Page 24 of Chaos Carnival

“Mav?” Her voice was tight with worry.

“I'm good.” I wasn't. Not even close. But we didn't have time for that now. The hunters were getting closer, and I was running out of options.

I reached out with my mind, seeking the familiar signatures of Stone and Lux. They were close, thank fuck. I poured all my focus into sending a single, desperate thought:Get out now. Hunters on site.I knew Stone would understand—we didn't have time for explanations or pleasantries.

“Maverick—” Tess started to protest, but I cut her off.

“We have to leave. Now.” I pulled her close, wrapping my arms around her.

“They'll be able to follow us!” She struggled in my hold.

“Not where we're going.” I closed my eyes, focusing on the cold sensation of phasing. The world shimmered, and we slipped between dimensions with that familiar tug in my gut.

A hunter's voice echoed behind us, his command to halt lost in the ether as we disappeared from their grasp, their delicious frustration a distant buzz at the back of my mind. They couldn't touch us here, but they'd be waiting the moment we returned to the mortal realm.

I kept us in the void, letting my power carry us away from the carnival and Ivan's influence. We couldn't stay long—phasing took a toll, especially with the poison still in my system—but it would give us a chance to regroup and figure out our next move.

The void swirled around us, a kaleidoscope of colors and sensations, like falling forever, a relentless drop into nothingness. My arms tightened around Tess, keeping her steady as the void pulled and tugged at us. I wasn't gonna let her disappear on me, not now, not ever.

“You okay?” Her voice was soft, concerned.

“Peachy.” I forced a grin, even though I felt like hell. “Just enjoying the ride, darlin'.”

She huffed a laugh, and the tension eased a bit. But the hunters still lurked in the corners of my consciousness, like spiders waiting to pounce the moment we re-entered the real world.

“Here.” I angled us down, toward a hidden space between dimensions that I'd discovered a while back. A secret place where we could catch our breath, unseen and unheard. “Hold on, this might be a bumpy landing.”

Chapter 12: Twilight Transit

Tess

Thefluorescentlightsflickeredoverhead like dying stars, casting sickly shadows across the empty platform. Four trains, two buses, and a cab driver who definitely wasn't human later, brought us to this forgotten stop outside Paris. My muscles screamed from constant movement, exhaustion clawed at my eyes with rusty hooks, and I couldn’t hold in my frustration anymore.

After typing out a reply, Maverick shoved his phone back in his pocket with enough force that I worried for its survival. “The others got out. We have a location to meet them.” He paused, then added, “Stone and Lux say the tattoos seem to be working—they're not as drained as they should be after all this.”

He looked up at me, dark eyes scanning my face with that mix of concern and amusement that was uniquely his. “You look like roadkill.” He dropped onto the bench beside me, his shoulder pressing mine with deliberate weight. The solidity of him helped chase away some of the bone-deep weariness that had settled in, though I'd never admit that to his already oversized ego.

“Fuck off.” After the billion-hour journey, which followed our failure to save my best friend, I was exhausted, hangry, and he was infuriating me. I didn't bother moving away, though. The metal bench was cold, and his presence grounded me despite myself. “You're not exactly cover model material yourself right now.”

“I'm always cover model material.” His attempt at his usual arrogance fell flat as another tremor wracked his body. “It's a curse.”

“Yeah, speaking of curses...” I shifted, letting him lean more heavily against me despite my irritation. “Think we’ve lost the hunters after your little teleporting stunt back there? Or should we run a few more circles around France?”

His tense gaze lingered, sharp and predatory. “You're the one who warned me we needed to be sure.”

“Whatever. You seem to be a fan of making unilateral decisions about my life. Thought I'd try it out.”

“Tess—” A shiver cut him off. His hand found mine, ice-cold fingers intertwining with bruising force.

“How bad?” I asked, hating the concern that crept into my voice.

“Scale of one to ten?” His head dropped to my shoulder, breath ghosting across my neck. “About a twenty, but I've had worse hangovers.”

“Bullshit.” My free hand found its way into his hair, and he made a sound that was half groan, half purr. “You're literallyturning into a seraph popsicle. Once we find proper equipment again, you're getting tattooed. Both of us are.”

“Your concern is touching.” His words dripped sarcasm, but his grip on my hand tightened. “Here I thought you didn't care.”

“I don't.” The lie tasted bitter. Addie's face flashed through my mind—vacant eyes, twisted smile as she danced for Ivan—and my chest constricted. “But I need you functional if we're going to save my friend. You know, the one who got captured while you were busy playing possessive asshole?”

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