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He looked back, and his eyes met mine.
There was something in them—relief, maybe.
Then he collapsed.
His body struck the water with a soundless splash, one arm still curled around the shattered thing he had built.
The river took him almost immediately, folding over him like a secret.
His hat floated for a second.
Then it, too, disappeared.
“No!” Eszter’s scream split the air.
Will was already yanking her forward, shoving through the last stretch of water, but she fought him, her arms flailing, her frail body twisting toward where her father had fallen.
“Papa! Papa!”
Sparrow caught her, gripping her close. “We have to go,” she said, her voice a raw edge of control. “We have to go now, sweet girl.”
I was still frozen.
My feet wouldn’t move. My body wouldn’t obey.
I stared at the ripples where he’d gone under.
Egret’s grip was rough and strong. He forced me forward, though my gaze remained behind us.
The current didn’t even seem to notice it had claimed him.
62
Will
Iwoketosilence.Itwasn’t the uneasy kind that hums beneath every mission, where the quiet is filled with things you can’t hear yet. It was true silence—the sterile, padded hush of a place untouched by violence.
My body ached in a dozen places, dull thuds and needle pricks that told me I was alive. The sheets beneath me were clean, starchy, and unfamiliar.
I blinked at the ceiling, disoriented by the lack of urgency.
Where were the gunshots?
Where was the river?
Where were the others?
I turned my head—pain flaring in my neck—and sawhimin the bed beside mine.
Thomas.
He was asleep. His face was pale. His arm lay wrapped tight across his chest with bandages I hadn’t applied.
The breath I’d been holding for days escaped in a single, shuddering exhale.
He was still here.
Thank God, he was still here.