His suit is as black as night, just like Carver’s, and he somehow looks like the sharpest one in the room. It matches his personality perfectly, and I find myself desperate to tear it off him. He’s dressed a lot simpler than Cruz and King, yet it makes him seem so much more unapproachable, but now I know better.
Carver and I get just over halfway when King’s head whips up and I look back at him, watching as he scans the upper mezzanine level of the ballroom with his brows furrowed. “What’s going on?” I murmur as Carver clutches my hand tighter.
He shakes his head ever so slightly. “I don’t—”
King’s loud, booming tone tears through the ballroom as his panicked gaze cuts back to me. “GET DOWN,” he roars just as he reaches for Ember and throws her to the ground.
Carver launches himself at me. His body crashes against mine and as we fall down the stairs with the eyes of the whole organization on us, a deafening, burning explosion tears through the ballroom, throwing Carver and I clear across the room.
BOOM!
CHAPTER 34
Screams tear through the ballroom and my head spins as I fade in and out of consciousness, but as the seconds tick by, the screams only get louder.
My brows furrow as I try to push myself up and have to blink a few times to really see anything that’s going on around me. As I put weight down on my arm a sharp sting cuts through me. I suck in a pained gasp, falling to my other side and glancing down at my arm to find a deep cut just above my elbow.
“Fuck,” I grunt, sucking in a breath through my teeth and rolling over debris until I’m on my back. I push up on my good hand and finally get a look around me.
People are running around as the stairs that I was just standing on with Carver are completely destroyed. The room spins and I blink a few more times, pressing my hand to my head and trying to will the dizziness away.
I look through the screaming people, ignoring the smoke and flames that tear through the room, licking up the walls and catching onto the white decorative drapes hanging from the roof.
I have to find the boys and Ember. Where the hell are they?
“WINTER?”
I hear my name and desperately try to search around but can’t find any of them. My head spins so much that I can’t even work out who’s calling my name.
“WINTER? WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?”
I shakily get to my feet and wobble on my heels, more clearly able to see the horrifying destruction around me. People lay injured on the ground, screaming in agony while parents run around, yelling their children’s names and fearing the worst.
The flames grow quicker, licking up the side of the building as the smoke gets caught in my throat. We have to get out of here before it’s too late, but the stairs are gone, completely torn to pieces. We’re in an underground ballroom. There’s no emergency exit in a room like this. We’re fucking trapped in here.
What the hell am I going to do?
This had to be another attack. Someone let off that explosion, someone in this room who knew exactly where I was on the steps, but Carver … oh, fuck. Carver. He was standing right beside me, in the middle of trying to protect me with his life. If he’s hurt …
My breath comes in short, sharp gasps. I have to help, but I don’t know how. Children are bleeding on the ground while others are caught under big chunks of concrete.
Blood pours from the cut on my elbow and my head continues to spin. I won’t be helping anyone if I pass out from blood loss. I bend down to grip the bottom of my skirt, wiping the tears and dirt off my face. I tear a long, thick piece of tulle from the bottom of my gown and start wrapping it tightly around the cut on my elbow, doing my best to bandage it up. It’s a shitty job, but for now, it’ll have to do.
I start aimlessly moving through the room, having absolutely no idea how to help, but knowing I have to do something. People are dying, children are lost, and a shitload of people are far too close to suffering the effects of smoke inhalation.
“WINTER?”
It sounds like Cruz but my head is too foggy, and the smoke is getting thicker.
As I scan the room, I find a little girl sprawled in the middle of the dance floor. She screams in agony, her leg at a distorted angle as adults race past her, crushing her fingers beneath their shoes and knocking into her, not even noticing her there.
I race toward her, my heart breaking for this sweet, sweet little girl.