Page 382 of Hunters and Prey

I have no idea, Dante said. But we need to—

Sirens filled the arena, and for a split second, there was nothing but absolute silence, and then the air above us rippled and the barrier became visible. It shimmered and then dissipated.

A low, rumbling growl lit up Vesper’s chest, and then the collar around his neck fell to the ground with a clung. The power was definitely off, which meant ... I tugged on the collar around my neck and it disengaged with a click. I was free. Yes! Dante tried to pry his off, but it wouldn’t budge. Fuck. It was one of the collars that would need the key Sophia had given us, but there was nothing we could do about that now.

The crowd erupted in screams as the Bloods tried to make a run for it.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Vesper lowered his body, and Dante gave me a leg up before climbing on behind me.

The whirr of motors filled the air. They were mobilizing forces to try and stop us.

“We need to go. Now,” Dante urged.

“Hold on,” Vesper said, and then he launched himself up into the air with his powerful haunches. For a moment, we were sailing, silent and streamlined, and then he flapped his wings, once, twice, and we were flying.

Fighter planes, small and bullet-shaped, appeared behind us. Something whizzed past to our left, way too close, and exploded a few meters ahead.

They were firing at us.

Dante, evasive maneuvers,Vesper said.

Dante leaned into me, forcing my upper body down so it was flush against Vesper’s scales. He covered me from behind, his arms stretched out, hands pressed to the scales. Jezebel, strapped to my back, dug into me.

Grip with your thighs, Anya.

I flexed and then Vesper went into real motion. He turned his body one-hundred-eighty degrees to the left, and if the air wasn’t trapped in my lungs, my scream would have been epic; instead it resounded inside my skull, cutting off as we banked suddenly and sharply to the right, and then we were spinning a full three-sixty.

Fuck!

They were going to shoot us down. They had the advantage. We needed to take back the upper hand. We needed to get on the ground and under cover.

Dante, we need to head east toward the Wilds. They’d have to go on foot to get us, and even they’re not crazy enough to brave the Wilds.

Vesper?Dante urged.

I heard her, he growled.

We banked left again and my stomach dropped. We were losing altitude.

Dante, can you morph?Vesper asked.

Not without choking myself to death. The damned collar needs to come off first.

Fuck. You’re gonna have to leap. I’ll circle back and drop the girl then lead the bullets away. I’ll meet you back in the Wilds.

That didn’t sound safe. Wait. What does that mean? What do you mean drop?

Just keep holding on until he tells you not to,Dante said.

And then he let go, his body tumbling forty feet toward the ground. This time, my scream was a live thing.

Dammit, woman, pipe down. Vesper swerved right and flipped over so we were facing the bullets for a split second before he fell into a circuit. The forest was far below us, and Dante, thank God, was safe on the ground—a tiny figure, his arms raised as if beckoning.

Beckoning who?

Time to let go, Skin.

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