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)
My heart hurt for him.
Tears pricked for the loss of his mind as well as Suri.
Sighing heavily, Peter said, “Just a little longer, and this ends, alright?” Squeezing my hand, he nodded at all of us. “Fuck trying to fight alone. We’re all hurt and probably useless against a Master one-on-one, but…if we stick together, like Ily suggests, we can take down the ones who are left.”
Abby cried out as Kirk suddenly screamed.
We all looked as he dropped like a sack of rocks.
Ian stood over him, the sulphur of gunpowder cut through the stench of acrid fire and melting flesh.
With a smirk, he shot Kirk again.
Kirk didn’t move, his limbs bent and splayed.
God, it hurt.
All of this hurt.
The loss of good people.
The torture of so many.
“This way!” Abby and Pen broke into a run, leaving their backs exposed. “We have to go!”
Peter gave me a look. I already knew what he’d do.
Without a word, we ran toward Ian. We sprinted the short distance, and Peter raised his sword. Letting me go, he double-fisted the handle and swung.
The dark-skinned Master feinted to the side, snickering under his breath. “That the best you’ve got?”
Peter grunted and swung again, staggering with the weight.
Ian lifted his gun. “Say goodbye, Pete.”
“That might be the best he’s got.” A guard stalked out of the blazing foyer as if he was made of fire. “But not me.” With effortless grace, he raised his gun and fired.
Ian’s head snapped sideways, a bloom of blood welled on his temple and a spray of bone and brain exploded out the other side.
His body barely thudded against the grass before the guard looked at us, his gaze snagging on the sticky blood staining my chest. “The surviving jewels are being gathered in the south. Head there. Dr Belford and Rose are tending to the injured. A few guards are there to make sure you remain unharmed.”
“Are you friends with Stewart?” Peter asked.
The guard shook his head with a wince. “Nah. I’m just someone who wants freedom as much as you. I saw an opportunity, so I took it. A lot of us did.”
Another scream inside the castle.
We all swayed to help.
Light-headedness came for me again, bringing with it yet more snow in my veins.
Ignore it.
You’re fine.
My heart thudded with unsurmountable difficulty.
Each beat rocked my body with its effort.
“There’s quite a few of us now.” The guard checked how many bullets were left in his gun, then stepped back toward the fortress. “Most of the guards who are left will be on your side. We’ve been waiting for something like this for a while.”
Breaking into a run, he shouted over his shoulder. “Now go. Get out of here!”
Grabbing a tablecloth hooked on a shattered table, he wrapped it around his mouth and vanished into the smoke.
For a second, Peter and I didn’t move.
The sounds of war faded a little as opponents slowly became fewer.
All around us scattered the bodies of jewels, Masters, and guards.
Every part of my soul begged to check on the jewels. To drag them to Dr Belford and have her bring them back to life.
Only…the war wasn’t finished.
Not yet.
Giving me an exhausted smile, Peter shrugged. “Together?”
I grinned.
Spying Travis—the Master who’d been the reason we’d had to play Topaz Torment all those months ago—dead with his legs on fire, I staggered toward him and grabbed the pistol still clutched in his hand. Trading it for the dagger Peter gave me, I wasn’t prepared for the metallic weight. The toxic coldness that felt far more sinister than I could handle.
I shoved that weakness away.
“Together.” I nodded.
Peter smiled. “Okay then.”
I wished I felt stronger. Wished I was skilled at this.
But I wouldn’t give up until every last jewel was free.
“Stay behind me. We’ll do a sweep for the jewels and then take them to the south gardens.” Peter stepped around the blazing deck, flicking me a look as I fell into position behind him.
The heat pouring off the bonfire of decking, tables, and chairs, ought to warm the frost in my bones.
It only made me aware how terribly cold I was.
How this cold was different to a usual chill brought on by weather or lack of clothing.
This was internal, insidious, creeping through me at an alarming rate…almost as if pieces of me had started shutting down.
Don’t…
You’re fine.
Keep going.
Breathing hard, I followed Peter as we headed toward the less damaged wing of the fortress. Everywhere we went, stonework had been blasted off and pieces of carved angels scattered the grass in lichen-covered rubble.
Ducking to grab a gun from a dead guard, Peter traded it for his sword. Turning to face me, he went to take my hand. His eyes met mine before skittering over my shoulder.
His smile dropped to terror.
I went to look.
To stare into the calm black gardens where Henri had run off to.