I leapt to my feet and didn’t think twice about what I was going to do.
It was possible they would do nothing, that they wouldn’t care whether Noor lived or died. But if the guards were even remotely invested in the fact that she may have access to unimaginable djinn power, they might actually do something to save her.
I pounded on the cell door, screaming my head off, shouting for help. They could take her to the infirmary, they could staunch the bleeding, they could prevent her from dying.
And I couldn’t be here when they did.
Footsteps sounded in the hall, and distant shouts bounced off the walls. I leapt away from the door and crawled back down the tunnel, grabbing the loose piece of floor that we used to hide the escape route and closing it over my head.
Then I waited.
My chest felt tight and a cold sweat poured over me. They had to come. They had to save her.
Eventually the door opened, and the sounds of slamming and shouting filtered down to me. I pressed my hand hard to my mouth, trying not to make a single sound as guards filled Noor’s cell and lifted her up off the floor.
“Shit. We have to take her to Thohfsa.”
“Thohfsa will killusif she’s dead. Take her to the infirmary first.” There was some grunting as they lifted her, and one of them swore.
Then it went quiet.
I huffed out a shallow breath, my heart beating so wildly I could barely focus. But there were no more sounds.
No footsteps, no talking.
I waited a long time before I lifted the slab up again and peeked into the room.
The cell was empty. Noor was gone.
But there was something else I hadn’t expected.
The guards had left the door open.
Six
Of course they’d left the door open. To them, there was no one left to escape.
I tried to dampen the rising adrenaline flooding through me. I could leave without anyone noticing. I could slip into the night on my own.
My breath was tight in my chest as I stepped through the door. This time when I moved through the dark halls, I was soundless, and the other prisoners were sleeping. Noor’s cell was on the opposite wing, adjacent to the ocean. I could almost smell the salt spray in the air, nearly touch the cool water with my fingertips.
If I hid from the guards, made it out of the main prison, and climbed the perimeter wall, I could make it to the beach without the alarm being raised.
I was close, so close to getting out of here. My stomach was in my throat, my body fairly vibrating as I slunk along the hall.
This time I was under cover of darkness, this time I didn’t leave a trace.
The stone was cold against my feet. I crept along the wall, trying to remember the layout of my prison wing. This one seemed to beorganized the same way, and if I kept to the outer hallway, I should make it to the exit.
I turned the corner to find two guards standing at the main door, their murmured voices carrying on the cool breeze. My back was to the granite wall as I watched the two figures illuminated in the moonlight. At last they started their next guard rotation, moving away from the doorway and heading toward the opposite end of the prison.
I took my chance and noiselessly crept to the door. The sea air slapped against me with spirited force, as if it welcomed me outside.
I slipped out and slid along the side of the building, my back pressed to the brick. The rough scuff of a footfall sounded, and I held my breath as a guard stepped around the corner of the building before turning the other way and retracing his steps in a loop. I trod carefully, gaining ground, with only one focus.
Escape, escape, escape.
I made it to the perimeter wall. There was no one else here.
