"Release him!" I yelled.
As I got close enough for the burly man to see my face, he muttered, "What in the fuck?" He hopped up on the foothold and slammed his fist against the side of the carriage while the skinny man slipped inside. "Get a move on! Now!"
I had never run this hard in my life. Before tonight, I never had a reason to—but now I pushed myself. The roaring fire in my chest spread throughout my body, setting my skin ablaze with a ferocious sense of justice.
The burly man's face twisted in disgust. No doubt he was appalled by my foul eyes and the blood drenching my cheeks. But he held his ground. He was not screaming in fear and trying to get away from me. If he was not afraid, could I reason with him?
"Please, release him," I called again.
I staggered to a stop, breathless. The compartment door was still open. I saw the omega lying there on his side, writhing fruitlessly against the restraints. Without thinking, I reached for him. All I needed to do was grab hold and pull him out of the carriage.
I was so close.
The burly man let out a loud grunt of effort, and from the corner of my eye, I saw him raise his elbow sharply before a sudden pain swept over my senses and they all went dark.
15
Florian
I should've knownsomething was wrong when I bumped into the commotion outside the courtyard.
Usually the front gate was wide open during the day, but when I arrived, people streamed in the opposite direction, all grumpy and complaining that they'd been unceremoniously kicked out for unexplained reasons. There were so many people being forced to leave the courtyard that I couldn't even see the front gate.
What was going on inside? Was Devereaux okay?
"Excuse me, do you know what's happening?" I asked a passerby, who just shrugged.
"No idea."
All of the people exiting the courtyard were in a similar state of confusion. Nobody could answer me because they didn't know what was happening, either.
I bit my lip. I had to get inside, but how? If the guards were kicking people out, surely they wouldn't make an exception for me. But I had to try.
I skirted the edge of the crowd, keeping close to the shade of the trees that lined the path and blending into the shadows. I went against the flow of people and approached the gate. When I saw it was still open, my heart leapt.
I kept my head ducked down and tried to subtly squeeze my way in.
"Excuse me," a guard said curtly, swinging his spear in front of me to cut off my path. "No visitors are allowed right now."
"But—"
"No exceptions."
I sighed. That was what I thought.
But the unusual tension balled up in my chest told me something was off. I wasn't going to leave until I talked to Devereaux. I didn't tell off Headmaster for nothing.
I murmured an apology to the guards and joined the crowd, pretending to walk away. But I didn't leave. Instead I fled into the forest, disguised by the chaos of the crowd, and sat in a patch of shadows. I curled up with my knees to my chest, keeping my cane and bread basket close. Nobody even spared a glance in my direction.
I'm coming, Devereaux...
I must've dozed off because the next thing I remembered was blearily opening my eyes to deep blue darkness. Eager to reach Devereaux, I roused quickly. The nap did me well; I was less tired than I was upon arriving.
The crowd was gone and the path to the courtyard was silent. The air smelled like earthy mulch and evening air, but was oddly tinged with the acrid scent of smoke.
I carefully got up and peered at the gate through the safety of the trees. The guards were gone. I blinked in surprise. Where were they? Every other time I'd been here at night, the guards stood diligently by the gate. My stomach twinged in discomfort. There was something not quite right about all this.
I carefully surveyed the path. No guards. There wasn't a soul around. Was this a trap?
