Edge of the Falls (After the Fall) (33 page)

It’s the question that’s been circling my head for three days. Since we were tossed out of Berg’s hover, and Guin wasn’t. Three days. Fifty seven until…I shake my head violently, and stare at Cedric. “He wouldn’t want you to treat me like this. He’ll be furious.”

“When we have him back, he’s allowed to be,” Cedric says, so softly I almost don’t hear the words. “Come on. We’re wasting time.”

“We’re going to get him back, Cedric.”

His shoulders slump, and I fight the urge to cry.
Damn them
. How did they know that taking Guin was the fastest way to break Cedric? To break us both?

I stand in front of him, take his face in my hands, and force him to look at me. “We will. We’ve been beating the odds for sixteen years. We’ll get him back—we just have to give the Commission what they want.”

He takes a deep breath and nods, but I can see the doubts in his eyes. The questions. Can we really find the Hidden City? In fifty seven days, can we find what the Commission hasn’t been able to find in almost eight years of searching?

I shiver and Cedric takes my hand. My left hand hangs empty and tingles—the ghost of a touch of the boy who should be with us.

We have to find the City. Guin’s life depends on it.