My boot catches on the slick rock and mildew beyond the grate, and the motion tilts me off-balance. I smack into the river shoulder-first. The cold envelops me, slamming my body sideways and forward into the dark. My head goes all the way under, but I right myself enough to feel river stones beneath me. Then the ground drops out from under me, and I’m falling into the deceptively strong current as it tries to pull me the opposite way.

All Leonodai are used to swimming in the rivers back home, but swimming for fun meant I’d only wear the lightest of clothes. I know the very first thing I should do is kick off my boots, but we have days of travel until we reach the Heliana—but I can’t drown before then.

Feebly, I start to take them off when an arm loops around me and someone’s cheek presses awkwardly into mine as they pull me with them.

“Hang on, this way,” Callen says. He alternates kicking and treading water with practiced strokes, but the current is strong and he’s weighed down by armor.

“Callen—” I start, shifting so I can use my own free arm to keep us upright. Callen maneuvers me around in such a way that I’m behind him, one arm around his shoulders, but it makes things worse. I kick free, trying to keep close.

“Shoes,” I gasp desperately, but like me, Callen seems to know we’d need them.

His hand finds mine, and pulls me to our right. “No. Almost there.”

Blessedly, the current slows as the river curves away from the city. Callen and I swim toward the shore where Io is already climbing out of the water. She looks back, walking over to help Ox, Seth, and Jai from the river.

We reach the muddy riverbank. I gasp for air as he crawls to his knees next to me. His chest rises and falls with labored breaths. I run my hand through the unfamiliar length of my hair, grateful to be alive.

“Everyone all right?” Io asks, eliciting weak nods from the others.

I look back at Ramsgate, trying to imagine how long it would take to get back to Ellian’s cottage. The city would be on high alert for us. Ellian may be on her way back already, and she would keep Isla from guiding me back to where the panacea grows. Feebly, I look up and down the river. Not a single boat travels these waters. Another lie.

“What do we do now?” Callen asks.

The two commanders share a glance. “We haven’t seen any of the cure,” Io says, bunching up the front of her uniform to squeeze out some water. “Have you?”