Tamar hurled another axe, mere distraction as her hands curled into fists. Reyem clutched his chest, then seemed to shake off the Heartrender’s power and charged forward.

He slammed into Tamar and her body struck the wall with a terrible clang.

She hit the floor but was back on her feet in an instant.

“Get Ehri out!” she snarled at Mayu.

But how? She had one good hand and Makhi stood between her and the door, surrounded by her Tavgharad. Mayu drew her talon sword awkwardly with her left hand. She scanned the walls, looking for another exit.

“The floor,” Bergin said, his voice hoarse, as if even the effort of speaking fatigued him. “There’s a sluiceway.”

Of course. The drains had to go somewhere.

“Get behind me!” she said to the princess, and brought her boot down hard on the nearest grate—once, twice. It gave way. “Go! I’ll hold them off.”

Mayu shoved Ehri into the drain, hoping the princess had the sense to run as far and as fast as she could.

“Stop her,” Makhi commanded. “And dose the Ravkan traitor with parem.”

Mayu planted her body, trying to block the Tavgharad, but they barreled through her and leapt into the sewer after Ehri. The doctor lunged for a control panel. He pulled one of the levers, and a cloud of orange mist gusted from the vent nearest Tamar.

Tamar shouted and tried to dodge it, but Reyem grabbed her and threw her to the ground, his pincers pinning her arms as she fought to keep from inhaling the poison.

“No!” Mayu cried. She knew Tamar had antidote in her pocket, but Tamar was trapped by Reyem. There was no way for her to reach it.

“Another volunteer for the cause,” said the queen.

Mayu scrambled for Tamar.

Reyem struck her; his fists felt like rocks. They must have been buttressed with metal. He grabbed her by her collar. Mayu knew he was going to throw her. She would break her ribs, maybe her skull.

“Reyem!” she cried. “Please.”

“Dje janin ess! Scön der top!”

Reyem froze.

“Scön der top!” Bergin repeated, his fragile body shaking.

Mayu had no idea what it meant. She didn’t speak Fjerdan, and as far as she knew, Reyem didn’t either.

“What are you waiting for?” Queen Makhi shouted. “I’ll wake all my monsters if I have to. There will be no mercy. There will be no escape.” She pressed a sequence of buttons and the lids of the sarcophagi opened. “Who will save you now?”

Reyem’s head snapped up, as if he had at last woken from a long, terrible dream.

“I will,” he growled. He dropped Mayu with a thud and retracted his pincers, freeing Tamar. She grabbed a pellet of powder from her pocket and shoved it in her mouth, her body convulsing.