Chapter 38

Guiding Orso through dust and debris from the collapsed eastern walls, Sancia directs the carriage to a point exactly a mile and a half from the Mountain. With soldiers drawn to the breach, the streets are clear, letting the trio prepare their risky plan.

At the launch site, Sancia straps on a prototype gravity rig while Orso checks a twinned heating chamber. As Berenice adjusts the rig, Sancia impulsively takes her hand, and Berenice urges her to return, sealing it with a hard kiss. Sancia programs the rig to shift mass “up” at extreme density, to trigger at liftoff.

When Sancia crouches, the rig distorts gravity, suspending dust and debris; she then leaps and is hurled skyward toward the Mountain in an enormous arc. Orso and Berenice are knocked sprawling by the shockwave, confirming the launch worked.

Afterward, Orso reveals the heating chamber underpinning the scriving is unstable and will likely explode or implode in about ten minutes. He argues Sancia will reach the Mountain before that, and urges immediate retreat. With no soldiers nearby but the clock ticking, Orso and Berenice sprint away from the device as Sancia races toward her objective.