Chapter 20
Chapter
Twenty
“Our plan is to leave when the sun sets and reach Kutná Hora well before midnight.” Warwick sat at the table, Simon munching on a túróstáska next to him, sweet cottage cheese smearing over his face. “Hopefully be back here with an army by the next nightfall.”
“You think your uncle will help?” Eliza leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping her coffee. The early morning light cast the room in a foggy glow. Zander and Tad sat at the other end of the table, drinking tea and eating their own filled pastries.
I nodded, my feet moving back and forth across the kitchen.
Mykel had to know the stakes; even his own prime minister was part of this.
And to be honest, we couldn’t fight or get our friends out of Věrh?za without him.
I still feared he would turn me down, saying it was too much of a risk for his people.
He already lost four top soldiers and a powerful demon because of me. One of them permanently.
“Kovacs,” Warwick grumbled under his breath, his hand reaching out to stop me.
Agitation was making me want to tear out of my skin, my feet pacing relentlessly.
I couldn’t sit still, and knowing we had hours before we left was even more aggravating.
Every second we waited was torture. The images of what happened in the prison made me want to shred through Věrh?za and kill every soldier there.
Warwick gripped the outside of my thigh, his eyes meeting mine. “Breathe,” his shadow spoke against my neck. I tried, but it wasn’t helping.
“No. You can’t. It’s too dangerous.” Zander stood up, strolling back to the counter to pour more hot water into his cup, the side of his body fully touching Eliza’s.
She didn’t move away. “Things have changed really fast in the last few weeks. The roads out of the city are being watched by soldiers.”
Warwick’s chest puffed; his lids narrowed on them. “Excuse me, pony-boy?” His tone vibrated with ire. “Roads were always dangerous with bandits and fae soldiers. They have never caught me yet.”
“It’s no longer fae soldiers out there, but HDF.”
My boots came to an actual stop. “What? HDF on the fae side?”
Zander bobbed his head, leaning on the counter next to Eliza.
This country was no stranger to fascism, but it was always crazy how quietly and fast it happened.
While ordinary people were just trying to get through the day and survive, it was occurring right under their noses.
Istvan was hiding in plain sight and fully taking over.
Inch by inch, he was declaring his authoritarianism rule, and it would get to the point there would be no way of stopping it.
“What about the side roads?” I asked. “At least until we hit the border.”
“I don’t know now, but they still seemed unguarded when I checked around last week. It will add at least two more hours and a lot more danger from bandits.”
“We’ll take our chances.” Warwick glared at Zander.
Zander pressed his lips together but relented. “Okay, but I’m going with you. It’s far too dangerous to be alone on those roads.”
I couldn’t disagree. The trouble awaiting us on those roads was probably only getting worse, and being on a single bike was begging for trouble. Two bikes still were easy prey, but we didn’t have a lot of options until we reached Povstat.
“Then, I’m going too,” Eliza stated, setting down her cup firmly.
“What?” Warwick and Zander exclaimed in unison.
“Fuck, no.”
“Absolutely not.”
Eliza’s jaw rolled, shooting a look at each man.
“Do not treat me as if I were some helpless girl. Especially you.” She pointed at her brother. “You were the one who taught me to fight. You know what I am capable of.”
“Liz . . .” Warwick exhaled out his sister’s pet name. “I’m not saying you can’t fight, but you need to stay here with Simon.” He glanced at his nephew.
“I can watch him.” Tad rubbed the boy’s head. “I’m not totally helpless. And I know where all the cookies are hidden,” he whispered conspiratorially. Simon’s eyes lit up, and he nodded enthusiastically.
“No.” Zander’s tea splashed as he rammed it down on the counter. “I won’t allow it.”
Eliza’s body jerked, her eyebrows arching high, her head tilting, indignation perfuming from her.
“Oh, shit,” Warwick scoffed under his breath.
“I’m sorry?” She turned fully to Zander, her voice twinging with outrage, with the same stubborn determination I saw on Warwick’s face so many times. “I didn’t know you could tell me what to do.”
“I’m not. I’m just—” Zander floundered.
“Being a horse’s ass?” She folded her arms. He gaped and huffed through his nose, his eyes looking around wildly like he wanted us to throw him a lifeline. We let him drown.
“Don’t ever tell me what I can and cannot do,” she seethed. “You do not know me. And possibly won’t ever.”
Zander jerked, pain flickering in his brown eyes, hearing the true meaning of her statement.
