Maz joined me in helping the prisoners clear out more dirt and rocks. Bits of sunstone glittered here and there. I grabbed a few and stuffed them into the supervisor’s pockets before I dumped his body in the makeshift hole.
Let the others think he was stealing from the mine, barring further investigation. The man was likely a worse criminal than any prisoner here.
I considered taking his ledger, but then his death wouldn’t look like an accident.
A few volunteers came forward and took turns smashing rocks against each other’s faces. No one complained. If anything, they stared at me and Maz with the faintest ray of hope.
It felt like a fist around my gut.
“Go,” Bruna said, now sporting a bleeding lip. “Before more come.”
Maz put his mask on and clasped her shoulder. “Are the rest of the prisoners in the cells off the main cavern?”
Bruna nodded. “Fifty of us rest in there once a day, leaving a couple hundred working. But our numbers change daily. Theinnocent die quickly here, and they’ve been imprisoning anyone who looks sideways at a soldier.”
“How many supervisors?” I asked, glancing up and down the tunnel.
“Thirty-seven, by my last count.” Bruna’s words came fast and frantic. “I don’t know about Dracles’s soldiers. Now go!”
Muffled voices echoed down the tunnel.
Maz and I darted forward, taking long strides toward the newcomers. Sweat trickled down my spine. What if this supervisor questioned us as well? We couldn’t fight our way out. There were too many. Not to mention the army at the entrance.
I spotted a narrow tunnel and shoved Maz into it. We flattened against the craggy rock wall. I held my breath as boots thumped past, followed by the shuffle of bare feet and chains.
I didn’t wait for the sound to disappear before I flew out of the tunnel. We all but ran down the passage, stopping only to check my tiny marks.
No shouts echoed behind us. Not yet. Gods, I hoped Bruna and the others wouldn’t be punished for my mistake.
We slowed down once we hit the main cavern. Barely. I felt like I was running for my life again. My window to freedom closing with every harsh breath I took.
A shout rose in the main cavern. For us? For something else? I didn’t stop to see.
Once we reached the uphill tunnel, my legs began to burn. We skirted around prisoners carrying their sunstone.
Almost there. Almost there.
My boots hit the stone steps. That thick darkness strangled my senses once more.
Holy Four, get me out. Let me breathe fresh air again. I need to live. I need to see her again. I need to find her.
The thought of wrapping my arms around Kiera, of looking into her warm amber eyes, hearing her voice say my name—it flooded me with life.
I raced up the stairs with renewed vigor, Maz grunting and wheezing at my heels.
We burst out of the mine like the cornered wolves we resembled.
The two soldiers startled, eyeing us suspiciously. But we didn’t wait for questions.
The camp still smoked up ahead. We cut to the right, aiming for the gap in their wooden blockades. After wriggling through, we fled into the cool night.
Once we were out of earshot of the camp, Maz ripped off his mask. “Fucking Four, Aiden! You didn’t want me to kill him. You didn’t want to leave a trail. And then you crushed the man’s face! In front of all the prisoners! We were supposed?—”
“I know!” I snapped, tearing off my mask and gulping in the grass-scented breeze. “I fucking know, Maz. But he wouldn’t stop, and I had nothing else. No way out. I had to.”
Maz kicked at a clump of grass. “I shouldn’t have stopped in front of Bruna. It’s my fault the supervisor even looked at us. I don’t even know why I’m yelling at you. You only did what I wanted to do since I stepped foot in that gods-damned hell hole.” He glanced at me, his eyes brimming with misery in the soft light. “Forgive me, brother.”
My heart clenched, some of the darkness bleeding out of it. “There is nothing to forgive,” I said with a sigh. “We can’t always win when we fight our demons.”
