southwest of Gellért Hill. Behind the tree in the old garden.”
Warwick dipped his head in understanding as Zander opened the heavy metal door. Zander’s brown eyes peered over at me, a woeful smile curling his lip, his hand brushing over my cheek.
Another round of pops cracked through the tunnel.
“Take this. You might need it.” He withdrew his gun from his belt, handing it to Warwick.
“You ready?” Warwick shoved the gun in the back of his pants. “Not that I won’t enjoy this.”
Zander nodded, pushing up his chin. Without hesitation, Warwick’s fist cracked across his jaw. A cry broke from my lips as Zander flew back, body hitting the stone, splaying over the ground. Out cold.
“What did you do that for?” I screeched, moving toward the horse-shifter, my heart leaping up in my throat.
“Had to. Needed it to look real.” Warwick grabbed my arm, heaving me away from Zander and pulling me through the exit, the door slamming behind us. Spiral stairs led up to another door, reminding me of the tunnel Sloane and the others brought me up the first day. “But fuck, I really, really enjoyed it.”
Had to? What was going on? Zander helped us flee? It was more than him just turning his head while we passed. This had been planned. Zander was left unconscious on the other side to appear as though he had been ambushed and beaten.
“Kovacs,” Warwick hissed, motioning to me to keep moving. “You can cry about me hitting your boyfriend later.”
I jolted forward, my boots slapping against the metal steps as Warwick broke through another door, letting us out into the night.
Into freedom.
Fresh air ballooned in my chest, hitting my face with an energetic slap. I inhaled the delicious onslaught. Tears filled my eyes as I greedily sucked in more, starving for the fresh wind coming off the Danube, full of the warmth from being soaked in summer sun all day. I could taste the musky river on my tongue, sour and earthy. Like a food I used to eat as a child, it brought back a joy I never thought I’d have again.
Liberation.
Life.
We slipped farther out. Warwick’s head whipped around, checking out the situation as we both flattened against the wall, keeping us low and in the shadows. Shouts and gunfire blasted in front of us from the main entrance to the prison.
The statue of the lady and the feather was now a pile of rubble, along with the ground around it. The explosion put a large hole in the Citadel and entrance to Halalhaz, allowing prisoners to gush out of the wounds, fleeing for the wild park only yards away.
“Halt!” a man boomed out into the night, jolting my head up to the catwalk near me.
Throngs of silhouettes bolted for freedom, hoping to slip into the night and disappear.
Bang! Bang!
Several running figures hit the ground, blood splattering out like black ink over the cobblestone. One of them was a woman with a braid. My breath caught between my teeth, panicked at the thought it might be Kek. Was she out? Was Tad? Getting this far and dying at the door was heartbreaking. Though, at the very least, if they died now, they fell with one last breath of fresh air in their lungs.
The Liberty Bridge’s lights glinted from the Danube far below. Back before we split from the King and Queen, my father said tourists and locals could freely enjoy the grand views of the Pest side, having a picnic at the maintained and beautiful Gellért Hill Jubilee Park. Now nature claimed the area like a once domesticated pet, forsaking the rules to survive and flourish in this feral country.
“Come on,” Warwick whispered, hunkering down his massive frame, scouring across the road to the heavily wooded area.
“Állj meg!” a voice yelled, sounding right above us. “Stop!”
My head cranked back as I scurried after Warwick. An officer pointed a pistol at me from his perch above.
Panic drove my muscles to move faster, a blast hitting the cobble by my feet.
“I said, stop!”
Click. Bang!
Pain sliced up the back of my calf as a muffled scream tore up my throat, my leg dipping under me, agony clinching my lungs, locking down my jaw.
No! Don’t stop. A voice inside pushed me forward, tapping into the horrendous fear of being caught.
“I found them.” A whistle shrilled in the air, calling attention to his location. “Hurry! I found them.”
“Fuck!” Warwick hissed, suddenly by my side, helping me, both of us slipping into the brush. More bullets zipped