The Reckless Reign (Book 3, The Culled Crown Series)

Chapter 54

The Needle's Edge.
Gazda, Erydia.
Morning.

Jax turned pale, all the blood rushing from his face as his grip on Harper tightened. "What—Where can we go?"

"We can't be here when they arrive." Dellacov stood up from where he'd been sitting against one of the walls. "How much time do we have?"

Mim shook her head. "Minutes, seconds." She held up her hands. "Birk caught her calling them. I—I'm not sure how much she said. Not much, I don't think. He took the phone from her and ended the call pretty quickly, but they'll investigate it regardless."

Before she could finish speaking, Jaxon was already up and moving, tugging on his shoes. "We'll go to another safehouse. There are others. Tons. I...There has to be somewhere close by we can go. The tunnels stretch all over—"

Mim shook her head. "You won't make it across the city. Not in broad daylight. And the tunnels can only take you so far."

Harper caught hold of Jaxon's wrist, stilling his panicked movements. She scanned the group of us, calculating. "The shop," she said after a second. "We can go to the shop. It's just down the block. We can go through the alley and then in through the back door. No one will see."

His eyes widened. "No. Absolutely not. Harp, if they find us there—"

"It'll be fine. The shop is dead at this time of day. No one will be there. And...And it's what my father would want. He'd say it was worth the risk." She cut him off, turning to look at Cohen and the other goddess-touched girls, and then the soldiers. Dellacov was already strapping on a weapon, and Cohen was buckling on a harness of knives. Harper nodded, as if deciding something. "It is worth the risk. I believe it is."

Mim's gripped the ladder tightly. "Hurry then."

The next few minutes were a flurry of movement. Weapons and supplies were gathered, each word from Jaxon was a sharp command. Harper was the eye to his storm. Her voice remained steady as she directed us up into the workroom and through a heavy metal side door. The alleyway outside was cold and damp—rain still fell in a thick mist, half frozen.

We followed Harper down a brick corridor, with only vines and grime bricks to witness our treacherous escape. The end of the alleyway opened up onto a different street, this one filled with mingling shoppers and the ringing of laughter and faint music. Heidi and Cohen made it to the front of the group, and my shoulder scrapped stone as I sidestepped to make room for them. For a moment, I was transported back to a different alleyway, a different market bustling with people and noise.

I remember the heat of strange hands on my skin, the tang of chemicals, the look on Kai's face as he'd killed the man who had attacked me. But then I blinked at I was back in Gazda—Deca Market, not Linomi.

We'd almost reached the other end of the alley when I heard the echoing of a fist against wood. Even with the distance between me and the sound, I flinched. The knock sounded again, as a muffled male voice called, "City guard, open up!"

They'd arrived at the font entrance to The Needle's Edge then.

Harper hurried our step, nearly turning to a jog as I heard Birk says, a touch too loudly, "Gentlemen, what can I do for you today."

"Sounds like Newman and Hyatt," Jaxon whispered.

Beside him, Harper nodded. "Do you think they'll cause trouble for Birk?"

Jax considered. "No. They're lazy. If Birk has calmed Em down and she doesn't give us away in front of them, I don't think they'll linger any longer than they've got to."