A man slammed into my shoulder and kept running in a panic without looking back.
He was carrying an injured woman on his back, her arms tied around his neck.
I quickly stepped back against the stone wall to let them pass.
The thick dust cloud was rising fast, reaching the streets above the square.
People poured out of their homes in panic, covering their mouths with cloths and trying to figure out where the thunderous crashes were coming from.
Farther down, a city guard climbed onto an overturned cart and began shouting for everyone to stay away from the cracked buildings.
I searched for the dark passage beneath the archway.
Sahger stood against the wall, his spear pointed down and his hood pulled low over part of his face.
He spotted me before the others did and gave a short nod.
I slipped silently between two people arguing over which stairway was still intact and entered the shadowed passage.
Havelyn hurried toward me.
Her worried gaze swept over my face, then dropped to my bloodstained hands.
It lingered there for a second before returning to my eyes.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
Tsukumo held the man in the white mask bent forward in front of him, one hand clamped firmly around the back of his neck.
The prisoner jerked his head up when he heard my voice.
Dust covered the grotesque grin carved into his mask.
"Carnash..." he murmured, his voice wavering.
He glanced in surprise toward the passage behind me, where smoke was rising.
"And Erum?"
I stopped right in front of him.
The man tried to back away, but Tsukumo's arm lock kept him from moving an inch.
"Get up."
Another crash from the wreckage in the square shook the ground.
Sahger cautiously peered out from beneath the archway and waited for a group of guards to rush past.
"We'll go down through the warehouses," the hunter said.
"The main stairway is completely blocked by rubble."
The masked man tried to protest, but Sahger stepped closer before he could finish.
"Keep your head down."
Sahger grabbed the man's collar and covered the white mask with a broad fold of his own cloak.
Tsukumo stayed close beside him, keeping a firm grip on the prisoner's arm.
From a distance, they would look like they were helping an injured civilian walk.
Havelyn waited for me to pass before following at the rear.
We headed down a steep side street, blending in with the people trying to reach the lower terraces.
An enormous crack ran across the front of one house, between two windows.
Clay roof tiles littered the stone pavement, and water gushed from a broken pipe.
On the next street, the dust was already thinning, but traffic had ground to a complete halt.
Drivers shouted at people trying to climb the hill on foot.
A guard banged his stun baton against the side of a cargo hauler, demanding that the driver make room for the emergency crews.
Sahger led us along the edge of the line of vehicles.
I focused on following his boots, putting all my effort into keeping a steady pace.
Havelyn drew level with me.
"Slow down, Suki."
"We're almost there."
She looked ahead.
The low roofs of the port's storage buildings were already visible in the distance.
We kept going downhill without stopping.
The commercial port was still operating, though several workers had stopped beside their cargo carts to watch the column of smoke rising from the city.
Emergency sirens mingled with the steady rumble of ship engines.
We passed between the warehouses and found our ship where we had left it, parked between the two large freighters.
Sahger activated the controls and lowered the boarding ramp.
Tsukumo shoved the masked man inside.
I followed right behind them.
The hydraulic ramp rose, muffling the din of the port as the metal hull sealed shut.
Tsukumo threw the prisoner into a seat and fastened the safety harness across his chest.
Sahger strode past us toward the cockpit.
"I'll get the engines ready for takeoff."
I pulled back my hood, scattering dust from the fabric over my shoulders.
I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and tasted dried blood on my lips.
The masked man tracked my every movement without fully lifting his head.
I stopped directly in front of him.
"Where did you take Laura?"
I could hear him breathing behind the mask.
His breaths were short, ragged, and quick.
"Kardris."
I stared at that motionless porcelain grin.
Kardris.
"Where on Kardris?"
The masked man laughed.
"All of Kardris belongs to Verônica. She could be anywhere on it."
Tsukumo stepped away from the door and approached the seat.
"Did you actually go down there?"
"I made the delivery in the atmosphere," the masked man answered quickly.
"I wasn't about to set foot on that cursed planet. They met me up there."
"What's on Kardris?" I asked.
His fingers tightened around the edge of the seat.
"If your spirit is weak, don't set foot in that place."
I waited, but he kept staring at his hands.
"I'm listening."
"Verônica's spells."
"Kardris was already cursed because of what she did there." The mask tilted up slightly.
"And that was before the Silver One tried to kill that woman."
My fingers went still.
