Page 103 of Thornlight

Please.

Thorn thought of kissing the light, simply to show it how happy it was making her, but she couldn’t bear the risk. What if her kiss snuffed it out?

She squinted through the crack. “Did you hear that?”

“I did,” answered Quicksilver. “But... where can they possibly be? Not in the Break—”

“But it has to be! Zaf must have caught Brier in time, but now they’re stuck down there because of course Zaf was already worn out, and I didn’t even think she had any magic left at all, but she must have had just enough for that last jump, and now she’ll be too hurt to get them all back up, and—”

Fear fell coldly down her back. “What if the Gulgot gets them before I can?”

“How, exactly, do you plan toget them?” Quicksilver asked. “They could have fallen for miles.”

“Noro. I’ll find Noro, and he’ll take me there. Unicorns always land on their feet.”

“Do they land on their feet even after jumping down into a possibly endless chasm?”

Inside Thorn’s belly, between her ribs, in her chest, up and down the tense lines of her arms... the dark web grew. Its long sticky legs crept and crawled and latched on and pulled.

Not just a web. Not anymore.

Now, it was a Thorn-shaped, Thorn-size shell that pressed up impatiently against her skin, coating her insides with a hard black veneer, like thick dried paint.

Thorn’s eyelids fluttered. Her vision bled black, like ink had dropped into her eyes, and then cleared.

Swaying a little, she thrust the light at the crack and snapped, “I can’t just sit here and wait for Zaf’s light to go out.”

Quicksilver blew out a sharp breath. “All right. Fine. What I’m about to do will sound distressing, but just... follow my lead. Don’t hold back. We have to convince them. When thedoor opens, run, and run fast. No matter what you hear.”

A thought whispered in the frightened corner of Thorn’s mind:will Quicksilver be all right?

The Thorn shell, hardening over the frame of her bones, purred happily as it climbed.Who cares?cooed the clever dark shell.All that matters is Brier and Zaf.

Without further warning, Quicksilver started screaming.

Thorn jumped away from the wall with a yelp.

“Help us!” Quicksilver cried. “Help us, we’redying! They’re inside! They’ve gotten inside! Thorn, climb out the window! Jump! Don’t let them touch you!”

Thorn’s shock was so complete that at first she didn’t understand what she was supposed to do—until the frozen pieces of her mind spun into action.

She shouted at the door, “I’m almost there!” She did not have to pretend to sound terrified. Her heart pounded so fast she felt dizzy. “I’m almost to the window! Quicksilver, help! There areso manyof them!”

Running boot steps thumped outside in the hallway. Chains rattled. Keys jangled.

Ari shouted frantically from his own cell, his voice muffled. “Quicksilver? What’s happening? Quicksilver!”

Thorn heard the guards unlocking her door, and Quicksilver’s too.

Thorn crouched, licked her dry lips, prepared to run. But what if she couldn’t get past the guards? They were storms knew how many strong grown soldiers, and Thorn was just... Thorn.

No,whispered the Thorn-shaped black shell shoving her muscles out of the way to make room.Not just Thorn. Not anymore.

Zaf’s fading light pulsed once in her palm. Still there, still glowing—but for how much longer?

Hurry, Thorn.

The door opened, admitting a frowning soldier with wrinkled ruddy skin. Thorn ran at him fast, closed her fist around the light, then flung it at the man’s face. It slammed hard into his jaw. He staggered back, shouting in pain.

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