The Edge (Book 5 of The Claiming Series)

Chapter Twenty-Five

A stairwell at the end of the corridor leads all the way down to an emergency exit. It spills out onto one side of the Palace, neighboring the gardens and greenhouse.

Eli never slows down. He follows our guides around the outer edge of the greenhouse to the other side of the palace, keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible. I hold my breath far too long until the sound of a far-off gunshot makes me gasp for air.

"Where are we going?" I whisper to Eli.

"Somewhere safe." He pauses. "Well, as safe as it gets."

I cling to him tighter—if that's even possible.

I'm so glad he's alive.

On the other side of the greenhouse, we duck under the protection of the woods. It was already dark before, but now I can barely see what's in front of us. Eli seems to see just fine, though. I hear the others' footsteps against the underbrush, light and quick, in front and behind us.

Another contraction arrives quick as an arrow, and I have to cover my mouth to stifle a cry.

"Just a little further," Eli says, panting. "You can do this, Mave."

My fingers curl into his shirt. "I don't want to," I say, but it ends up coming out as a sob. "Not right now. You can't lead an army if you're here with me."

"Sure, I can," Eli says, but I can tell from his jaw-locked face that he's uncertain.

We reach the edge of the woods, having gone a complete arc around the Palace. We can see the top spires of it from here, peering over the steep hills that roll down toward the river. Before us, nestled between the forest and the river, is the old, broken-down barn Eli and I used to play in.

"Are you serious?" I say, whipping my head from Eli to the barn. "This? Here?"

"Shh," he hisses, his face twisting in panic.

He carries me into the shell of the building. Eris and Charlie are already on the upper level. Eli and Charlie help me climb up the ladder.

Eris helps me sit up against a wood-rotted crate while she and Eli clear out some space. My mom climbs up the ladder to join us. She must have left Levi with my dad, wherever he is. "The guards and soldiers are positioned in the woods and trees, both directions" she says to Eli. "They'll give a signal if anyone comes this way." Mom turns to look at me, her mouth twisting into a sympathetic smile. She kneels down and rests a hand on my stomach. "This is going to hurt, and you're going to want to scream, but—"

"I know," I say, clenching my teeth through another contraction. "I know."

Aria scales the ladder like a cat, leaping onto the upper floor with grace. She hands me a wad of ripped fabric. When I peer closer at it, I glance at her and see a tear at the bottom of her right pant leg. "Bite down on this," she says. "Ruth says it might help if you have something to bite on."

I clutch the fabric tight in my hand. "Thank you," I say.

She nods, then glances up at a thick tree branch that's grown low into the barn. She hops up onto the limb and balances on one leg for a moment as she reaches up for another branch above her. "Don't die, Mave. 'Kay?"

I snort as she disappears higher into the tree. "'Kay," I echo.

Eris descends the ladder without a word, and my mom is whispering something indiscernible to someone down below. Charlie's stationed himself at the far side of the barn that faces the Palace, keeping watch through a broken slat.