Lucien lifted his hand.
The restraints responded.
Metal seals that had resisted tools and force for years loosened as if they had never belonged there. Locks softened. Anchors disengaged. Tubes retracted and dissolved into inert residue.
One by one, the prison chambers opened.
Only then did the Lithrens move.
They rushed forward, careful at first, then desperate. Hands reached through the barriers. Bodies pressed together and names were spoken like prayers finally answered.
Families found each other again.
Fathers held sons who had grown thin. Mothers touched the faces of daughters they thought had died. Some only held hands because their bodies were too weak for more.
No one stopped them.
For the first time in centuries, no one forced order upon them.
Rurik went straight to the center.
He dropped to his knees beside the suspended woman and caught her before she could fall. His hands shook as he held her weight.
She turned her face away.
