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The circle of black leather tightened on us That noose cinching around our necks inch-by-inch Behind the masks, I could see the flicker of fire in their eyes as they reached for their ability with fire as a unit

They drop intruders into the Pit

Not today they wouldn’t I could beat them to this, but I didn’t have time to explain to Ash I pulled my spear out and thrust it past hi him to the floor

Around us, there was a stutter, a hesitation as everyone tried to comprehend what I’d done, and I took those seconds tothe spear over ht Tn, and just enough room to run past those ould kill us Ash didn’t wait foras the rank of leather exploded behind us in a burst of screathehting up as fireballs careened off the walls One singed my arm as it rumbled past me, but I didn’t stop, didn’t let myself think about ould happen if I stopped If we let them catch us

We came to a dead end and my heart seemed to stop before I realized it wasn’t a dead end, but a doorway With one kick, Ash booted the heavy door open and pulled h the handle and into the wall, buying us tilobular rooet the arers as the door shook behind us The Redwoods would bring the Sala we needed was an all-out war on our turf Biting lobe to the north, just a little

Maybe we could lose theo Then Ash was at my side, and he slid the band over my arm "Just in case"

I didn’t understand what that meant and there was no time to ask He snaked his hand around my waist as the door burst open We turned to look as the Enders spilled into the roolobe as I reached up and touched the spot just north of the forest A roar of rage hit us from the other Enders, but they disappeared froh to the other side of the world

I didn’t have to wonder if I would again see Ash’s memories, they hit me hard, harder than I expected

Cassava stood in front of hi her skirt in the fine dust at her feet with one hand, the other, pointed at his chest "I want you to be my personal Ender You will make sure that Larkspur doesn’t find her abilities, that she reasp, the pain radiating in his chest ht, but she ruled hi "I understand" The words were squeezed out with difficulty because he fought them He didn’t want to help her, but it was as if he had no choice

She clucked her tongue at hiht h his body and he lowered his head to hide his eyes from her "Yes, my Queen I will do as I must to keep Larkspur weak"

She patted his head, and a soft laugh treood boy"

Theblack and seely smooth But it was not sround up and packed together, and it tore at my bare skin Grit and sand cut intome to a painful stop My eyes were inches from a yellow strip that I knew indicated the middle of the road I rolled to s, the s dark, the people in theht on their doorsteps

"Lark, where did you bring us?" Ash’s voice came from a few feet away I rolled my eyes to him, his oddess’s na hi to follow us, aren’t they?" I sat up and picked a couple of pieces of grit fro

Ash bent over me "Maybe,to ask for our heads"

I frowned and slowly stood,"Then I just slowed us down"

He rubbed a hand over his face "Yes But I understand why you did it In another situation, this would have been the sst the humans, the Salamanders tend to stand out"

Around us, the world was quiet, night having fallen while ere gone But I could still s wonderful I drew in a deep breath "Let’s get soo"

That stopped Ash dead in his tracks "You’re hungry, after all the bloodshed?"

"Starving, I haven’t eaten in three days" I didn’t want to try and explain to him what had happened with Coal, how I’d been trapped in some sort of spell Nor did I want to think about the fact that e left our ho And now I’d killed four people Four

"You think we have time to stop and eat?" he snapped at h