Nada's Escape: Fighters' lies

29.3 Cola

I turn my head to find Amy bobbing through the crowd behind me. She waves and ducks between the linked arms of the red couple from the parade. I pull my skirt around with me as I turn further towards Amy.

"We're leaving?" Amy asks, filling the air with an easier energy.

I nod. God yes.

We twirl towards the closest doors, taking full advantage of a thinning in the crowd. But then I spy Finley's crowned head and my stomach does a backflip.

"Shit." I try to change course towards the farther portico doors but there's a someone with an unstable tray of empty glasses chatting to Martin in that direction. Amy pulls on my arm towards a gap, bringing me farther into Finley's orbit. I resist, covering one flushing cheek with a cool hand.

Amy wobbles for a moment on her heels, and I try to steady and steer her at the same time. We somehow stagger across the floor to a pillar. She's giggling, but I'm checking that Finley hasn't followed. As I do, the dusty haired man he was talking to walks away and Finley looks up, a smile touching his lips. Just my luck.

"I'm sorry," I whisper to Amy. "Can you distract?" She shoots an unimpressed look at Finley, who's walking towards us.

"I'm no Macie," she warns.

I push my palms together, pleading. Please. She fluffs up her hair and waves away my pleading. I don't have time to witness her distraction, but I hear coughing behind me. Spotting the Huntswoman Alex towards the far door, I use her as an excuse to dash forward, elbowing aside a couple of middle-aged Huntsmen.

"Alex! I wanted to say goodbye before I go." As I reach her she puts finger to her lips and points at her young son's face pressed against her shoulder. His eyes are half closed and sleepy. I garble as many short niceties to her as I can before I scamper to the door behind her.

A pair of deep blue pants brings me up short. My gaze travels upwards to reveal a tiny silver bouquet pinned to a matching jacket. Josef's eyebrows clench together above eyes that are disconcertingly pale. He clearly stands in my path, and as I politely duck my head and turn to avoid him he steps up into my space.

"You aren't to leave yet," he whispers, head bent down to my ear. I step back, my breath already sounding angry to my ears. I plant my feet and shake back the wispy collar of my dress.

"Why?" I demand. Only his eyebrows move, showing none of the rage I'd seen when he'd visited me in Seven.

"Because you're a Huntswoman now, not a human. It's time to learn what that means." He gestures to the party in the thick of the hall.

I try to rush past him but my shoulder collides with his immovable palm, stalling me. His fingers press too warm against my skin and the wispy trails of my collar. If there ever is a moment you want your shoulders covered for, it is one like this, where that pressure reminds you that you are trapped in useless couture.

I inch my face back up to him, letting sourness about the whole night well up. "Sorry that's not what I meant. What I meant was: how are you going to stop me?"

He pushes my shoulder just little but I hold my ground, flats solid beneath my feet. Praise be to flats.

Josef keeps his next words low, "I've heard about your little sleepover." Ice water rushes through me. Does he know? All my plans begin to swirl untethered in the arctic water of my mind.

"That's all very well for the humans," Josef continues relentlessly, "But if you leave to join them I'll be forced to break it up, send them all home to their respective sponsors." I remain still for several long seconds, waiting for that last nail in the coffin of our plan. But there's no more. He's finished, satisfied with the threat even. He takes a half step back and eases up on my shoulder. I summon up all my sarcasm to cover my relief.

"Seriously?" That's it. All I have to do is tolerate the Huntsmen for a few hours and then we'll be gone?

"Seriously." He replies and I shake off his touch, trying to shake my composure together again. We're probably okay. Unless he's playing me. I should really talk to Finley. My gut disagrees with the latter sentiment, but I ignore it for now.

"And for how long?" I ask, striving for deadpan.

"Hmm shall we say... I hope to see you still about when the clock strikes midnight."

I nod mechanically and try to ignore the twitch of Josef's lips, probably the precursor to a smile. If that man ever smiles. I drift back to Alex's side, keeping silent and breathing out a long sigh.

This is fine. We hadn't planned to actually leave until midnight or later anyway. It's entirely possible Josef doesn't know about the plan after all. He's just being stupendously irritating.

There's an itch under my skin telling me to keep moving. Escape the gaze of Josef. Steer clear of Finley. Send the others to get the key. Find distractions. But I have three and a half more hours of this so I force myself to slow down, to focus on the conversation of the Huntsmen mothers around me.

Alex whispers over her son's heavy head, "And he looked at me and said, 'But mummy the wall's pretty like you now.' It's impossible not to melt at that." The two Huntswomen beside me coo. Beside Alex another one holds her belly, lashes wet. Maybe this isn't the best conversation for me to be in. They're worms and weepers all.

"Excuse me," I mouth and spin out to survey the rest of the party. Had I thought the crowd was getting thinner? It doesn't feel like it. My head swims for a moment.

I must be dehydrated. I make a beeline for the shelves set up as a bar in one corner.