Neither side cared about the place where the poor, thieves, murderers, druggies, and mixed-species dwelled. Both sides ignored the lawless land, the terrain where the “savages” lived, which consumed most of the Pest side like the black plague.
My fingers dug into a crate and ripped off the top, finding huge uncut blocks of fairy dust, cocaine laced with fae magic, which got fae high but had humans so addicted and desperate for it that it contributed to most of the murder and suicide rates.
Outside the window, HDF headquarters flashed by, the gorgeous, gothic-revival, white stone building stretching sharply up to the sky, all but glowing with the 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 his arm. Caden was always serious, making it my mission to get him to laugh. Relax a little. Have some fun. “So, what would you make me during those long, lonely hours in prison?”
“I wouldn’t. You’d be dead.” His wet boots slapped against the pavement.
“Not the point.”
“Totally the point. That’s why I’d be in jail.”
“I survived.” My arm brushed up against him, causing the butterflies in my stomach to take flight.
“You would. Just to annoy me, huh?” A slight smile quirked up his mouth, and he elbowed me back.
“Now, what would you make for me? Sculpture made from locks of your chest hair?”
“Gross.”
“But I’d love it. It came from your heart. And chest.”
He shook his head, chuckling. “You are weird.”
“It’s why you love me.”
His steps faltered, his eyes finding mine for a moment, a pause in the air. Nerves fluttered in my stomach, hope vaulting up my throat. Caden and I had danced around each other since I turned fifteen, the platonic relationship shifting with our awareness of the opposite sex. As we’d grown, we both realized at the same time that our bodies had changed and were far more intriguing now.
Many girls at the academy longed for him. He was tall, gorgeous, fit from years of training, with deep brown eyes, a slight scruff, silky brown hair, and lips you couldn’t help but stare at.
Girls always questioned me about us, asking if we were together and cooing about how hot he was. It wasn’t until Lilla, a fellow trainee, tried to stake a claim on him that I realized I didn’t want any other girl to touch him. Too scared to lose our friendship, I stayed quiet, hoping he’d give me a sign he felt the same.
He stared at me a lot. Teased and touched me but never enough for me to grasp if it was just friendly or there was more. His compliments were very guarded and general.