Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 144277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 721(@200wpm)___ 577(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144277 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 721(@200wpm)___ 577(@250wpm)___ 481(@300wpm)
I literally feel the blood leave my face. And a moment later I’m looking up at Finn Scott, who has me in his arms, blinking away the darkness.
Finn looks worried. “Holy shit, are you OK?”
I nod, not sure that I am. Not sure how I got into this position—which is looking up at the ceiling just a few feet off the floor, and in the arms of my hero—partner, future husband, father of my children?
He picks me up and carries me over to the nearest bed, gently setting me down on the fluffy feather mattress—which should not be here, or be so comfy—and kneels down beside me. “What the hell happened?”
“I think…” I can’t even believe I’m gonna say this. It’s so… not something I do. “I think I fainted.”
“Yeah,” Finn laughs. His blue eyes filling with relief. “No shit. But why?” He places a hand on my forehead, like he’s checking my temperature. “You’re sick?”
“No.” I press my lips together as I shake my head. “Um… well, I was going to tell you. But honestly, I just kinda figured it out like five minutes ago myself. So…” He leans in, like he’s dying to hear what I have to say. And every hesitation I ever had about Finn Scott evaporates in this moment.
Oh, he’s still the same guy. He’s still kinda up-city selfish. And he’s got a long way to go still.
But he’s invested in me. I feel it.
“So…?” He says. “So what? What’s going on?”
“I’m… pregnant.”
He just stares at me. Unconsciously, I begin counting seconds and get to eight before he lets out a laugh and starts to smile. “What?”
I nod. “Yep. While I’ve obviously not been checked by a health center, I… I’m different. Emotional, and weepy, and—” He’s nodding his head. “I haven’t been tracking my cycles, or anything. Obviously, we’ve been busy. But it’s been like several weeks down here, hasn’t it?”
Finn is just staring at me.
“Finn? How long have we been down here?”
He shakes his head as if to clear it, then stands up as he lets out a breath. “Thirty-six days.”
“Thirty-six. Oh, yes. I’m late. By more than two weeks.” I try and sit up, to get out of bed now that the fainting spell is over.
But Finn immediately kneels back down and places a gentle hand on my arm. “Just rest. You just fainted. You just told me you’re pregnant and… well, we’re not in a hurry, are we.”
I laugh. “I mean… we’re in the middle of blowing up a tower, Finn.”
“Well, technically, we’re not. It’s broken and in the middle of the reset—whatever that is. Besides…” He pans a hand to the space around us. “This is probably as good as it gets as far as living conditions go. You won’t find a bed like this on the train.”
That’s absolutely true. We’ve been sleeping on the train floor, in side tunnels, or sometimes just right there on the tracks.
But I force myself up into a sitting position, fending off his objections with a fierce look of determination, as I pick up the thread of the conversation we were having before I fainted. “The factory. They’re making Little Sisters. I know that sounds stupid, and incredulous, and impossible, but Finn! Think about it! They have an Extraction every ten years to… I don’t know. Take the best of us and—”
“Shhhh.” He’s pushing me back down into the soft bed. “Let’s forget about that for a moment. Just…” He sighs, and it’s heavy. “Let’s just take a time out. Can we do that? Can we take a time out?”
Now I feel guilty for not taking his feelings about this whole thing into consideration. He’s the Extraction Master. Not only that, he comes from a long line of Extraction Masters. His family has been officiating a Spark Maiden sacrifice for hundreds of years.
Well, maybe not hundreds. Family’s rise and fall, as they say. Just look at mine. The Bell’s used to be in charge of the Tower District. Now we’re down-city nobodies. But regardless of how long the Scott family has been in charge of sending Spark Maidens into the tower, one time is too many. Because surely you cannot farm the spark out of a maiden without killing her.
We grow spark.
And they grow us.
It’s too much.
So I let Finn push me back until the soft and buoyant feather bed is cradling my body, giving in. Because it’s all lies. Everything I ever thought I knew about my world is a lie and I need something real right now.
“Sure,” I say. Pulling him into the bed next to me. “Let’s take a time out.”
11 - FINN
“Did you just proposition me for sex?”
Jasina’s laugh is so loud, it echoes off the curved plaster ceilings. “What? No! Oh, my God. You would think that, though. You’re such a man.”