Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 55221 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55221 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 276(@200wpm)___ 221(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
“Valen told you to send me away?” I guess my speech about him not being the boss of me didn’t land like I thought. Here he is, still trying to dictate every step I take.
“That doesn’t matter anymore.” Gage smiles again. “I’ve got you.”
“Oh.” I glance at the helicopter, the blades turning slowly now.
“Georgia?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re free now. We can go. There’s a base—it’s safe. Tons of humans, all of them working on fighting this war and saving lives. That’s where you belong. Understand?”
“Right.” Still, I linger, my gaze jumping between the dark garden doors and the helicopter.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you afraid Valen will come for you?” His jaw goes tight as he takes my hand.
“No. I mean, yes. He wouldn’t want me to leave. I …”
“You don’t have to worry about him. He’ll never touch you again, Georgia. You’re with me now.” He squeezes my hand. “I’ll protect you.”
My mouth is dry, my heart hammering. I can’t go. Not now. When Valen gets back, we’ll work out a way to get me what I need to recreate the poison. After that—
He steps closer. “When Wyatt and Evie see you, they might—”
“What?” My eyes go wide. “Wyatt and Evie are alive?”
He nods. “They’re working right now at the lab I told you about. The only part they’re missing is you.”
My eyes sting and water. “They’re really alive?” My voice shakes. “I thought they were—the convoy to Atlanta, it was destroyed. They’re alive?”
“Yes.” He wipes a tear from my cheek. “And they’re waiting for you. Now let’s go. We’re burning daylight.” Wrapping an arm around my waist, he guides me from beneath the tree and toward the helicopter.
I walk, confusion and hope both dancing through my heart. Just the thought of seeing my friends again is enough to keep me walking, to keep me heading toward the helicopter.
But there’s something else inside, too. A pull. One that tells me to stay right where I am. My steps slow. Valen. I should wait for him to come back and tell him about this plan.
“Almost there, Georgia.” Gage tightens his hold.
“Maybe I should talk to Valen first. I think—”
“Valen?” He scoffs. “The bastard who kept you prisoner this whole time? I practically begged him to release you to me. He wouldn’t do it.” He glowers. “You can’t trust him. You know that, right? He’s one of them.”
“I know, but he’s not like them.”
He gives me a sobering look. “I could give you report after report of the people he’s murdered in cold blood, Georgia. Hundreds, thousands. He’s a killer. The Specter. He has some sort of obsession with you, but in the end, he’ll kill you, too. That’s what he does to humans. All humans.” Without warning, he lifts me off my feet and carries me the final distance to the helicopter. As he hands me up to a waiting soldier, the pulling sensation behind my ribs only grows.
Gage climbs up.
“I think I should talk to—” The noise of the engine cuts me off, the helicopter shifting, and I grab one of the hanging straps to keep from falling.
“Here!” Gage eases me down into a seat, then kneels in front of me and reaches for the safety straps.
I need to think about this more. What if this is a mistake or some sort of trick? I try to stand.
Gage keeps a grip on my thigh and drags a seatbelt across me. “You’ll see!” he yells over the engine noise as we lift from the ground. He fastens the belts, then places a headset over my ears.
I stare past him at the garden as it fades beneath us.
The fountain.
Melody’s monument.
Juno and Druin hidden inside.
The sensation behind my ribs going from pulling to constricting. I close my eyes and focus on my heartbeat, on my blood, on Valen.
I feel him. I feel him as if he’s silently yelling at me, fear in his eyes as he tries to warn me. My heart sinks. Worry. So much worry. It’s choking me. He’s screaming my name.
I gasp in a breath and open my eyes to find Gage staring down at me, a triumphant smile on his lips.
10
We land in what looks like a relatively empty field. There are some areas of cracked concrete with dead weeds poking through and a few low metal silos painted with military camouflage. Otherwise, the entire place is barren.
When I’d peeked out of the helicopter despite my motion sickness, all I saw was a few strips of forest and fields. Until we passed over a town. Nothing big. Just a smaller, rural village sprouting up in a valley with a river running through it.
On any given day, people would be moving about, smoke rising from chimneys—activity. When we flew over, there was nothing. No movement. No humans. It felt like looking down at a cemetery. My gorge rose, though I don’t know if it was truly from motion sickness or the knowledge that the humans in that town may have been wiped out—and that Valen may be responsible.