"Do you know what happened?"
"I know she survived."
"How?"
"I HAVE NO IDEA! THAT DAMN WOMAN IS A PRIMORDIAL GODDESS!"
"BEINGS LIKE THAT DON'T DIE EASILY!"
The answer came quickly.
He pressed himself against the backrest, retreating as far as the harness allowed.
"I transport whatever I'm paid to transport. I don't ask how someone survives the Silver One."
I kept staring at him.
"After that, the reports got worse. People who used to agree to land there started refusing, even when they were offered more money."
"Is that what they told you?"
He nodded.
"I heard it from people who'd set foot there. I never wanted to see for myself."
The hum of the engines filled the silence.
The masked man glanced toward the corridor before lowering his voice.
"Kardris was already cursed. After she survived, that place became hell itself."
Havelyn returned from the corridor with the first-aid bag.
She set it on the bench and pulled a metal chair over to me.
"Sit down, Suki."
I remained standing, staring at the prisoner.
Havelyn's hand gently touched my elbow.
I sat, and Kazekiba's hilt lightly struck the metal chair.
I adjusted the scabbard at my waist, keeping my hand near the grip.
The masked man stared at the sword in terror.
"I already told you where she is."
"You're going to show us exactly how to get there," I said.
Tsukumo rested a heavy hand on the back of his seat.
The man turned his mask toward him.
"Kardris belongs to her completely! You don't understand! It's not just a fortress protected by ordinary guards."
"Verônica controls that entire planet."
His voice trailed off.
I waited for him to continue, but he fell silent.
"Who else was with her?" I asked.
The man lowered his gaze to his cuffed hands.
"There was someone else there when I handed over the girl."
Tsukumo stiffened beside me.
"Who?"
"Arthur."
For several seconds, the only sounds in the ship were the hum of the ventilation system and the beeping of the panels Sahger was operating in the cockpit.
"The Morokian?" Tsukumo asked, his voice faltering slightly.
The masked man nodded.
My hand clenched around the armrest so hard that the metal creaked.
The memory of Arthur's fingers buried in Laura's hair came rushing back.
Her body being dragged away while I fell, helpless to stop it.
I looked up at the prisoner.
"You saw Arthur there?"
"He was standing a few steps from Verônica."
"How do you know it was Arthur?"
"Verônica called him by name herself. I know exactly who he is."
I released the armrest and stood, pushing the chair back.
I took a step toward the masked man.
He desperately tried to shrink into his seat.
His hands fumbled for the harness buckle.
Tsukumo covered it with his palm, preventing him from releasing it.
"Suki."
I looked at Tsukumo.
I stood close enough to reach out and wrap my fingers around the bastard's throat.
Havelyn moved to my side but made no attempt to hold me back.
I let my breath out slowly, trying to control my anger.
"You're coming with us. All the way."
The man shook his head in terror.
"Verônica will know I brought you!"
"I DON'T GIVE A FUCK."
Sahger appeared at the entrance to the cockpit corridor.
"I need the route to Kardris. Now."
Tsukumo unfastened the harness and hauled the prisoner out of the seat by his arm.
The man struggled to his feet, staring at me in fear as Sahger pointed him toward the navigation console.
The three of them headed down the corridor to the cockpit.
I listened to their footsteps until Havelyn pulled my chair back into place.
"Sit down, Suki."
This time, I obeyed without arguing.
She placed a basin of clean water on the bench and wet a fresh cloth.
When I held out my injured hand, her eyes passed over the dried blood crusted around my nails.
She hesitated briefly before taking my fingers.
"Does it hurt much?"
"No."
She began carefully wiping the blood from my fingers.
I watched the water in the basin turn red.
Havelyn only let go of my hand to wring out the cloth, then went back to cleaning the grime from between my knuckles.
I remembered watching her do exactly this in the infirmary at Gron-Tarh.
Always attentive, always looking after someone, changing bandages and offering water.
Now all her attention was on my hands.
"Havelyn."
She lifted her face to look at me.
I searched for the right words, but nothing came out.
From the corridor, I could hear the masked man explaining the route he had used to approach Kardris.
The hunter interrupted him and told him to point out the coordinates directly on the holographic map.
I glanced toward the corridor.
Havelyn silently lowered her head and continued tending to my hand.
When she finished, she left the cloth to soak and handed me a glass of fresh water.
