Page 194 of Fallacies

“Salem—”

He grabs my hand, picks a hall, and starts running.

The decision is clear without him needing to voice it: They need more time, so we would buy it for them.

45

Callan

We’ve only just made it through the gates when the explosions stop.

I notice. Devon notices. And so does my father.

His grey eyes dart to mine, the only evidence of any alarm. He keeps his pace even, his stance strong, but there’s panic all over his face, and it takes monumental effort to keep it off mine.

My initial worry is for Pax and Phoenix. They wouldn’t have stopped without good reason, and the fear of something having happened makes me sick to my stomach.

Breaking my father’s stare, I nod to Devon, who promptly falls back to the end of the group. The city is eerily quiet now that the explosions have ceased, and I can hear him at the back of the line, instructing everyone to huddle closer as we walk. He helps them into more of a square formation, allowing us a better chance at guarding them all should someone find us.

Devon stays at the back of the group, and I shift towards my father. “Here,” I whisper when I’m close enough, reaching for the chains around his wrists.

He offers it willingly, and I make quick work of digging the tip of my knife into the keyhole. It’s scratched enough from his previous attempts at setting himself free that it’s easy to slip the blade inside and turn.

With some pressure, the shackle gives, and he exhales a relieved breath when one of his wrists comes free. We’ll have to do the other later.

“Do you have any magic?” I ask, though I’m fairly certain I already know the answer.

“A little,” he tells me, which means he has none. He tucks the knives into his waistband, and I’m about to gift him a generous portion of my own magic when he says, “Lucina gave it to us. As much as she was able. We rationed it between us.” My father gestures to the group behind him. “It’s the only reason they’re able to walk.”

Hearing her name soothes a growing ache in my chest, grounding me to the torn-up cobblestone we’re walking across. But hearing what she did for them? I’m torn between being proud and being afraid.

If I know Lucina, I know there was no limit to what she would have given them, and I know there is a slim chance that she left anything for herself.

And now I’m just as worried about her reserves as I am about her safety, but I sever that stream of thought before it can spiral any further, and extend a hand to my father. “Take more.”

There’s a slight protest in his eyes as they meet mine, but he knows without me having to say it that he needs it more than I do.

When he takes my hand, I delve into my power, gathering a large portion of it and pulling it to the surface. It moves like a hot beam of sunlight through my veins, pooling at my fingertips, and when it melts into his skin, there’s immediate relief in his posture.

He straightens, his steps get stronger, and even his eyes regain a fraction of their familiar glimmer.

“Thank you,” he exhales.

“The sun will rise soon.” I let go of his hand. “We just have to make it until then.”

Until the sun can shine down on the withered group behind us, reviving their ashen skin and sickly complexions. It’s barbaric—the punishment they were sentenced to—depriving the Sol of the very thing that fuels them. No wonder Iris died as young as she did.

My father nods in agreement but says nothing else as he shifts to the right, and I move left. We guard the front while Devon takes the back. It’s the best it’s going to get with just three of us. We just have to make it to the bunker where Hunter and Easton are waiting.

With that destination in mind, I increase our pace. Enough to make a difference but not enough to cause alarm. Even still, it doesn’t take long for panicked whispers to break out behind us.

“Shh,” my father urges them. “It’s alright. Stay close.”

His plea pacifies the swelling murmurs, and for a while, the only sound is our footsteps against the crumbled stone of our city streets. Dawn is still on the edge of breaking, but the sky is getting brighter every second.

I keep my head on a swivel, knowing Devon is doing the same, and when I start to spiral into the thought of how we would even protect all these people, I force the worry away.

I focus instead on my steps, one after the other, scanning the perimeter, and keeping magic at my disposal.