Oudin appears at my side. “Simon is coming. We need to leave, now.” He starts to lift me by my elbow.
“No! No!” I grip the bars harder, and rust flakes off, digging into my skin.
Magister Thomas gently peels my fingers loose. “You have to go now, Catrin. We’ll see each other again. If not here, then Beyond the Sun.”
“No! Please!” I struggle against Oudin as he hauls me away.
“Curse it, Girl,” he mutters in my ear. “I’m not ending up in here myself just for doing you a favor.”
“Catrin,” booms the architect in a voice no one could help but obey, and I cease fighting. “You’re better than this.”
I wipe my face on my sleeve. “Yes, Magister.”
He nods. “Now stand up straight and walk out of here.”
I do as he says, but I walk backward, letting Oudin lead me. When we reach the door, Magister Thomas calls out to me one last time.
“I love you, Catrin.”
Though he’s never said those words before, it was something I’d never doubted.