Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Sam is a lucky little boy. Nova and Ellison have more love and wisdom to shower on a kid than anyone I’ve ever known. Ellison and I have known each other for almost seven years. My mom would smile knowing that at age thirty, my closest friend is a forty-seven-year-old woman I don’t have a romantic relationship with.
And Nova. She’s been steadily, constantly beside me for so long that I can’t imagine not getting her thoughts on things. Nova is a woman of few words, but when she does say something, it’s always worth listening to.
Sam looks up at Nova, a smile quirking on his lips. Nova would already take a bullet for the kid. If I have to leave the two people who mean as much to me as Briar does, at least I know they have a loving family.
“Are you ready?” Briar asks me.
I take a deep breath and nod. “Almost. How about you?”
She puts her arms around my waist and presses her cheek to my chest. “I think so. The packing is done and the plans are made. It’s just a matter of making ourselves go now.”
“Are the others ready?”
“Olin’s already on the sub. He said goodbye to the kids and it was hard for him.”
“He knows he can stay if he wants to, right?”
“Yeah. He wants to get back to the ILF. It’s just harder than he thought it would be.”
Ellison and Nova are laughing about something, Ellison smoothing a hand over Sam’s hair.
“I get it,” I say.
“Go talk to Niran. You’ve put it off as long as you can.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
She takes a step back, looking up at me. “Of course you can. That’s all we’re waiting for, and then we can leave.”
“Don’t we still need to change Pax’s mind? I don’t think the two of us in a confined space for that long is going to work out.”
She pinches her brows together, her smile wry. “You can practice diplomacy. Lord knows you need it.”
“Hey, I’m a master diplomat. The d in my name stands for diplomacy.”
She rolls her eyes. “That’s the joke? Because there’s no d?”
“Sounds like I got here just in time.” Pax gives Marcus a serious look. “Does someone need a man-to-man talk about not having any d?”
I scowl at him. “You’d be the expert on that, wouldn’t you?”
He grins. “Lots of people here can vouch for my abilities. But you’ve just got the one person.”
“I guess if you’re gonna be a whore, at least be a proud one.”
Briar puts a palm on my chest. “Go do your thing. We’ll go get Amira and Evander. I’ll put you two in separate corners of the boat if I have to.”
I don’t feel mature at all when I give Pax the finger and walk away, but I do enjoy it. That fucker tests my patience at every turn.
I might also be a little cranky. I’ve been putting off this conversation with Niran because I’m not looking forward to it. Stalking toward the farm, I just nod at everyone who waves and smiles at me.
Briar’s right. We do need to leave. It’s never going to be easy.
Evander says he’s okay to travel, but he’s still healing from Island Three. It’s only been ten days since he arrived here. He’s about my size and build, and people see strength when they look at him. But there’s something dark and sad in his eyes. I don’t know if he’s always been like that but had to hide it while working undercover, or if it’s a result of whatever Ingrid’s men did to him.
She said they were bringing him to the edge of death. Evander’s body will heal, but his mind may never be the same.
I pass the garden, which is already filled with plants as tall as my knees. Today, I notice the scents of herbs I usually take for granted. This island has been anything but easy, but I’m going to miss some things.
Plunging waterfalls, spectacular sunsets, and perfectly clear night skies are just everyday things here. I won’t miss the nonstop sweating and bug bites, but I’ll miss this place and its people.
I can’t communicate to Flavius that I’m leaving. I tried, but he just came to the edge of camp and checked on me, then left. He doesn’t like to be around many people. If there were a way to tell him how much he means to me, I would.
When I reach the farm, there are former Tiders and Dust Walkers working together on a fence repair. I wave at them on my way into the stalls, where the stench of manure is strong.
Niran’s mucking stalls, the bottom of his boots covered in shit. When he pulls off his baseball hat to wipe sweat from his forehead, he sees me.
“Hey.” He wraps both hands around the handle of the pitchfork.