They did not stop running until the city was only a glow behind them—until Veyl became nothing more than a wound on the horizon.
The forest swallowed them whole.
Ancient trees rose like judges, their roots twisting through blackened soil, their canopies blotting out the sky. Fog clung low, damp and cold, muffling sound. Even the fires of the burning city could not pierce the green-black depth of the woods.
Only when Anna stumbled did Lexus finally halt.
He caught her before she fell, arms locking around her with bruising force. She clutched his tunic, breath tearing from her lungs in ragged gasps. Her magic still pulsed erratically beneath her skin—too bright, too close to the surface.
“I can’t—” she whispered. “I can’t make it stop.”
Lexus pressed his forehead to hers, his breath ho
