Page 97 of Zenith Tower

Their boots passed within a few feet of us, separated by a skin of stone and the rushing water. The sound faded toward processing.

Caspian opened the lamp again.

“They’ll lock the wing before we reach it,” I said.

“Then keep moving,” Caspian replied.

Kieran drew himself straighter between us and placed one unsteady foot ahead of the other.

We took the stair.

It climbed steeply inside the wall, its center worn hollow from long use even though the passage appeared on no map we had been shown. Kieran managed the first flight. On the second, his right leg failed beneath him.

Hale caught him before he struck the steps.

Copper light flared from Hale’s wrist to his elbow.

He made a sound through his teeth and went down on one knee, still holding Kieran upright.

“Jonah.”

His head lifted at the name. The light under his skin moved in quick, uneven pulses.

“Get him to the top,” he said.

Caspian came back down and took Kieran from him. Together we pulled Kieran up the remaining stairs while Hale followed with one hand against the wall.

The final door waited behind a curtain of cold water-light. Caspian tried the administrator’s key. The mechanism turned, but the door did not move.

“Again,” Hale said from below us.

Caspian lifted the latch and put his shoulder into the wood. I pushed beside him. The frame gave with a groan that sounded impossibly loud after the close hush of the passage.

Warm lamplight opened across the landing.

The administrator stood on the other side.

She pulled us through and closed the door behind Hale. A heavy key locked it from the residential side just as boots reached the bottom of the hidden stair.

“Marrow is free,” I said.

“I assumed he would be.” She looked at Kieran, taking in the blanket, the marked shoulder, and the way Caspian held most of his weight. “Can you walk to your room?”

“If they help me.”

She did not waste time answering. She handed me a folded order bearing her seal.

“His isolation has been rescinded on medical grounds. The entry reached the north desk before Marrow discovered the false review.”

“And the stewards we tied to a shelf?” Caspian asked.

“Obstructed an emergency transfer.” Her voice remained level, though a pulse beat hard at the base of her throat. “That explanation may survive until morning.”

“What happens in the morning?”

Her gaze moved to the copper light spilling through Hale’s sleeve.

“The Council learns how much authority I have used against them.”