The relay station’s fire was still clawing at the night sky when Nora pulled Mara through the drainage ditch and into the forest beyond. Smoke trailed them, ash clinging to their hair and clothes, but she didn’t slow. Not when every instinct screamed that the flames weren’t enough to bury the danger behind them.
The Blacklist would come. They always did.
“Where are we going?” Mara gasped, stumbling over roots. Her face was streaked with soot, her breath ragged.
“Quiet,” Nora hissed. She tightened her grip on the girl’s wrist, dragging her deeper into the trees.
“But—”
Nora spun on her, voice a low snarl. “Do you want to live?”
The girl froze, wide-eyed, then shook her head quickly. “I—yes. I want to live.”
“Then keep moving.”
They pushed on, branches clawing at their arms, the fore
