A Kiss of Shadow (Court of Starlight and Darkness #2)(25)

I had to get to my feet long enough to jump to the next car—something I never wanted to do again—but I was back on my stomach a moment later.

As I crawled across the train, my confidence grew. I could do this. By the time we reached the last car, my fear had mostly dissipated. I was more interested in what I might find.

Fortunately, there was an open-air platform on the caboose. Meria, Eve, and I lowered ourselves onto it and peered through the windows.

“Empty.” I frowned.

“Maybe they aren’t here yet,” Meria said.

“Maybe.” I opened the door and slipped inside, the sudden quiet almost disorienting after the roaring wind on top of the train.

The entire car was a sitting area, with small couches and chairs clustered around little tables. Red velvet covered most of the cushions, and the dark wood walls gleamed from the sunlight streaming through.

I walked through the quiet train car, my heartbeat loud in my ears. “Shouldn’t the person who sent the note be waiting for us?”

“Unless it’s a trap,” Eve said.

“Uh, guys.” Meria’s voice sounded worried, and I turned to look at her.

She stood at the window, pointing upward. “Does that look like a landslide to you?”

I hurried over and looked up. Dust plumed overhead, obscuring the mountain. Boulders tumbled out of it, rolling faster down the slope.

“Shit.” They were coming right at the train. “We won’t make it out of here in time.”

“Take cover.” Meria dragged me toward the largest couch in the room.

Eve joined us, and we flipped it over to cover ourselves. I wedged myself beneath the cushioned velvet as the train began to shake, boulders slamming into it.

Eve, Meria, and I gripped hands as glass shattered and metal screeched. My heart lodged in my throat.

An enormous crash sounded as the car flipped on its side. I tumbled over, slamming into the window. The glass had shattered on the ground below, and pain flared where it cut me. Dust billowed, so thick that I couldn’t see two inches in front of my face.

Coughing, I pulled my shirt up over my face and tried to breathe shallowly.

“Meria!” I choked. “Eve!” Someone was pressed up against me, their body warmer than the cool air surrounding me.

“I’m here,” Meria croaked.

“You okay?”

“Mostly. You?”

“Yeah. Where’s Eve?”

“Eve!”

There was no answer.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

The dust was clearing enough that I could make out vague shapes. The couch had tumbled to the side, but it had blocked the worst of the rubble that had crashed through the window.

“Good thinking on the couch.” I staggered upright. “Eve!”

A groan sounded from a few feet away, and I hurried toward it. Eve lay underneath the couch and rubble, blood dripping from her temple.

Panic lodged in my heart, and I knelt at her side, careful not to shake her. “Eve. You’re okay. Wake up.”

Her eyelids fluttered open, her lips tightening in pain. Her breath rattled as she spoke. “This sucks.”

“I’ve got a healing potion.” Meria pulled a little vial from her pocket.

“Not sure that’s going to do it.” Eve coughed, blood appearing on her lips.

No, no, no.

Didn’t that mean internal bleeding?

“It’ll be enough.” Meria sounded confident as she lifted the vial to Eve’s lips, helping her drink.

Almost immediately, her breathing improved. The wound at her head began to close.

“It might not fix you up all the way,” Meria said. “But you’ll live.”

“Thank you.” She heaved a shuddery sigh. “Now get me the hell out of here.”

We dug at the rubble, clearing off the larger rocks that kept her trapped. The sight of them made my stomach turn. They’d been falling so fast…

We were lucky we’d gotten to her in time.

Worry for Lore pierced me. Had he been injured in the rockslide?

I couldn’t think about that right now. I needed to focus on helping Eve. It was all I could control from right here, and it was important.

By the time we reached the last of the rocks, Eve was able to help us push them off of her. The pink had returned to her cheeks, and though her lips were still tight with pain, it looked like she wouldn’t be dying on us anytime soon.

Relief rushed through me.

It didn’t last long, though. This was all on me. Eve had almost died because I’d been tricked by the note.

A trap.

I shivered, shoving the thought away. “Let’s get out of here.”

Eve looked up, and I followed her gaze. The train was on its side, so we could either go through the broken windows above or the doors on either end.

“Let’s try the doors.” Meria scrambled over rocks and fallen furniture, reaching the back door, and grunting as she pulled at it. “Stuck.”

“I’ll try the other.” I hurried to it, leaving Eve to catch her breath. The rocks shifted beneath my feet as I climbed over the pile of rubble toward the door. As soon as I saw it, I knew we were screwed. The entire thing was buried in rocks. “It looks like we’re going up.”

“On it.” Meria grabbed a chair and propped it on top of some the debris, wedging the legs in with some rocks.