Cassian POV

Maelor had taken my words to heart. He understood hesitation was a luxury we couldn’t afford by dawn, we’d be gone.

Every moment spent lingering in the North felt suffocating, as if each breath wasted here robbed me of precious time I needed elsewhere. Too much waited ahead, and too little remained to accomplish it all.

We were halfway across the courtyard when a figure strode toward us with purpose Quillan’s Beta, Caelan. My guard rose instantly. The Blairs’ history was ...