Lost Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 4)

It’s about thirty feet in the air, which is weirdly placed right in the middle of nowhere. Mother Nature might not have been the one to put all these rocks here.

Leah stays on my trail, following close behind. As soon as we reach the top, my eyes catch sight of blond hair way down on the other side. When I look down better, my breath catches in my lungs.

Zee is shirtless, and so is Chaz. My eyes become transfixed on the lines of muscle and ink. His ink is different from mine. Mine are the marks of a slave. His are the marks of free will.

Why is he shirtless? Why is Zee?

Chaz’s muscles bunch and flex as he moves aside rocks with silence and calculation. He’s quick and efficient, lifting boulders the size of me. I catch myself before I sag to the ground like an idiot.

Now is so not the time to be a freaking girl.

Leah’s lips are quirked in a knowing grin when I snap out of the trance and glare at her.

“Don’t say it. You’re wrong,” I whisper to her, ignoring the heat on my face as I start silently making my way down the slope to where Chaz and Zee are working together.

“Of course I’m wrong,” Leah whispers back, but she sounds like she’s mocking me.

I don’t like feeling ridiculous or silly. I feel both right now.

I’m here to save a child, possibly get a chance to speak with Ella, and then go back where I belong to prepare for a real war.

I’m not here to forget I’m a soldier.

Chaz looks up, and Leah stumbles when she sees the black flames inside his eyes. The black fire almost looks alive instead of like an image.

My eyes widen, because he’s giving himself away. Instead of acting like he cares, he resumes moving the rocks.

Zee meets my eyes, his gaze narrowing like he’s waiting for me to say something. He’d probably like to know what the hell those freaky eyes mean.

Leah is too new to our world to really understand. She’s learning new immortals daily.

I say nothing, and Zee’s lips tense as he studies me. Chaz finishes what he’s doing just as Leah and I drop down to the ground. His eyes don’t shift from their freaky black fire inside his dark orbs. I keep expecting flames to actually spark to life and blaze from his sockets.

“Stay silent. There’s a bunker under us,” Chaz whispers, his tone so quiet I barely hear him.

Leah nods, and I force myself to do the same. I test my powers, feeling the energy coursing through me. My fingertips buzz with red energy, and I take a steadying breath.

I spent my life being weak. Submissive. Pathetic.

I love fighting now. I’ll never stop fighting again.

It feels good to fight back instead of feeling helpless.

“Stay here,” Zee whispers to Leah, stroking her cheek affectionately.

“Not a chance,” she hisses.

His lips thin, but he can’t argue out here where everyone might overhear.

I’ve never had anyone look at me the way he looks at her.

People only pay me attention now because Slade speaks to me. He doesn’t speak to the others unless he’s barking orders or making threats. But because he speaks to me, no one else will. They all treat me like I’m diseased or will tattle on them to Slade if they say something they shouldn’t.

It sucks. Annnnnd now I sound as whiny as Simone—who can’t handle Slade’s constant rejection.

Zee takes the lead, and Leah follows close behind. I start to step

in, but a heavy hand comes down on my waist and hauls me against a strong body.