But he wasn’t there. He wasn’t anywhere, and the ceiling in the hallway had caved in completely, leaving a mountain of burning rubble exactly where Goulding had stood.
My stomach lurched with shock and fear and grief for his poor wife and baby, but there was no time to be sick. Instead I burst into Knox’s suite and climbed into the vent, my pulse racing, my hands sweaty, and my foot throbbing. Any second, another bomb could drop and kill me instantly, and no one would know until they found my body days or weeks or even months later. But I had to get that file. The outcome of the entire war depended on it.
Time seemed to alternate between standing still and jumping forward, leaving me with holes in my memory. One moment, I was crawling through the vents, and the next, I stood on a bookcase in the drawing room, rooting around thevent for the loose sheet of metal that had cut me four times before I’d learned to avoid it. I wasn’t sure what had caused it, exactly, but it allowed for a thin space between the vent and the ceiling, perfect for stashing thefile.
At last my fingers brushed the edges of the folder and, with effort, I managed to coax it out from its hiding place. I flipped it open and hastily skimmed through it. I couldn’t read the official documents, but they all seemedto be there, along with the single picture of Victor Mercer. No one had found it. No one had stolen the crucial information we would need to expose him, and we finally had a shot at winning this war.
Shouts rose from the atrium just outside the drawing room, and I ducked, clutching the folder to my chest. My hearing was still iffy at best, but I could make out the words over the hum.
“Fan out!” barked a man. “The Prime Minister wants his sister and the leaders alive, but kill any other rebel on sight.”
Terrific. I hauled myself back into the vents and scrambled back to the residential wing, my injured foot protesting with every shake and jolt. If I could make it to Knox’s room, I could reach the passageway that connected to the tunnel. It was my only chance of getting out of here.
Silently I hoped that Knox had somehow managed to escape. Fighting was useless. It would only get more people killed, but Celia was undoubtedly too stubborn to give in. She’d fight to the death, I was sure of it. I could only pray she didn’t take Knox down with her.
Time did that funny jump thing again. Maybe it was the adrenaline and fear, or maybe I’d hit my head and hadn’t noticed. Either way, before I knew it, I dropped into Knox’s room, landing hard on his desk. Another bone in my foot snapped, and I cried out, balancing on the other one instead.
Somehow, miracle of all miracles, Knox was there, and he wrapped his arms firmly around me and helped me to the ground. Dust streaked his face, and there was a shallow cut below his eye, but he was there. He was okay. “What happened, Kitty?”
“Goulding—Goulding is dead, and there are armed soldiers heading our way,” I said through gritted teeth. I could feel a sharp edge of bone tearing at my skin, trying to slide out. “I have the file.”
“Figured that was where you were,” said Knox, but he couldn’t hide the naked relief on his face. “I’m getting you out of here.”
I tried to put pressure on my broken foot, and excruciating pain shot through me like a thousand volts of electricity. “I can’t—I can’t walk.”
Shouts echoed down the hallway. The soldiers were getting closer. “I’ll carry you,” said Knox, but before he could pick me up, I shoved the file toward him.
“You can’t carry me and run all the way back to the car.”
“Yes, I can. I’m not having this argument with you right now, Kitty.”
The shouts grew louder, and anger pulsed through me. “They are seconds away from bursting in here. If you were the one who couldn’t walk, you’d make me do the exact same thing. You need to get this file out of here. The entirerebellion is counting on it.”
At last his fingers closed around the folder, and his face contorted into a look I’d never seen from him before. “Here—” He fumbled with his holster. “Take my gun. It’ll give you a fighting chance.”
“They’ll kill me for sure if I’m armed. Unarmed, there’s a chance they won’t.” Someone banged on Lila’s door, and I winced. “I can only buy you so much time, Knox. Go.”
He touched my cheek wordlessly, his eyes shining as he held my gaze for an infinite second. “You’re one of a kind, Kitty,” he said thickly. “Wherever they take you, I’ll find you.”
I managed a short nod, my throat constricting too tightly for me to speak. But it didn’t matter—he didn’t give me time to reply. One moment he was there, and the next he was gone. And for three quiet seconds, I was alone.