"Who's Arthur?"
I stopped with the glass near my mouth.
Havelyn remained in front of me, waiting.
"When that man said his name, you almost went after him again. What did Arthur do?"
I lowered the glass without drinking.
"That bastard is the reason we're here."
She pulled up a chair and sat down.
"He's the one who kidnapped Laura."
Havelyn went still.
"In Ruitan," I continued.
"I was in the middle of the fight when he showed up, dragging her by the hair. She was unconscious."
I ran my thumb along the rim of the glass.
I could still remember the way her head followed every movement of his hand.
"Did you already know him?"
"He was on our team. Silver trained us."
She looked at my hands.
"You trusted him."
"We did."
The words came through clenched teeth.
"He handed Laura over to the men who came for her. Then he went through the portal."
Havelyn lowered her face for a moment.
"I tried to reach her," I said.
"One of them stopped me. By the time Silver arrived, the portal was already closing."
The glass creaked between my fingers.
I loosened my grip before it shattered.
Neither of us spoke for several seconds.
"Three years, Havelyn."
She looked at me again.
"Three years searching for Laura. And now that son of a bitch turns up beside Verônica, going wherever he wants, while she..."
I stopped.
I tried to take a sip, but the water sat in my mouth for a moment before I could swallow.
"I don't know what they're doing to her."
Havelyn reached for the glass.
This time, I let her take it.
She carefully placed it on the bench beside us and remained seated in front of me.
"That's why his name gets to me," I said, looking down at my empty hands.
"He handed over someone who trusted him. He handed over Laura."
Tsukumo returned a little later.
He stopped in front of the bench, glanced at my clean hand, then looked toward the cockpit.
"Did Sahger stay with him?" I asked.
"He did. He's checking his information against the maps of the region."
Tsukumo remained standing in front of me.
"You heard me back at the bar, didn't you?"
"I did."
"And you still kept beating that guy."
"Those two killers came to kill you."
"We already had the situation under control. The masked man had been subdued outside."
He didn't shout.
He didn't need to raise his voice.
"My priority right now is finding Laura," I said.
"Mine too."
I lifted my head.
Tsukumo held my gaze for several seconds.
Then he adjusted the fabric over his shoulder, straightening the bandage that had slipped out of place.
"When we set foot on Kardris, we need to work together. No losing control."
"I know."
He nodded once and returned to the cockpit.
My hands were clean, but blood still stained my sleeves.
I rubbed my thumb over a dark crust and watched the dried flakes crumble between my fingers.
I stood and went to the cockpit.
Sahger occupied the pilot's chair.
The masked man was strapped into the copilot's seat, leaning over the glowing star map.
Tsukumo stood watch just behind him.
The hunter glanced at me.
"Kardris is in the system."
"Is the route reliable?"
"There's only one way there."
I stared at the prisoner.
Sahger turned back to the controls.
"Buckle up in the common area. We're taking off before the authorities decide to close the port's airspace."
Tsukumo checked the lock on the masked man's harness before heading back with me.
Havelyn was already seated in the passenger area, carefully adjusting her right wing to avoid damaging the feathers.
I headed for my seat but stopped beside the ship's communications panel.
Silver.
Ever since leaving Gron-Tarh, I had been trying to understand how Verônica could be alive when Master Silver said he had killed her.
Now I had confirmation that she was alive—and that she had Laura.
"Suki, buckle up!" Sahger called over the speaker.
I stepped away from the panel and went to my seat.
I secured Kazekiba in the side rack and fastened my harness.
The main engines roared.
The ship lifted smoothly off the ground, leaving the two freighters behind.
The warehouse roofs shrank through the window, followed by the stone road we had taken.
The city of Elvernas spread out beneath us.
The upper terraces and central palace still stood tall.
Farther down, however, the destruction we had left behind was plain to see: an enormous crater surrounded by collapsed buildings and streets that ended in empty air.
Emergency vehicles crowded around the devastated area.
Smoke still obscured the bottom of the hole.
Havelyn kept watching the city through the viewport until the ship passed through the clouds.
"Course set for Kardris," Sahger announced from the cockpit.
The masked man muttered something up front, but I couldn't make it out.
Tsukumo looked at me.
"Kardris?" he asked.
I nodded.
He leaned his head back against the seat and closed his eyes.
Havelyn remained silent, gazing into the darkness of space that now filled the window.