The road rose through the graveback's spine.
Jiang felt the movement before Bone Orchard began to fall. Living pressure turned beneath his keel, carried the branch seed with it, and pulled high-root tight enough to crush his coat against the broken collars.
Then the carrier rolled.
Not onto its side.
The road itself folded under the graveback and opened ahead of it. Every joint beneath the wounded body lifted, turned, and laid itself down farther forward.
The graveback moved without wing, fin, or claw.
Bone Orchard went the other way.
Keeps tore from marrow trunks. Pruning nests slid across the crown. The last bridges snapped behind people who had already reached Maelin's hall or the detached keeps.
High-root cut into Jiang's side.
Aylin's injured palm closed around the outer end.
White selector wounds reopened across her skin. Natural Essence held the line, but it could not make the graveback and the guild move together.
"Cut it!" Raska shouted.
