Chapter 74

Ronan's POV

Elara's runner reached me before the Silence did. She said the old line was about to close and asked us to be ready for our wolves to disappear. I looked toward the lower wall, wishing I could tell Mara I had heard. Then Grimm was gone.

The space where he had stood inside me felt raw. The link to the guards and to Mara vanished next. Several wolves stumbled. Tamsin grabbed the rail beside me and swore. A man in Severin's gray coat raised a knife; I caught his wrist, slammed him against the stair, and discovered how much the impact hurt without Grimm to share it.

Lucien fought below us with the people holding the second bar. His wounded shoulder slowed one strike. Two Black Hollow guards stepped in to cover him, and he nodded without pretending he could manage alone. He sent a boy with a split lip to Mae