My hand grips the wall as I try to stay upright. Trying to think through the exhaustion and pain.
Then I smell it. Her scent. Faint but there. Leading toward the exit. Toward outside.
She was moved. Recently. Maybe just minutes ago.
I force my legs to work. Follow her scent. Through more hallways. Past more empty cells. Toward a door that opens to the compound yard.
Dawn is breaking. Pink and orange streaking across the sky. The yard is huge. Open space. Guards watching from towers.
And in the center of it all.
Asher stands there. Holding Freya by her throat. A gun pressed against her temple.
She's conscious. Fighting his grip. But weak. Too weak to break free.
Our eyes meet across the distance.
The bond flares to life. Stronger than the silver. Stronger than anything. She's alive
