Seraphine's POV
On the box, Cassian knocked again. The hatch slid open, wind blowing dust inside.
“Half an hour, we change horses. Stop at the stream. Water’s clean. Left bank is slick, right is firm,” he said, giving me a brief, assessing glance. “All well inside?”
“All well,” Darius replied. “Carriage hasn’t thrown anyone. Rule holds.”
“Then we hold it,” Cassian nodded and shut the hatch.
I rolled my neck—no crack. A small victory. The pale mark around my wrist still drew my eye; sometimes I caught myself staring at it. Darius noticed again.
“You keep watching it,” he observed. “If it bothers you, we’ll cover it.”
“It doesn’t hurt. It just… remembers,” I said. “Feels like it’s still there though it’s not. Habit. It’ll fade.”
“Another mark will take its place,” he said. “One you c
