“Addie!” Zane searched with his eyes for a way out as he knelt beside me.
I let out a quiet laugh. I was slipping away. Hadn’t planned it to happen, but it turned out to be the only way I could convince him to free the men trapped here so long ago. The men of the Project Onyx. My lovers.
I rolled onto my back and jarred the blade from my stomach, wrist shaking in the air. My body felt so heavy, but every movement was weak. More blood fell from my mouth this time. My extremities began losing sensation.
Unexpectedly, Zane held my head upright. There was a strange amount of emotion stamped on his face, unlike his usual look of self-concern. He was more worried about the fact I was still alive, and I still had that detonation box safe in my bag.
I choked and coughed, but my eyes trailed his movements. His hands went through my pockets. He took my identification card, as well as the bag still hung around my shoulders. “I’m...” he cleared his throat. “Well, I’m sorry, okay? I tried to warn you.”
I could hear my men coming. As my vision started to twist, turn, and fade, I saw the bright flames spread through the ceiling. Purification. I would die for them, lie down and accept it so long as they got a life on the outside.
“I just wish you had known better,” I whispered, too exhausted to keep spea
king.
Zane leaned over me and felt my pulse. His expression turned from sadness to confusion. Why the hell wasn’t I dying? “Well, Addie. This is it,” he said. “You only get once chance to leave this place, and I have to make it out fast.”
What did he know about chances? It was approximately day three in this realm, and I had already learned so much with some help. I had more than enough tricks up my sleeve, and I sure as hell didn’t need anyone to tell me how to die.
“I just have one last request,” I whispered.
He gave a fake, but warm smile. “Anything.”
Quicker than any soldier in the field, I grabbed his collar and forced him close to me. His lips were right above mine. This was the last kiss he’d ever get from me, the thrust of a cold blade, tearing up and through his stomach lining. I drove so deep I was sure his guts might follow, so I rolled away and started to scream. I was horrified by my actions, but it had to be done. He wasn’t going to save them, but I would.
“In here,” I screamed.
Footsteps growing closer...
“Mag!”
Voice losing energy.
“Donovan.”
Eyes drooping. Feeling heavy.
“Cadma—”
Consciousness gone.
This place, if anything, was proof that the unexplainable could indeed exist. No matter what, my soul would rage on. But the ruin of space would offer one livid final flame.
13
Magnus
“Blood has been shed. I can sense it,” I said, sweeping across the mountainside. The rest of the guys kept their mouths shut, but they knew it to be true. The scent of rich iron was all over the place. The smell wasn’t as succinct as I would have liked it to be. My nose, for all it was worth, couldn’t pick up what body it came from.
I’ll murder every last human if she’s dead. I didn’t dare speak my thoughts aloud. They had already gone through enough. Losing her for a second time would be too much. Maybe I could handle it, but they sure as fuck couldn’t. If she had fallen prey to Zane’s traps, it would be the last straw on the camel’s back.
Zane found the source of our exit, the monolithic slab connecting the realms. The humming had grown much louder as we roved through the region. There were plenty of climbs and, for a second, I wondered just how far we were. It had been years since I had come back here. We’d tried to escape, but nothing worked. I stopped going back a long time ago.
But when we ran up the last hill, I saw the decimation burn spectacularly below. I nearly stumbled before sliding to a stop. “Donovan, don’t—”
I wanted to shield him before he could see the destruction, but it was much too late. His muscles flexed, eyes turning a malicious and targeted red. The three of us followed, diving back into the instincts that hadn’t yet let us down. We scanned the burning buildings, searching out the specific heat patterns humans emanate.
“There she is,” Donovan called out, pointing. I focused on her unmoving body, and I could not concentrate. “Greenhouse, number four. Fifty meters. She is hurt.”