor. “One scream and I’ll kill you before you’re drawn and quartered.”

Taly bared her teeth, blood bubbling from between them. “Eat. Shit,” she growled around the thorns filling her mouth.

The earth mage smashed her head into the pavement. Something cracked. Probably her nose.

Above her, the Sanctifiers continued to laugh and laugh and laugh.

Then they stopped laughing.

Taly realized the reason why when she saw a head roll across the pavement.

Steel clanged above her, and a body hit the ground. He tried to crawl away, but he didn’t get very far without legs. From the pavement, she watched in a daze as blood dragged after him.

There were shouts. More Sanctifiers screamed. The weight disappeared from her back.

Then a warm violet light licked at her bloodied skin, and she sighed as the scent of sandalwood and suede washed over her.

Skye.

He dropped to his knees beside her. “Shit.” His hands shook, not sure how or where or even if heshouldtouch her. “Taly, say something. Please.”

“Wha…” Taly choked on the blood filling her mouth. “… took you so long.”

Skye laughed, the sound raw with relief. “Don’t worry,” he whispered, carefully, so very carefully smoothing the hair away from her broken, bloody face. She trembled. From pain. Fear. Too many things all at once. “You’ve done enough. I’ve got this.”

Behind him, five bodies littered the ground. One dead, three in the process of rising, and one that never would unless he figured out how to regrow legs.

Which left ten still able-bodied and ready to fight, and they closed in on him now.

Skye stood and planted himself in front of her. Shadows gathered in his palms. His expression was blank, but fury burned white-hot beneath it. It raged in every line of his body.