The Rise of Deragon (The Deragon Duology #2)

19

Geneva

T he male howl of agony follows us down the narrow aisle as we zoom through the connecting train cars. Past the elegant, upper-class cab, with its shimmering bar cart and the startled passengers sipping midmorning cocktails. Past the staff quarters and the restocking stations. Past another eight sectors of segregated cabins and a series of startled faces.

“He either won’t be down long, or there will be more like him coming,” I pant, darting through the narrow aisle, my hand clasped within Ren’s. I will myself to make longer strides. “Where are the emergency exits?”

Ren mentally recalls the safety demonstration the attendants had prepped us with before embarking, the one that I couldn’t hear over the sound of my incessant crying. “Aisle fifteen has the largest door, but we’re likely closest to the back quarters—”

“ They went this way !” a gruff voice shouts from the car behind us.

Ren calculates our best odds, and the morbid expression tells me all I need to know before he says it aloud.

“We need to jump.” He points his free hand towards the next connection. “I’ll get the door.”

I don’t have time to think about how fast the train is moving or whether the ground outside is going to make for a painful landing. “Okay,” I breathe, albeit shakily.

Ren’s shock at my lack of a rebuttal, even for fear’s sake, radiates in his eyes. Still, he doesn’t let the feeling linger, inclining his head towards the metal door and making a mad dash after me.

Harsh, pounding footsteps sound from behind me and Ren, and I don’t care to look and see how many people are gaining on us. Ren does, though. I feel his body shift directions slightly, and a strangled yelp escapes his throat. “ MOVE , GENNY!”

We reach the connecting sector, and Ren finally releases my hand in order to get a strong grip on the iron latch keeping the door to the outside world shut. He has to descend two of the steps to get close enough, to establish a comfortable stance and keep from flying out when the door finally gives way.

Dust and wind bite at both of our faces, the summer sun momentarily blinding him. With eyes pinched shut, Ren offers his arms out to me. “Hold onto me!” he calls over the roaring wind.

I reach for him, and with no shred of regret or second guessing, Ren pulls me tight to his chest before throwing us both into the daylight. The scent of his clothes on my face calms me down as we go airborne.

And as if the Saints mean to cover us in their favor, the breeze swings the metal door shut, concealing our desperate escape route.

+

The crunch of our impact rattles through our bones, but Ren still hisses the words, “Stay. Down.”

Our feet touched down on the uneven, grassy path moments ago, but as the rest of us hurtled towards the ground, Ren had torqued his body to where his back would take the brunt of our fall, me landing over top of him. My head knocked into his teeth and his jaw collided with my own.

But now, even with parts of me numb to the shock of coming to such a drastic halt after throwing myself out of a moving railroader, all my muddled brain can focus on is Ren. The rise and fall of his chest beneath me, moving me with him. The malicious tone in his voice as he sprang into action.

“Wife, huh?” I ask, hoping to make light of the ache in our bodies.

Ren coughs out a laugh, and I try to hide my horror at the blood it summons across his teeth and tongue. His nose is bleeding, too. He says in panting breaths, “What an ass of me. I didn’t even get you a ring.”

I laugh, and the movement hurts my ribs. I reach for the spot, but touching it only makes the pain deepen. I shut my eyes. “You’ve already outdone yourself in the chivalry department. I mean, if I’m in this kind of shape, I can only imagine how banged up you are.”

“I’d never complain about being banged up by you, Genny.”

I bite my tongue to keep from snickering. “Real mature, Ren.”

“You married me,” he retorts, his smile grand and utterly infectious.

Slowly, Ren helps me to my feet, even though both of us feel as though we’ve split a lung. It takes me two tries to find the proper footing, and Ren allows me to drape most of my weight towards his front as I rise. Once securely settled, and despite the un-ladylikeness of it, I spit out what I think is saliva that has begun to pool in my mouth onto the grass but discover that I accidentally douse a budding wildflower in fresh blood.

“News must have broken about you being here, out in the wild,” Ren theorizes. “And considering the grudge a decent portion of the Mosacian Empire holds towards Jericho and Venus, you’re not safe unaccounted for. Then again, if Mosacians know you’re here, your family’s forces are likely scouring the continent for you, too.”

There’s no need to tell him what he can already deduct himself: that falling into the possession of either camp is less than ideal if I’m apprehended before I can get to my daughter.

“But I won’t let that happen,” Ren vows, his eyes intense and unwavering as they hold my stare. “I will not let them, any of them, take you from me. Even if keeping that promise ends up breaking all my bones.”

Ren voices the words with such authority that my legs nearly tremble, threatening to send me tumbling back to the ground.

It won’t be too hard to play your wife if you say things like that , I want to tell him.

“Come on,” Ren urges, wrapping my arm around his shoulder to provide me better support. His smile widens beneath his slight, golden scruff—although, it may be another slight grimace of pain. “There will be another train in a couple hours. We’ll be able to flag it down if we keep to the tracks.”