Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 117246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 586(@200wpm)___ 469(@250wpm)___ 391(@300wpm)
If I kept quiet, at least for a little while, I could snoop around Theirland.
Ugh. Had I really just contemplated sneaking around a military base and spying on my government, simply to answer queries posed by my enemy? Surely I wasn’t so foolish.
But maybe?
Armed with information, I could conquer every doubt Ember had fueled.
If I got caught, I’d lose everything. Mom could lose everything.
But shouldn’t a search for the truth be rewarded?
Acid seared my throat. This was a no-win situation. I should leave Fort Bala. Just grab my stuff and go home. I’d find another way to pay Mom’s back taxes. Maybe work two jobs. Three even. There’d be no more messages from the Tome Society. No more confusion.
Only the regret of not knowing.
Damned either way.
Run! The chain on my wrist pulled taut as I jolted upright. Trapped! I jerked at the cuff to no avail. Bit by bit, my lungs shrank, choking me from the inside. I couldn’t breathe. I needed to breathe. Clutching at my throat, I collapsed against the mattress.
“This isn’t resting and recovering, Bubble Gum.” A rough, gruff voice drifted through my ears, startling me enough to capture my thoughts, allowing speculations to flood in.
“Cyrus?” He was here? I darted my gaze but saw no sign of him in the cell. The door remained closed, Mykal still sleeping. Was I having an auditory hallucination . . . like the maddened?
Just like that, the panic resurged. I pulled at my clothes. Too tight!
“Arden,” Cyrus snapped. “Listen to me. We’re both wearing transmitters. Your heart rate hit a certain threshold and activated both sets. Now we can hear each other. Tell me your mantra.”
Transmitters, not infection. My motions slowed and my breathing followed. In, out. “Leave, fear. I’m brave,” I breathed out.
“Yes, you are brave. You comprehend fear is the monster at your back with a knife at your throat. And what do we do to monsters?”
“This isn’t a teaching moment,” I shriek-whispered between pants. In. Out. At least Cyrus and Ember agreed on one thing. Fear was the worst. “I want to go home. I can’t do this.”
“We do not say can’t, soldier.”
“Fine.” I sniffled, and there was no stopping the humiliating action. “I’m currently unable to can.”
He had the audacity to laugh. “What do we do when fear attacks us, Roosa?”
“Fight back,” I muttered.
“That’s right. And you are growing into an excellent fighter, focusing on the correct opponent.”
His compliment filled my head, and I calmed a bit more. With his voice a caress in my ears, I almost felt as if he were stretched out at my side, his arms wrapped around me. A true comfort. “How? How do I fight back?”
“Tell me your battle cry again. Punch the air with your words.”
“Leave, fear. I’m brave.” A soft thump sounded as I also punched the bed. “I’m brave.” Another punch of the mattress. “I’m brave. I’m brave, I’m brave.” Hey! Those battle cries had some heft to them. Maybe I was kind of a little brave. I mean, look at all I’d experienced and pushed through.
“Again. Louder.”
“I’m brave.” I smashed my fists through the air, one after the other. “I’m brave!” Knockout!
“Okay, we get it. You’re the bravest. Can I sleep now?” Lark grumbled from her cell.
Other soldiers issued complaints too. Mykal rolled over and shoved a pillow over her head to smother her giggles.
I sank into my mattress, my cheeks heating.
“Get out,” Cyrus grated with obvious annoyance.
Excuse me? “I’m chained to the wall and barred in. There’s no way I can leave my cell.”
He gave a little chuckle. “I wasn’t speaking to you, Pink.”
“To whom were you speaking? And what happened to purple?”
“The woman who entered my hallway. And I realized I prefer the classics.”
“You own a whole hallway?” I asked because I didn’t know what else to say. I wouldn’t be surprised if the woman was Dr. Korey. He did seem to enjoy ordering her to leave.
“I’m confident we both recognize the fact that I own every hallway I enter.” Amusement tinged his words. “I exited a meeting between instructors and team leaders as soon as the transmitters activated.”
Shame pricked me. “My apologies, sir, for interrupting.”
“I’ve attended hundreds of those meetings,” he told me with a dry tone. “I can afford to miss one.”
I wished I could see his face. Judge his expression. Decipher the truth about his mood. Why was he being so nice to me, and why did the answer matter so much? Wait. “What time is it?”
“A few minutes after four.”
“In the morning?” I gasped out. I had stirred my cauldron of worries all night long, missing my only opportunity to sleep in semipeace. Now, in little more than an hour, I would be stepping into a whole new world for the very first time. “I’m brave,” I squeaked.
“Yes. You are.” Static crackled over our connection, as if he were on the move. “Prepare for travel and meet me at Transport One in ten minutes. And Arden? Do not remove the transmitters.”