Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 118042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
I threw myself into him.
I hugged him ever so tight.
He hissed between his teeth as my arms lashed around him. “Gently, Ily. Gently.”
Breaking the hug as quickly as I’d given it, I ducked around him and choked. “Y-Your back.”
Scowling, he turned to face me, preventing me from seeing the twenty lashes he’d earned because of me and my stupid mouth.
“I’m so sorry, Paavak. I didn’t mean—”
“We don’t have time for that. Come.” Grabbing my hand, he carted me into the billowing blackness. We both coughed as the smoke turned thicker, wetter. The air dense with two elements fighting each other for supremacy. He cut into yet another luxurious room and let me go as he stalked toward the side table with a purple silk runner draping over its sides.
Yanking it off the table, he sent a small figurine of a field mouse flying.
I had no idea what he was doing.
“We need to fight with the others,” I rushed. “I need to find Henri.” I staggered a little as my eyesight vanished, then reappeared.
Annoying.
Inconvenient.
Balling my hands, I braced my legs for stability. “Victor ran toward the battlement. He’s probably safe with his snipers by now. We need to figure out a way to—”
“I know.” Marching back to me, he stabbed the sword into the thick carpet and beckoned me to move closer. “Come here.”
“Why? What are you doing?”
Stepping into me with a snarl, he pointed at my silver lingerie.
Well...not so silver anymore.
In fact…most of it was a rich ruby red.
Oh, that’s strange.
I hadn’t killed anyone like Kirk.
Victor hadn’t been bleeding that much, and Mollie barely bled at all.
God, Mollie.
He needs to know.
“Peter…Mollie, she—”
“Don’t. I don’t want to know. Not until after.” Gathering my hair off my sticky shoulders, he ordered, “Apne baal upar karo.” (Hold your hair up.)
I went to obey.
To take my hair that he’d twisted into a ponytail—
Only…somehow, I was on the floor.
And Peter’s face had switched from determined to terrified. “Ily…Ily.”
I frowned and licked my lips. “I-I’m fine.” Something soft lashed around my neck, tying tightly. Tracing my fingers over it, I followed the ends of the purple table runner draping down my chest. “Why…why am I wearing the decorations?”
“You’ve lost a lot of blood.” He swallowed hard, doing his best to hide his fear but drowning in it anyway. “I’ve tried to staunch it. We need to get you to Dr Belford. If she’s even still alive.”
“No. No. No.” I sat up. “I’m fine.”
The room spun around me.
Drunk.
I felt drunk and light and spacey.
Had my food been spiked?
What food?
Ah, so that was the problem.
“I’m just hungry, Paavak. I haven’t eaten in…I can’t remember when.”
“Me too. But I’m not the one who just passed out in my arms.”
“Passed out?” I shook my head. “No, I didn’t. I—”
“It was only for a second. I caught you. You’re okay. Just…stay behind me, alright? Don’t overexert yourself. No running. No murdering. I’ll get you upstairs to the doc somehow. If it’s not on fire. Actually, I should probably get you out of here instead. We’ll find Belford some other way. Shit, that doesn’t matter.” He shook away his scattered thoughts. “What does matter is, whatever direction we take, I’m going to have to fight, and I can’t be worrying about you.” He pinched my chin with shaking fingers. “Promise me you’ll do what I say and don’t get in the way, alright?”
I smirked. “You’re sounding more and more like Henri every day.”
He smiled sadly. “Yes, well…I know who I am, and I’m not him. But…I vow to you if you do what I say, I’ll take you to him. Just keep breathing for me. Keep that cloth tight around your throat, and don’t remove it. I have no idea if it will stop your bleeding, but it might buy us a bit more time.”
“More time?” I struggled to sit up. “I know Victor cut me, but it’s not that deep. Whoever fired that first shot saved my life.”
“That was Stewart. Ben followed. Then the guards they’ve been getting friendly with opened fire.”
“And the explosions that have been going off? Is that really Rachel and Mollie’s handiwork?”
“Carlos got me free when all hell broke loose. He’s the engineer who’s been helping them. He said they gave up on the bleach and household detonations after Victor tortured all those involved and forbade them from ever stepping foot out of the slave quarters unless with a Master.”
“Then how…?”
“The guards have apparently been very generous with their bullets.” He grinned. “Jin, Sadie, Tanya, and Devi—the new girls who didn’t get punished because they weren’t involved in the first rebellion—took up the fight without telling anyone. They made explosives out of gunpowder thanks to Jin’s older brother being a bit of a pyro in his youth and rather good at delayed fuses.”
Another teeth-rattling boom.
Peter threw himself over me, sheltering me as the chandelier swung wildly and dust rained from above.