Page 58

58

Will

I watched the Soviets drift west, their flashlights bobbing like fireflies swallowed by fog. The light faded, their voices thinned, and the sound of boots grew fainter until there was nothing left but the whisper of the river and the crackle of frozen brush under our coats.

I leaned toward Thomas, our shoulders close enough to touch, and whispered, “How deep do you think it is?”

He didn’t answer right away. His breath was slow and visible in the cold, each cloud rising between us like another uncertainty. He glanced at the water, then closed his eyes briefly, as if consulting a memory. When he looked back at me, his gaze was dim but steady.

“Based on the maps, probably up to our waists, chests at most.” He hesitated. “But who knows? It might be deeper in the middle. I can’t be sure.”

I nodded. That was as close to certainty as we were going to get out here.

“And the current?”

“Slow,” he said. “The danger is the cold, not the current.”

I looked out at the water again. It did seem sluggish, crawling through the night like it was too tired to run. It didn’t whisper like a stream or roar like a river; it just moved—quiet and certain.

“We have to go,” I whispered.

“I know,” he said, not turning his head.

We waited a beat longer, just to be sure, then Thomas shifted and turned to the others.

“Time to move,” he said, just above a breath. “We’re crossing.”

Eyes lifted. Egret’s jaw clenched. Sparrow tightened her grip on Eszter, who blinked up at her with wide, understanding eyes.

“We’re going in the river?” she asked.

Thomas nodded. “Yes. It’s our best shot.”

“How deep?” Sparrow asked.

“Maybe chest height. Be ready to swim just in case.”

She nodded once and began unfastening the girl’s outer coat, wrapping it around her more tightly.

Thomas turned to Farkas, who still clutched the box beneath his coat. “Can you manage it across?”

“I build things,” Farkas whispered. “I don’t swim laps.”

“I’ll help him,” Egret said before anyone else could speak. His voice was low but not unkind. “Just don’t drop that box.”

Rather than watch another battle ensue, I offered, “Why don’t you help Thomas? I’ll take the doctor?”

Farkas said nothing, but his arms seemed to relax their grip around the box with my words. Egret glared so long I thought he would object, then nodded once and shuffled to stand beside Thomas.

I scanned the team, memorizing their faces in this moment—their breath visible in the cold, their eyes drawn and tired, their limbs heavy with exhaustion. We were here. We were still together. That counted for something.

Maybe everything.

Thomas nodded to me.

And we began to move.