42
We make our way toward the same tunnel entrance we’ve used countless times to sneak out of school.
The added benefit of the party’s aftermath is that everyone will be focused on the chaos instead of where either of us went.
With any luck, it’ll be at least a few hours before anyone discovers Dire in the bathroom.
Even then, he’ll be hard to move, and finding him passed out at a student party should hopefully get him in all kinds of shit. I doubt the Extinguishers are supposed to be hanging out with us, and I’m sure they aren’t supposed to be getting drunk inside the school.
I exhale a breath of relief when we find Henry waiting.
“Hi,” I say as he offers us a tight nod.
“Got it?” he asks.
Rook shows him the cards we gathered. Henry sorts through them before he holds up one.
“I think this is what we need.”
Then we hop down and wind through the darkened tunnels. Everything is silent except for the usual sounds of dripping water, shifting stone, and the rumble of distant trains. We keep our footsteps light, hyperconscious of how important discretion is tonight.
“Where exactly are we headed?” Rook asks.
“A tunnel that leads under the Citadel,” Henry says in a low voice. “Our destination is in one of the subbasements.”
“How do you know the way?”
“We’ve been mapping these routes for years. This isn’t the first time we’ve had to break into the Extinguishers’ cells, usually to rescue someone who’s been wrongly accused.”
“And do you always steal a key card?”
“We have various means of getting inside, but Edward’s in a higher security area. We’ve only had to access this cell once since I joined the Fog.”
Then he places his finger to his lips, and we fall silent. Eventually, we arrive at a heavy iron door with a lock. Henry waves a different key card in front of it, and it slides open, depositing us into a dark, narrow hallway.
“Put these on,” he says, giving us a pair of masks to conceal our identities. “Just in case.”
Once we’re all suitably covered, he leads us down a hall lined with empty jail cells.
We turn a few corners and then arrive at another door.
Henry pulls out the key card we stole and waves it against the lock, which glows with a small red light.
We all hold our breath for the count of one . . . two . . .
The light flashes green, and then we hear a click.
“Bingo,” Henry whispers.
Immediately, there are shouts, and it takes me a second to process our surroundings. Rook and Henry are moving, and I see several blurred shadows. Someone rams into me, their head butting my stomach and their arms around my waist, shoving me against the wall.
I’m distantly aware of the guys dealing with two other guards who I recognize as Ruby and Brick. It takes me a second to realize my own attacker is Trinity. Oh, for fuck’s sake. I remember what the doctor said about the Extinguishers being stretched thin. They must be using students to help.
Has Trinity been guarding Edward? Is there no level to which she won’t sink? No wonder she wasn’t concerned about his whereabouts. She knew where he was all this time. What an amazing liar she is, among everything else.
A general tussle ensues, and I duck as Trinity swings for me, kicking my foot out and sending her onto her back. She groans as the wind is knocked out of her, and then I drop on top of her, turning her onto her stomach and clamping her wrists in my hands.
Clearly, E-squad training doesn’t measure up to the cadet program.
I try not to feel too smug about that.
Henry appears with a length of rope a moment later, and we tie her hands and pull her to her feet, shoving her toward a storage closet where Brick and Ruby are already trussed.
“You bastards!” Trinity screams. Ruby and Brick are also shouting for release, calling us some rather vile names.
I shove Trinity with perhaps a bit more force than necessary as she trips and crashes into her friends. Then Rook slams the door and locks it, which muffles their protests.
“We’ve probably got about ten minutes,” Henry says before we head farther down the dim hallway, scanning the cells until we finally find one occupied.
Edward lies huddled on the floor with his knees tucked up.
His face is bruised, and he looks pale and tired, his hair hanging limp.
He’s lost a little weight, but he’s alive.
I lay a hand to my chest, lightheaded with relief.
I didn’t believe we’d really find him until this very moment.
“Edward,” I gasp, grabbing the bars and pressing my face between them. “Are you okay?”
“Poet?” he asks, slowly unfolding himself and crawling over. “Is that you?”
“Edward,” I sob, sinking to my haunches. “Skies, I’ve been so worried. I’m so sorry. I’m sorry we left you and you’ve been stuck down here.”
He shakes his head and raises his hand. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re getting you out.”
Edward gazes past me to Henry and Rook. “How?” he whispers. “They’ll find me. They know what I saw.”
Rook drops down beside me. “There are people willing to protect you.”
“Edward,” I ask, “did you see something that night? Have you told them anything?”
He shakes his head. “They’ve been asking questions, trying to trip me up. I’ve denied everything, but if this goes on much longer . . .”
He trails off, and I understand what he can’t bring himself to say. They haven’t tortured him yet, but it’s probably only a matter of time.
“Edward,” Henry says. “I know this is confusing, but we need to get you out of here. Quickly. We’ll do everything in our power to keep you safe.”
“Who will?”
“We’ll explain everything once we’re out. Will you trust us?”
Edward’s shoulders sag. I can’t imagine what he’s been through over the last several months. He meets my gaze, and I wish I could convey how sorry I am. How much I regret ever involving him in any of this. I’ll find some way to make this up to him.
“I’ll trust you,” he says. I hear Henry let out a breath of relief, and he uses another key to open the cell door. It swings open on silent hinges, and then we’re heading out, making our way back the way we came.
Edward is weak, his legs shaky, but he wears a determined look.
“This way,” Henry says to Edward. “I’ll take you to a safe house. Rook and Poet, you head back to Amery. We’ll send word in a few days.”
“But—”
“It’s safest this way,” Henry assures me. “When they notice he’s gone, you need to be in your beds.” He holds up the “borrowed” key cards. “And you need to get these back to Dire as soon as possible.”
I nod, understanding he’s right.
“You’ll be okay?” I say to Edward, who shrugs.
“Will I be?”
“They’ll take good care of you.”
He grabs my wrist, a flash of desperation passing over his face. His cold skin is clammy to the touch. What has he been through since that night?
“Trinity was guarding me. She acted like she didn’t even know me.”
“I know. She isn’t the same anymore.”
Edward’s head droops, and I pull him into a hug.
“She never deserved you.”
He puffs out a resigned sigh, like he wants to believe me but isn’t quite ready to yet.
“We need to move,” Henry says.
We all break apart, and Rook and I wind back through the tunnels as quickly as we can.
We’re almost at Amery when the sirens start.
We pick up our pace, climbing up the hatch before returning to the cadet gym.
Dire is still passed out in the shower, and Rook stuffs the keys back in his pocket before we creep away.
Distantly, I hear the blare of warning vibrate through the stone walls.
No one sees us as we make it back to our room, throw ourselves inside, and wait for tomorrow morning’s consequences to arrive.