was masked in abrasions, cutting into his beard, painting his dark hair auburn. Road burn stamped over his skin like a branding iron. His lids closed, his chest barely rising, as another shot of adrenaline shot through my veins. “Wake up!” I shook him.
Nothing. “Warwick!” I shook harder.
Behind us, a guard spoke into a walkie-talkie. “What do you want us to do, sir?” His voice came from behind me, and it was as if I could feel Killian through the contraption, a link to the man I had just betrayed. Fear thudded at the base of my neck.
One word, and they could forget the fragile treaty they had with Istvan. Not losing me might be worth it.
“Get the fuck up, Warwick!” I gritted through my teeth. In terror, I slapped his face, trying to stir him. A grumble rose from his chest, but his lids stayed pinned together.
“Wake. Up!” I demanded, my palm pulling back to smack him again. His hand darted up, his fingers wrapping around my wrist, stopping me in a blink. His sudden movement hitched my breath with an audible hiss. Aqua eyes opened, blazing up into mine.
Something about the moment whooshed a strange sense of déjà vu through me, capturing the air in my lungs like a vault, setting me back on my heels. But as fast as it came, the image slipped away, not letting me hold on to anything.
“I enjoy it rough, but don’t think now is the appropriate time, princess.” A smirk twitched his cut lips.
I let out a breathy exhale, closing my eyes briefly in relief, determination set on my brow.
“Come on.” I bit down painfully as I rose to my feet, helping him up. His massive body leaned into mine, swaying while he tried to get his feet under him. Both of us were torn up from the crash, blood dripping onto the cement from our wounds as we took steps away.
Oddly, my right side ached the most, as though I was the one who had been shot.
Warwick should have been unconscious if not dead from the bullet. We both should have been. “Guess death didn’t want us today either.”
Gripping me, he turned to glance at the busted bike, our escape vehicle lying on the ground, shredded and twisted, leaking its fluids.
“It took one of us as payment,” he muttered, then swung us back around. “Let’s get out of here.”
Both of us hobbled off the bridge as a crowd lined up at the Pest end, watching the drama unfold in front of them, their mouths open in either awe or fear.
The fae sentinels stayed silent behind us, letting us amble away. I felt uneasy that Killian would let the two of us go so easily. He seemed to think humans were below him. Why did he bother with the treaty?
A cool breeze whipped at my knotted, grimy hair. The throng parted, letting us pass. Briefly, I peered back, seeing the palace lights glow from the other side. The place, which held me for weeks, appeared picturesque and powerful on the hill, a silent beauty. Yet I could feel in my bones a change in the delicate line of truce HDF and the fae had been walking for years.
I had upset the balance and tipped the first pin over.
“You are a conundrum, Ms. Kovacs. A wave crashing into everything. Twisting, breaking, and flipping all upside down the moment you enter.”
“A single drop of water can be the one that breaks the dam.”
Warwick and I trudged our way north, my muscles feeling heavier every moment, as if I were taking on Warwick’s hurt and pain as well as my own. Turning the corner, the wall of Leopold stood a couple hundred yards away, the main gate coming into view. My eyes clogged with tears of relief and happiness. I made it home.
Warwick stopped, my attention jerking to him.
“What? We’re almost there.”
“You are.” He peered down at me. “I did my part.”
“What?” I could hear commotion stirring at the gate, voices and movement from people alerted to our presence, but it all was background noise when I looked up into Warwick’s battered face.
“You are home and safe.” He nodded, stepping away.
“But… you’re hurt. Let our doctors look at you.”
“I’m not welcome here anymore than I was welcome on the fae side.” His voice slid over me while his boots took him a few more steps away. “Don’t mention me. You’ve never seen or heard of me.”
“What?” I sputtered, feeling a stab of his rejection.