He shot her up to the ceiling, her body hitting it with a crack. She tumbled back to the ground, falling on top of another guard. There were at least ten that Aren could see.
Smoke was spilling into the hallway from behind him, and Aren whipped his head to the right to find Galo. He was on his knees, his sword in front of him as he tried to fend off an attack from two guards.
Aren jumped to his feet, shooting the guards down the hallway. He threw the rest overhead, leaving them to hover there above them as he grabbed Galo’s arm and took off. He heard the bodies drop as they ran.
He jumped over the guards at the end of the hallway. One man scooted back against the wall, hands raised in surrender.
They exited the hallway and found a large, round room. There were four different doors leading out of it, including the one behind him. If Bethania was right, the door directly to his left led to the solitary cells.
He took a step in that direction. Galo had closed the door to the hallway behind them and was pressing his back against it. Aren gestured for him to step aside.
Aren opened the door. Two guards were getting to their feet. He rooted them in place and crooked his finger at the surrendering guard, still sitting with his back pressed to the wall. Aren didn’t give him a chance to come willingly—he pulled him to his feet with his Ruined magic and forced him to walk forward.
“Iria,” Aren said once the man was right in front of him. “Where is she?”
The man pressed his lips together, his eyes darting to the right.
“Is she still in solitary?” Aren asked. “Keep in mind I’d be happy to come back and rip your head off if you don’t tell me the truth.”
The man shook his head vigorously. “Not anymore. They moved her to the general population yesterday. That door.” He pointed to the right.
Aren’s heart dropped. “Which cell?”
“Umm . . . I don’t remember the exact number. Upper level, in the middle.”
Aren grabbed the keys off the guard’s belt. “Do these open the cell doors?”
He shook his head.
“Does one open the outer door?”
The guard reached out a shaky hand to point at a large, square key. Aren released his hold on the man, shoved him back into the hallway, and pushed the door shut.
Aren turned to find guards flooding the round room from all entrances. He took a step back and let out a breath, trying to steady himself.
He pushed his Ruined magic out with such force that he almost stumbled. The walls shook as bodies slammed against them. Behind him, he heard Galo take in a deep breath. He touched Aren’s arm, like he was checking to see if that had weakened him, but Aren felt stronger than ever.
He cleared the guards from in front of the door with one sweep of his hand and stuck the key in the lock. He stepped inside.
THIRTY-TWO
IRIA’S EYES POPPED open. Someone was yelling. Not the usual yelling from the other inmates she’d already grown accustomed to—this was wild, panicked yelling.
She sat up in bed, ducking her head to avoid hitting it on the bunk. Above her, she heard her roommate stir, and she tensed. Her eye seemed to throb a little harder at the sound. A nasty bruise had formed where Julia had socked her.
“We need more smoke bombs! Get the—” The voice cut off with a scream, followed by a loud bang.
“What is going on out there?” Julia mumbled sleepily.
Iria stood and walked to the bars of her cell. Her fingers shook as she wrapped them around the bars.
She was almost scared to hope.
“Iria!” Aren’s voice ripped through the yells.
Her body almost collapsed with relief. “Aren!” she yelled, sticking her arm through the bars.
He shouted her name again, excitedly, and she waved, hoping he could see it.
A hand roughly yanked her back. Julia pulled her into the cell, twisting her around and shoving her against the wall. Iria curled her fingers into fists.
“Aren!” Iria yelled.
Julia went to put a hand over Iria’s mouth, but Iria batted it away. She threw a punch, hard, and Julia stumbled backward.
Julia regained her balance quickly and slammed her body into Iria’s, shoving her forearm into her neck. She gagged.
The arm disappeared from her neck as a loud crack echoed through the room. Julia screamed, stumbling backward as she cradled her arm to her chest.
Iria looked up. Aren stood in front of her cell. He appeared even better than she remembered—strong and confident and looking at her like he’d never been so happy to see someone in his entire life.
But worry crossed his features for just a moment as he took in her appearance. He opened his mouth.
“I’ve got it!” a voice yelled before Aren could speak. A familiar Lera guard ran to Aren, holding up a key. “I think this is it.”
Iria gaped at Galo. What was a Lera guard doing in Olso?
Galo stuck the key in the lock. The door swung open.
Iria stared at Aren and completely forgot her disappointment and anger. She limped across the cell as fast as she could and threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist so tightly he lifted her off the ground.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I should have come sooner.”
She shook her head, afraid that if she tried to talk she’d burst into tears. She didn’t want to tell him she wasn’t sure he was going to come at all.
“Aren, to your left,” Galo said.
Aren quickly released her and turned. A line of ten guards ran up the stairs.
Aren settled his gaze on them, and they all tumbled back down at once and landed in a heap at the bottom.
Aren took her hand, glancing down at her bandaged foot.
“I . . . I can’t run very fast.” Her voice shook, and she wished it hadn’t.
“That’s fine. I can carry you on my back when we get outside.” He gripped her hand a little harder, and she could tell he wanted to say something, maybe ask how she was. She looked away.
Aren reached around her and closed the cell door, locking Julia inside. Her roommate glared at them, still cradling her arm to her chest.
Aren pulled on Iria’s hand gently as he started running, glancing at her as though to ask if the pace was comfortable. Pain shot through her foot, but it was bearable. Especially if it meant getting out of here.
She let go of Aren’s hand to grasp the railing and limp down the stairs. The bodies of guards were scattered across the floor, some of them dead, but most of them with broken arms or legs. A few ran in the other direction when they spotted Aren coming back.
“Can we go out that door?” Galo asked, pointing to the right. Cells stretched out in either direction, and there was a door at both ends of the room. The left door led straight to the front of the prison, right into the laundry and a mess of hallways she hadn’t had a chance to figure out yet.
Aren shook his head. “Let’s go out the front. Less chance they can trap us.”
They took off again, Aren launching guards against cell doors as they went. The prisoners were screaming and shaking the bars of their cells, and Iria felt a blast of panic shoot up her spine. If Aren failed, she’d be dead by tomorrow. Maybe in the next few minutes. The guards could certainly use an escape attempt as an excuse to kill her.
They reached the door that led to the front lobby, and it was locked when Aren tried it the first time. She had to bat down another swell of panic. But he pulled out a chain of keys and easily slid the right one in.
They ran into the big circular lobby and Aren headed straight for the front door. Through the windows, she could see guards lined up, waiting for them.
Aren fixed his gaze on them through the window, tossing them so far Iria wasn’t even sure where the bodies landed. When he opened the door, there was nothing but bare grass in front of them, all the way to the fence.
Aren crouched down in front of her. “Get on my back.”
She circled her arms around his neck and he reached back and grabbed her thighs as he stood. He broke into a jog and headed for the fence.