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CHAPTER THREE: GRAND ESCAPE
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MATTHIAS DIDN'T STAY DOWN for long. He was dazed, that much was obvious, but his eyes still managed to focus on Savni with a furious glare. He was caught between her and Nina now, fingers twitching like they couldn't quite decide who to strangle first. Kaz made the decision for him, producing a pistol to hold against the back of Matthias' neck.
"Hands to yourself, Helvar," he muttered, sounding more impatient than concerned.
Matthias didn't spare him a glance. "Go ahead and shoot me."
With that, he reached for Nina again, seemingly deciding that his hatred for her outweighed any petty resentment towards Savni for hitting him. She sighed and glanced at Inej, who was reaching for one of her knives with caution.
"If you've actually lost your mind, this is going to be a lot tougher than I thought."
Kaz didn't hesitate this time. He stepped up beside Savni and, in a series of movements that occurred quicker than she could blink, he shot Matthias in the left shoulder with what looked like a tranquiliser dart. Matthias gasped, though it didn't seem to cause him any pain. He fell forward, nearly crushing Nina if it wasn't for Kaz latching onto his collar and unceremoniously dumping him on the ground a few feet away. Keeping the gun drawn just in case, he held out his other hand to Savni.
"My cane," he snapped when she frowned at him, confused.
"Oh," she mumbled, handing it to him with flushed cheeks.
He turned back to Matthias. His gaze was narrowed like he was trying to decide if any of this had been worth it. At last, he said, "Get a hold of yourself, Helvar. We're here to break you out. Now, I can do to your leg what I did to your arm and we can drag you out of here, or you can leave like a man, on two feet."
But Matthias was already shaking his head. "No one gets out of Hellgate."
"Aren't you quite the optimist?" Savni scoffed.
"I'm realistic," he corrected. "You--"
"Well, tonight, you're getting out," Kaz cut in with an impatient tap of his cane.
"You can't just walk me out of here. The guards will recognise me and I'm not losing fighting privileges to be carted off Djel knows where with you!"
"You'll be masked."
"But if the guards check--"
"They're going to be too busy to check," Kaz said with such certainty, tinged with a malicious sense of glee, that it stopped Savni short.
"What have you done, Dearest?" she asked uneasily.
That was when the screaming started. Matthias' head jerked up in shock. Savni gasped. Nina groaned, only just coming to, while Inej eyed the door cautiously. They heard the unmistakable rumble of thundering footsteps as people fled from the arena. Guards were shouting in a flurry of confusion and alarm. Then, the trumpet of an elephant and a cacophony of other animal noises.
