NOAH.
The deafening, metallic crash echoed through the stone floorboards, rattling the glass vials on Physician Thorne's table and sending a shudder straight up my spine.
The sound of splintering timber and shattering iron was unmistakable. The outer gates had been breached.
My heart hammered in my chest as the cold, harsh reality slammed into me like a brick wall. In our blind relief at Maria waking up, Adrein and I had completely dropped the ball. We hadn't set the archers on the inner ramparts. We hadn't placed the heavy guards at the courtyard choke points. We had left the entire inner perimeter wide open while we rushed to her bedside.
"Noah..." Maria gasped, her dark eyes widening with sudden, terrified clarity as she gripped my hand tight.
"Stay down," I commanded softly, squeezing her fingers once before gently letting go and stepping back from the cot.
