With a frustrated groan, he bent down and hoisted Jayden into his arms, slipping toward the cracked window. Jayden’s unconscious body slumped against him like dead weight, but Ryanne managed to climb through, disappearing into the night just as footsteps echoed down the corridor.

The heavy door creaked open.

Hawkbone stepped inside, his eyes sweeping the room with suspicion. Rose stiffened instinctively, her pulse quickening—but she forced herself to breathe, to settle into a ...