lights. The palace was a symbol of this city’s grand past.
Right now the train was midway at the sliver of land set in the middle of the river, Margaret’s Island, and entering enemy territory.
“Twenty seconds,” Caden hissed from the door, swiveling his head and nervously tapping his hand against his leg.
I nodded, stuffing the pack on my shoulder with the narcotics, filling my bag, about to move on to the next crate.
“Brexley,” Caden hissed. “We don’t have time. Come on!” He pranced by the exit, the end of the bridge barely seconds away.
“Shit.” I jolted, realizing how much time I had wasted.
“Hey!” A voice boomed from the opposite door, a train guard stepping into the car, his gaze raking over me and my loaded bag. “Stop!” He reached for the weapon in his holster.
Having a gun pulled out was bad, but recognizing the guard as someone you’ve seen around HDF was another level of awkward. And he would definitely know us. Especially Caden. Our faces were covered, but it felt like cellophane, as if my name were scrolled across my tight black sweater in neon.
In a blink, I darted for Caden, sprinting for the exit.
“Stop!” the guard yelled as we leaped out the door. The wind whistled against my covered ears and whipped at my clothes, my skin temporarily numb to the chill I knew was seeping through the fabric.
“Shit!” Caden exclaimed.
Panic gripped me as we passed the place where we could safely jump.
“Stop, or I will shoot!” The short, stocky blond guard came barreling for us, one hand on his gun, the other reaching for his walkie-talkie.
Fear tugged at my lungs. In a few seconds, we would be stopping. The fae toll-and-customs border was a few yards ahead.
Stealing was punished on both sides. Severely.
“What are we going to do?” Caden’s voice bubbled with alarm, his head darting back to the sentinel. “We missed our jump. There’s nowhere to hide.”
“Fuck.” My head twisted back and forth, the train slowing, preparing to stop. The guard stood just a yard from us. I knew there was only one option.
“Jump!”
“What?” Caden’s voice pitched.
I gave him no time to contemplate my plan. Grabbing his hand, I pitched us off the moving train. My bones crunched as we hit the pavement, rolling over the concrete, my skin and muscles burning as my body skidded roughly on the hard surface.
“Stop! Thieves!” the guard yelled, his voice carrying to the fae sentinels standing at the platform up ahead, their weapons already primed at their sides. They whipped around, hearing the calls from the guard.
“Come on!” I grabbed for Caden, pulling him up.
Bang! Bang!
Bullets from the fae whizzed by our heads as we darted the opposite way, but the bridge was far too long for us to run. Even in the dark, we were exposed. They would have no problem gunning down thieves where they stood.
“Caden.” I twisted to my friend, holding out my hand to him again. “Do you trust me?”
“Uh.” He ducked as another bullet pinged off the metal railing. “Yeah. Sure.”
“Then…” I grabbed the railing, swinging my leg over. “Jump.”
He turned a shade of white, but as more shots rushed past our heads, he scrambled over the railing.
“Just so you know, Brex,” he peered down at the dark, freezing, swirling river below, “I pick the activity next time.”
“Fair enough.”
Pop!
A bullet smashed into the pole right by our heads.
“Now!” I cried out as I let go, plunging into the icy depths below, disappearing in the inky blackness of neutral waters.
Chapter 2
Shivers stomped up and down my spine, making me jerk and twitch, my arms hugging close to my body as we made our way back to headquarters. My jaw was locked tight to keep my chattering teeth from rattling out of my mouth.
Saving our lives meant losing all the product I took. My backpack slipped into a watery grave. It was all for naught, which did nothing for Caden’s already prickly mood.
“Seriously, if going to jail wouldn’t put a serious dent in my placement after graduation, I’m pretty sure I’d kill you right now.” Caden curled his shoulders against the cold, our saturated clothes only enticing the chilly air to nuzzle against us. Technically, summer was encroaching on spring’s territory, but it was taking its sweet time. Like the rest of Hungary, even the seasons lived by their own rules now.
“It would make the holidays very awkward.”
“One less present I’d have to buy.”
“Buy? You’d have to make me something since you’d be in jail.” I nudged