“Speaking of too late,” Sly said, “is there a way out of this place that isn’t going to be guarded by a legion of soldiers? Otherwise, we might all be captured.”

Kiran kept staring at Aurora, feeling like he was being pulled in two different directions. He was furious and horrified at the capture of his friend, at the fact that she had been in needless danger at all, but he knew, knew with every bit of certainty there was in the universe, that he would always want Aurora to save herself if she could. But that did not stop the shredding feeling inside him, like he was being pulled not so cleanly in two.

Feelings would have to wait. For Sly was right; they could do little for Jinx now. They needed to get to safety, regroup, and plan. He had a grappling hook and a rope; they just needed to find an isolated spot and hope they could get all of them over the wall without being seen.

In the end, they used his hook and one of the steel-arrowed anchors they used sometimes to keep their footing during high winds when hunting. He threw the hook over the wall, pulling until he had solid leverage, and then he shot the arrow into the uppermost section of stone. It only sunk into the rock a bit past the arrow’s head, but that would have to be enough. Together, the two ropes allowed them to move quickly, and it helped him and Ransom carry the added weight of their extra passenger. They were lucky that the sky was still shrouded by smoke from the firestorm; it made the city dark and hazy, and they were over the wall after a tense period without drawing any unwanted attention. But the danger was not over once they had made it onto the city streets.

People were beginning to venture out of their homes, striving to save the parts of the city that still burned, because it was clear no one from the government cared enough to send help. Kiran knew that desperate people, especially ones whose homes had just been damaged or destroyed, would not think twice about giving their descriptions to anyone who came looking if the information garnered them coin or some other much-needed good fortune in this miserable place.

The lot of them could hardly traipse through the city back to their inn carrying an unconscious person wrapped in bed linens without standing out in someone’s memory. They needed to find somewhere close and safe to lie low until the danger passed.

He looked to Aurora then and raised the bundle in his arms slightly. “Do I get to know more about this now? Any chance our guest will be able to carry their own weight soon?”

Aurora’s face grew troubled, and she shook her head. “I can carry her if you need a break,” she said, drawing nearer.