“I’m sorry,” he breathed. “It’s just the thought . . .”
“Of what?” She huffed. “I knew horses were set in their ways, but I didn’t think you were sexist.”
“It’s not that.”
“What then?”
“If anything happened to you!” He threw out his arms. “The idea of you getting hurt.” He shook his head. “Of losing you!”
The room went silent. Eliza froze, her mouth parted.
“What we’ve been through together in the last month .
. .” He let his shoulders expand, raising him up over her.
He was a kind man but still had a dominance to him.
There was a reason he had been a soldier for Killian and Andris.
“I didn’t expect it, actually tried to stop it, but I can’t.
I care about you. A lot. I adore Simon. I want this .
. .” He motioned between them. “To be more.”
Warwick’s chair screeched over the wood floor. Before he could get up, I shot him a look.
“Stay out of this.” My shadow’s hand went to his chest, pushing him back down.
Air huffed through his nose, his body tight, ready to leap up and knock Zander to the ground, but he stayed put, his knuckles almost splitting from squeezing them so hard.
Eliza rubbed at her head, a crazed chuckle coming from her mouth, but I saw a grin curling her lips.
“Even more reason for me to go.” She looked boldly up at him, the smile growing.
His brows crushed together in confusion.
“I care about you too.” She placed her palms on his chest. “And I don’t want anything happening to you. You need someone to watch your back.”
Zander’s eyes went back and forth between hers, joy glowing in his eyes, his lips spreading in a smile.
“A ló farát!” Horse’s ass. Warwick shoved out of his chair, grumbling more obscenities under his breath, his hand running through his hair. “Lófaszt!” Horse’s dick. He stomped outside, slamming the door behind him. His curses still could be heard in the distance.
“O-kay.” I sucked in, clapping my hands together. “We’ll let him walk it off.”
While Warwick was out chopping wood to leave Tad and Simon fuel for the fire, I went over the plan with Eliza and Zander again, leaving out the exact location of my uncle’s base for safety reasons. If they didn’t know, they couldn’t tell if they were caught and tortured.
“We need to leave by sunset, though I’m concerned we won’t get far. Our motorcycle barely made it here. We need to steal a better one.”
Zander scoffed, “This may be a hideaway cabin, but it’s still Lord Killian’s, and he likes his toys. It comes fully stocked.”
Later that evening, Zander led us out to a garage hidden away in trees and brush, disguising itself, showing us exactly what he meant.
“Holy shit.” I gaped, my attention going down the row of shiny metal.
Killian might be humble inside the cabin walls, but he didn’t spare any expense on the secret garage hidden near the house.
Four motorcycles, a jeep, and a land cruiser gleamed under the lights. All top of the line. I’d expect nothing less from Killian.
Zander strolled deeper into the garage, flipping open a large locker built into the wall.
I blinked.
“Fuck, I’m hard,” Warwick muttered next to me, making me snort. Though I probably had to agree with him.
The entire cabinet was filled with weapons. Handguns to rifles, knives to swords, dynamite sticks to grenades. Killian was stocked and ready for battle if any enemy were to breach his land.
Warwick went straight to the bikes, his hand sweeping over the curves of the sleek black design, his eyes glossing over with reverence.
I had no doubt Killian got these from the Unified Nations.
They were too well made for anything in the Eastern Bloc.
“Never thought I’d want something Killian had.
” He trailed his palm up the engine of the motorbike.
I leaned against it, popping up my eyebrow. Warwick stood, his form looming over me, his voice gravelly. “Good thing you were never something he had, Kovacs.”
“Think so?” I taunted, thinking back to when I kissed Killian on the veranda, when Warwick’s shade had stepped in.
He gripped my hair, holding my head in place.
“Well, then I’ve taken both from him and will ride them long and hard until they know they are mine.
” He rumbled against my lips, spearing desire between my legs, and hitching my breath, a snarl lifting my lip.
“Don’t even pretend you aren’t dripping right now and wish I could fuck you on this bike.
I can feel your pussy throbbing, princess.
” His teeth nipped my bottom lip, tugging on it, the feel of his tongue sliding through my folds before he backed away, leaving me grappling and horny as he sauntered over to the weapons cabinet.
“Fuck you,” my shadow murmured in his ear.
He let out a laugh, turning and winking at me. He really was insufferable, but damn he was right.
Eliza and Zander were already loaded up with guns and knives, rolling a bike out of the garage. Being a horse shifter, Zander could be his own transportation, but not for that length of time and speed.