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and jump to my feet.
    I charge into the maelstrom of raining earth. “Cassian!” I’m not the only one screaming. Miram is there, too, calling for her brother. In this, our desperation to save him, we’re unified.
    “Jacinda, no!” Will grabs me again. “It’s too late! We have to go!”
    I spin around and yank my arm free of him. “What have you done?”
    He doesn’t understand my words. But he doesn’t need to. He knows.
    His eyes harden. “We have to keep moving. We’ll run out of oxygen soon down here.” Turning, he strides past the others. Leaves me to do what he must.
    Miram sobs near my feet, beating at the wall of dirt where the opening to the hallway used to be. I close a hand around her arm and pull her to her feet. For once, she lets me help her. She feels slighter, thinner than I remember. Captivity will do that, I guess. My heart twists as I recall the time she endured as a prisoner. And now this. Losing Cassian. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I’d never imagined anything as terrible as this. My hand strokes her arm. We all move, following Will.
    “I’m sorry,” Lia says in a whisper, squeezing beside me in the narrow space. “I shouldn’t have freed him. I just couldn’t stand the thought—”
    I wave a hand, silencing her. It’s not her fault. I could have stopped her. I let sympathy get in the way. I won’t be so stupid again.
    “Jacinda?” Tamra looks searchingly at me and then back behind us. “Cassian?”
    “We can’t save him,” I bite out, then flinch as Miram starts weeping again.
    I look behind us again to where the dirt still swirls in the air. I see the disbelief on her face. She’s torn, trying to wrap her head around what I already know. Cassian is lost to us.
    I open my mouth to tell her that there’s nothing to be done, when sudden burning pain lances me, nearly bringing me to my knees. I release Miram and crash against the rough rock wall with a gasp.
    Tamra reaches for me. “Jacinda? What is it?”
    Cassian. It’s Cassian .
    Miram watches me wide-eyed, her terror as palpable as the dirt particles swimming around us, and I clamp my lips together as my chest explodes in fiery hot pain that rivals the ache in my heart.
    “Jace, what is it?” Worry etches itself in the smooth lines of Tamra’s face.
    I shake my head and swallow back a scream of agony. I’m not about to tell her what I know—that Cassian is being hurt, tortured somewhere by a devil draki. That I feel it happening.
    Even as much as she dislikes Cassian, there’s still a history there that she can’t escape. A history of caring and longing, of wanting him and never getting him. She wouldn’t want him hurt, wouldn’t want him … dead . Nor do I want to tell Miram what’s happening and risk her refusing to escape with us. Cassian would want me to see his sister to safety. I can’t let this have all been for nothing.
    I force myself to move, trying to pretend I can’t feel the pain, that I’m not leaving a piece of myself behind. “I’m okay. Let’s go.”
    Will works ahead of us, using his newfound powers to stretch out our tunnel and lead us to freedom. We fight the swirl of dust and earth and follow several paces in his wake.
    I stare at Will’s back, trying not to blame him. Trying not to be angry. It’s a hard battle. After several minutes, I sense that he’s tiring, but he doesn’t stop. Doesn’t quit. It’s not in him to quit. I know that best of all. He keeps going, pushing ahead, dirt and earth spitting all around us in a rushing roar. I think of asking him if he knows where he’s going—are we going to emerge smack in the middle of town? That would be awkward.
    I almost laugh at the image. But I don’t. It could happen. And we could still not make it out of this. Still die . Even if Will doesn’t know where we’re going he can’t stop now. There’s no going back. Behind us death waits. So I say nothing and trust him, letting him lead us out of this