Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 112398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Music and a drone of lifted voices seeped out of a dive bar that was on the right side, and a few people loitered in a roped-off section out front, smoking cigarettes and sipping beers beneath the orange glow of outdoor heaters.
I angled in close to that area like we were two more patrons, and I waited at least half an hour before a cab finally came by. Wasn’t about to risk making a fake account for an Uber or some shit like that.
I hailed it, and the guy barely grunted at me as I gave him an address across the city. As far away from our motel as we could feasibly get.
Once he dropped us off, I did the same thing three more times, grabbing cabs and having them drop us off in random places.
Making sure the two of us disappeared without a trace.
I had the last driver leave us half a mile from the motel.
I paid him and stepped out, clinging to Aria, who had fallen into a foggy state of coherence.
She gazed up at me with those pale, pale eyes, cognizance as heavy as the clouds that covered us as I carried her the rest of the way to our motel.
I climbed the steps, let us into the room, and laid her out on the bed.
She blinked up at me through the bleary light. Sadness pooled there, all mixed with that glorious, unfathomable strength.
“I won’t say I’m sorry.” The words were hoarse when she whispered them.
I dropped to my knees at her side, gathered her hand in mine, and brought her knuckles to my lips. “No, baby, I’m the one who’s sorry,” I murmured against them.
She shifted so she could curl her hand around mine. “We’re in this together, Pax. Wholly. In every way. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are. You can’t protect me from this life.”
My nod was tight. “I know. I keep thinking I can, but I end up making it worse.”
I brushed the pad of my thumb over her sweat-drenched brow, while she trembled from the cold.
She was completely drained, though at least this time she hadn’t been struck by either of the Kruen she’d encountered. It was strange that she hadn’t been drained when she fought the Ghorl in her father’s mind, but tonight she’d been completely zapped.
It was so hard to make sense of the difference.
“You think I wouldn’t give everything to protect you, too?” she whispered.
“That’s not the way it’s supposed to be.”
“Yes, it is. That’s exactly the way it’s supposed to be.” She said it so quickly she nearly cut me off. Then she lowered her voice as she continued, “It’s exactly the way it’s supposed to be. You and me fighting for humanity. It’s our fate, and we do it together.”
“You shot a man tonight.” It raked from my chest. A stake of guilt.
She gave a long blink. “I hate it . . . that people can be so depraved that it was the only option I had. Hate that I had to do it. But I can promise I’d do it all over again, a thousand times over. For you, Pax. Because I love you.”
As I sat there on my knees next to her, the significance of the night sank through me.
“You saved me,” I told her. I wasn’t sure what the fuck would have happened if she hadn’t come. If she’d listened to the bullshit I’d spewed.
My thinking had been faulty. I knew it now. Knew she was right.
“I needed you—need you in every way,” I corrected. “In every aspect and every manner, and I promise you I won’t try to keep you from the things I have to do ever again.”
Her teeth raked over her bottom lip as she nodded against the pillow, all that black hair strewn around her gorgeous face.
“Because you and I are in this thing together, Pax. To the very end.”
Chapter Fifteen
Aria—Tearsith
“Peter is dead.” Aria heard Pax grit out the words from where he and Ellis were huddled beneath the great tree. His voice was grave. The words as dire and bleak as Aria felt, where she lay on the cool grass next to the babbling stream, seeking respite within the confines of Tearsith after she’d been sapped of her strength.
The rest of their Laven family sat just in the distance, their turmoil distinct as they awaited instruction.
Only Dani was at her side, sitting beside Aria and running tender fingers through her hair. Whispering, “You’re going to be fine. What you did was so brave. I’m so proud of you. So proud of who you are.”
Above Dani’s encouragement, Aria could hear the hushed, brutal conversation between Pax and Ellis.
“None of this is chance. Nathan accidentally falling to his death and William overdosing? Doesn’t fit either of them,” Pax hissed. “It’s too much to be a coincidence. And we saw the Kruen set on Peter’s destruction with our own eyes. Saw it in both Faydor and while awake. Plus, the other five who did not show last night still have not arrived. We can’t chalk that up to coincidence, and I fear the worst for them. We believe every single one of us is in danger.”