His lips parted, but she grabbed the bomb and leaped off the wall before he could speak.
“Alina!” he called after her.
She entered the forest as all three balls in her hands began to tick rapidly. Not yet! Gerard and his men were far ahead in the trees, running and whooping triumphantly.
Alina didn’t doubt whether she could run fast enough. Up until now, her body had moved as swiftly as she needed it to. With each step, she pushed harder off the ground until the trees became a solid blur around her. The men drew nearer. She could see the buckles on their packs and the gray hairs on their heads.
“This is far enough,” Gerard called out. “Time to enjoy our victory!”
Stan turned around with his hood piled carelessly on his shoulders. His startled eyes looked from Alina’s face to the flames consuming her clothes.
The men froze in place with open mouths, and Alina halted as the bombs gave a final, slow tick. In a split second of deadly silence, she met Gerard’s eyes and smiled.
A deafening thud shook the ground—a shock wave tearing through flesh, bone, trees and earth. The heat consumed all around her, tingling over her body as the force of the blast flung her through crimson flames and black smoke. She fanned out and flipped gracefully, her heart thundering as a triumphant cheer rang from her throat.
Alina landed hard on her feet and gasped at her naked, soot-covered body. If no shred of clothing survived the blast, no mortal could either. She raced back to assess the damage. A gaping hole smoldered in the ground, simmering with debris. She found no sign of Gerard or his men. She closed her eyes and covered her face with a trembling hand.
It’s done.
She started back toward Millflower, through the charred remains of the grove, and a lump formed in her throat. Of the Sad Cases, only bloody, dismembered parts littered the ground. The deranged men and women, too far from the blast to be pulverized, were ripped to pieces. She saw a face intact: blank gray eyes staring at her, sunken deep in yellow skin. She fell to her knees and sobbed, her tears leaving a clean trail on her blackened cheeks.
Sampson did this to them—he stole what little freedom they owned and tortured the one thing they could control—their minds. Sent into Carthem—unaware they served the same man who stole this from them. How unjust for them to suffer the same fate as their guilty master.
Then she heard Mae’s voice in her head. “They are captives, controlled by Sampson. You have set them free.”
Alina lifted her eyes and glimpsed a white flower growing from the ground, its ragged petals marked with soot. She wiped the tears from her face.
Some things survive and endure, no matter what destruction surrounds them, she thought.
She searched through the carnage, avoiding the victims’ remains, but found no survivors. She opened her mouth and let the tears come again. With a laden heart, she walked toward Millflower’s gate.
She glanced at her body. The black soot disguised her well enough, but she couldn’t walk through the gate without clothes. She dashed between trees, hiding, until someone from the gate spied her.
“Alina?” she heard Oliver call out, and she flushed.
“I need some clothes!” she yelled back, and as the crowd burst into laughter, she relaxed enough to laugh with them.
After a few minutes, a young girl came out and gave her a robe. Alina slipped it on and walked through the gate.
The town erupted into cheers.
She found herself in Oliver’s arms first, then those of Baylor, Maxwell, and Mayor Nelson. The crowd enclosed around her, some crying and laughing as they rubbed the soot from her arms and face. Others squeezed her and joked about her politeness while running with a ticking bomb in her hands.
Alina hugged all of them, even the mean girls, who now smiled through their tears. Jade watched proudly from the side with a soft smile on her face. Alina cut through the throng of people to be with her.
“That’s the best use of immortality I’ve seen,” Jade said.
“I’ll try not to get big-headed over it,” Alina answered. They giggled as they embraced, and the crowd respectfully backed away.
Alina’s face went serious. “How are things in Stormport?”
“Oh—” Jade’s face fell. “Not good. Zaiden is alive, but Crome died yesterday, and now Janet is infected.”
Alina grabbed Jade’s arm. “Baylor’s Janet?”
“Yes.”
“Oh no,” Alina’s heart sank. “Don’t you think I could go back to help them, just for a little while? I want to be with Trinee and—”
“Zaiden?”
Alina nodded, her eyes on the ground.
Jade shook her head. “Rex and I discussed this with Baylor. We urged him to go back to his family, but he said that would reward Sampson, who wants our progress stalled. We need to get to Jaden as soon as possible. If we delay the mission, more people will die.” She blinked back tears. “He’s willing to give up seeing his wife for the last time to fight for Carthem.”
Alina wiped her eyes. “Then I need to do the same with Zaiden. I just thought if I went to him, he’d pull through.” She blushed at how presumptuous she sounded.
Jade squeezed her hand. “He’s survived several days now, and he’s the longest one. He’s a fighter.”
Alina smiled softly and nodded. She pulled on Jade’s hand. “Come with me. There’s someone I want you to meet. She’s the real hero, because without her, I’d still be trapped in a mine shaft.”
“What?” Jade exclaimed.
“Gerard tried to dispose of me, and she was my rescuer. As soon as she’s well enough, I’ll introduce her as the savior of Carthem. She’s one of the Sad Cases in Gerard’s army but isn’t insane; she only pretended to be. Her name is Mae.”
Jade seized Alina’s arm. “Did you say her name was Mae?”
“Yes.”
Jade’s hands flew to her mouth and tears sprang to her eyes. “Oh!” she erupted and broke into a run. “Hurry, Alina,
