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Arin turned, shielding his eyes from the buffeting sand. His golden hair lashed his face. The closing gates towered over him, making him small—making us all small and insect-like.
I side-eyed Draven. He couldn’t fight them all. He’d take down two or three. They’d arrest him. Me, they’d kill. Arin would be exiled, cast into the desert and left there.
Arin whipped his head around, looking back into the storm. The carriages, and all of Justice, were gone now, swallowed by the wave of red sand. When he faced me again, he stared unblinking. His blue eyes shone with fierce knowing and determination. He nodded.
I caught Draven’s gaze. He breathed hard through gritted teeth, flicked his gaze to Arin, and back to me. He nodded too.
All right then.
There was only one way out of this. One way we all survived, for a while.
We’d made our choice. At least if we died, we did so together.
“Go!” I bolted toward Arin, toward the storm. Draven ran too. We ran together, side by side, legs pumping, my heart ablaze. Sand blasted my face, but Arin was there, gold and white, a ray of sunshine in the storm.
The gate rumbled, closing more with every one of my ragged breaths. A roar sounded around us, either from the king or his many warriors. Or perhaps the roar was the storm’s.
Sand reared up in a great wall.
I flew into Arin, pulled him with me, and we sprinted into the maelstrom. We didn’t look back. It was too late for that. His hand clutched mine, fingers crushing tight. Sand burned my face, my eyes. We staggered, and sand shifted underfoot. Running blind was madness, but madness was all we had left. I pulled Arin against my chest, tucked his head under my chin. The roaring wind pummeled our every side.
Draven’s arms clamped around me, dragging us to our knees. “Stay down!” he yelled. Sand crashed over us, scorched my eyes, burned my mouth. Arin shuddered and panted, flinching. I wished I’d told him the lies didn’t matter, that I didn’t care how he’d hurt me. I wished I’d told him he was beautiful and fierce. I wished I’d told him… I loved him, and I had since the moment we’d met.
War’s giant doors slammed closed, booming like its battle drums.
No way back,the drums said.
We belonged to the desert now and were at its mercy.
* * *
