Page 54 of Every Eligible Man

The carriage hits another rut. A big one.

For one terrifying moment, the entire vehicle leaves the ground. When it lands, all three of us slam deeper simultaneously.

Cinder comes so hard she actually sees colors. I know because she tells us afterward.

"Six!" we shout in unison.

"Oh my gods, they're keeping score," Mira groans from outside.

We are. We absolutely are. This is a team effort and team efforts require metrics.

The journey is approximately forty-five minutes. By minute twenty, we've made it to twelve.

The positions have gotten increasingly creative.

At one point, Wreck is hanging half out the window for leverage. I make a mental note to discuss safety protocols later, but right now his angle seems to be working.

At another point, I'm braced against the ceiling with both hands while Cinder rides me reverse. The ceiling is not designed for this. I hear wood creak ominously.

Slade discovers that the small decorative shelf can, in fact, hold his weight if he's careful. He's not careful. The shelf breaks. We don't stop.

"Thirteen."

"Fourteen."

"Fift… no wait, she didn't finish that one."

"That counts, her legs were shaking."

"Legs shaking isn't confirmation."

"Both of you shut up," Cinder screams, coming again.

"Fifteen," we say together.

Outside, the rats have started a betting pool.

"Twenty gold says they hit thirty before the castle," Squeak announces.

"Thirty? In forty-five minutes? That's insane."

"Have you met the lady? She's been waiting for this. She's going for the record."

"What's the record?"

"I don't know, but she's about to set it."

Susan and Gerald have fallen asleep in Mira's lap, exhausted from their emotional reunion. Even chaos ferrets need rest.

Bastard is preening his feathers with studied disinterest.

One-Eye has given up on denial and is reciting ancient poetry to himself. I catch fragments through the carriage wall. Something about darkness and the void. Fitting.

The carriage rocks.

And rocks.

And rocks.