“Molotov cocktails,” a guard pants, wielding a fire extinguisher.
“For fucks sake,” I snap. —You guys clear?—
—We’re gone—
I wave a hand, and water from a nearby barrel shoots up and onto the wall, dousing the flames instantly. Turning, I glare at my father’s soldiers. “Pitiful,” I spit. “Do better next time.”
And now?
I guess I’m heading in to find Ludo. Wherever the fuck he might be.
My dragon is restless, pacing the edges of my mind as I head towards the elevator.
He reminds me not just to find Ludo, but to make sure the trail I left behind—the girl, the spell, the sudden fire bombing—doesn't lead back to the others.
The elevator hums as it drops.
When the doors slide open, I step out into the hallway and nearly collide with a man in a white lab coat.
Jonquil Hart. He looks frazzled, his glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose.
"Cosmo? What are you doing here? Is your father here?” he asks, his voice tight.
“Actually, I came to talk to someone about security,” I say, leaning into my bored-aristocrat asshole persona. “And honestly, Jonquil, it seems like not a moment too soon. Did you see that someone threw a fire bomb at the fence?”
“What?”
“Yes. I’ve been reliably informed that some students at the academy are talking about breaking in.” I straighten the cuff of my blazer then look up again. “Communis kids probably, worried they won’t get innate magic,” I tut. “I don’t know if the vandalism is a protest or a warning, but figured I’d come down and see just how secure this place is.”
Hart’s face pales. "Rebelling students? Gods, as if I didn't have enough to deal with." Right on cue, a klaxon starts to blare.
A voice crackles over the intercom:“Sector 4 cell breach. Two subjects unaccounted for. Lock-down initiated.”
A fresh-faced guard comes rushing around the corner.
I hold my hand up in a halt gesture. “Explain,” I say.
“The big dude, the one we had locked up. He’s gone. And the kid.”
Hart lets out a sharp breath. “Impossible.”
More guards come tearing down the corridor. “Look alive,” one shouts. “He went through the ceiling.”
“Sounds like the architect of this place has some explaining to do.” I raise an annoyed eyebrow. “I’ll join the fugitive hunt. These idiots don’t seem to know their ass from their elbows. And don’t let them kill the escapee. I’ll want to question him.”
Hart blinks furiously. “Yes, well. If you think that’s a good idea. I’m going to… check the lab. Secure it.”
“And secure yourself inside?” I drawl. “Grow a spine, man.”
Hart isn’t listening, he’s already moving away.
I’m left alone.
Well, well, well, Ludo. Nicely done. You got the kid out, but where are you?
My dragon starts to writhe beneath my skin.
Minotaur.
