When Nomi returned to the home she’d never expected to see again, how many heartbeats would it take for her to break down and run into her mother’s arms?

She wondered what her parents would say when they saw her. When she’d left Lanos, she’d been Serina’s frumpy, forgettable handmaiden. Her hands had been red and cracked from the endless washing up, her hair in disarray. She’d held her secret—that she could read—like a flame in her heart, a candle she kept burning where they couldn’t see. What had they thought when she’d been chosen instead of Serina? They would have been shocked, of course. Would they have wondered why?

The carriage rumbled into what felt like a giant pothole and wobbled, throwing Nomi against its musty fabric-lined walls. Outside, the driver shouted something at his horse. With a shriek, the carriage strained forward, only to list to the side, an ominous crack sounding below.

Malachi’s cheeks flushed. “The imbecile’s broken his wheel,” he muttered as he wrenched open the door and dropped to the ground.

Nomi listened to the raised voices and angry retorts of the men and wished she could add her own. She wanted to fill up the whole dome of air above, the whole world, with her scream.

Malachi popped his head into the carriage a few minutes later. “There’s an inn a fifteen-minute walk away. We can stay there tonight; the driver says another hired carriage to Lanos will come through at daybreak.”

“Daybreak?” Nomi echoed in dismay. “We can’t wait that long.”

He shrugged helplessly. “I wish we didn’t have to. But I’ve only enough money for a room and the public carriage fare back to Porto Rosa. It’s not enough for the train or a private carriage.” He made a disgusted noise. “I’m sorry, Nomi.”

With a frustrated sigh, Nomi let him help her to the ground.

The driver was untying his horse, probably getting ready to ride for help with his wheel. Nomi kept her head down as she followed Malachi. She wanted to steal the man’s horse and head for Lanos City as fast as she could. But she breathed deep, angry breaths and kept walking.

They didn’t talk. Nomi’s ill-fitting boots rubbed blisters into her heels. The air held a chill she hadn’t felt since leaving Lanos, and the trees that lined the road had begun showing their fall brilliance. In the distance, the mountains rose like rotting teeth.

They were so close. The delay held her hostage, twisted her stomach and her heart into knots. She tried to remind herself that going to Lanos had not been the plan as of this morning, but it didn’t matter. Now that it was, the distance between her and her family was excruciating.