“I’m leaving,” Killian said.
Barefoot, Ruby stepped onto the blood-soaked carpet. Killian noticed her limbs were still shaking. “Don’t just leave me here,” she begged. “I am nothing to these people now. They’ll murder me.”
“You’re right. If you don’t leave the towers at once, I can’t promise that you’ll be spared,” he said.
She fell next to him, wrapping her arms around him, begging for her life. “Please,” she said. “Don’t leave me here to die.”
Killian shook her off him and stood up. He felt his wound, wincing as his finger slipped inside the flap of skin. “Damn it all,” he muttered, tense.
The wound itself wasn’t as deep as he thought, but if he didn’t address it soon, he’d pass out from blood loss. Not to mention, he didn’t want to risk infection either. Silently, he turned and walked toward the oil lantern near the door to her bedroom. At the end of the hall were the stairs down to the emergency quarters. He could find a stitches kit inside, alongside alcohol and the other necessities, but he didn’t know where they kept the children.
Outside the windows, he could see the decimation of the city clearly. The fire wrapped the horizon like a warm blanket. Soon, the population would storm the towers. He needed to act hastily.
“Where are they?” he asked.
“In the other wing. You’ll need my fingerprint to get into the room. I can stitch you and take you to your children, but you must promise that you’ll spare my life,” she said.
Killian growled and forced her close by tugging on her nightgown. “I can’t promise you anything. Whatever happens to you is up to Rae,” he said.
“Then, I’ll just have to take my chances,” she said.
He let her go, accidentally scraping his hip against the oil lamp on her desk. The glass shattered, spreading fire around the room. Full-blown panic took over, and he knew they’d have to leave fast.
“Argh, come on!” he shouted. Despite his best intentions, he stumbled out of the room with Ruby, leaning against her shoulder for help.
Chapter Fifteen
The subway car came to a slow stop, and Lucas couldn’t quit eyeing the large towers in the distance. With the cities evacuated, the whole region had been put into a state of emergency. They were hanging on the brink of chaos, and for once, things felt… normal.
“You feel it too?” Vash asked.
Lucas turned away from the window, feeling his throat tighten. Those who followed their lead shot aimlessly from the broken car windows. He understood the next few hours might be the hardest. Rae was still missing, as was Killian. There was no guarantee they could get them back.
“I just want to put things back together again,” he said.
“You and me both, brother,” Vash said.
When the doors opened, Vash stood and addressed the men. “It’s about a mile from here. Let’s move, but be prepared to fight.”
One of the escapees loaded a shotgun, but his eyes remained fixed on Lucas. There was an eerie silence around the area, and things definitely felt like the calm before a storm. “Where is the Republic’s military? They should be sending mortars in our direction.”
Lucas bit his cheek and stepped out onto the platform. The man was right, but he didn’t have the answer. Either Killian subdued the generals, or… well, he didn’t want to think about the alternatives.
Instead, Lucas stood tall, as a leader should. He felt the icy fear pump from his heart, but it did not stop him from grinning. “I’m sure we’ll meet the defensive front soon enough.”
But they didn’t. As they ran through the landscape, the wind howled, and some explosions could be heard in the distance, but there were no soldiers waiting to dismantle their cause. A chilly mist spread over the long stretch of land. The nearer they got to the towers, the more shocking the destruction appeared. The tower to the right was falling apart. The flames whipped violently against the air, sucking in all of the oxygen it could get to spread down.
The siege was right out of Cassian’s old playbook. War—endless war. That was the alphas natural state, and every time someone vowed to change things, the world only got worse. It was part of an alpha’s nature to think one was smarter than the past, but history had shown them the truth of it all. As they stormed the gates and ran up the beautifully carved steps of the towers, Lucas knew they might make the same mistakes if they didn’t find Rae, their voice of reason.
But this battle was different. They weren’t fighting to keep the old systems in place. Nor were they fighting for a new way of life. They were fighting for her. Beyond that, they were fighting for her love.
Rae suffered unjustly for them, and though it seemed as if they had lost, the world was now waiting for her to rise up and save them. Eternal war would break most women, but she never gave up. Wherever she was, Lucas knew she’d come back like the morning star. And once she did, he’d stand by her side forever.
The acrid smell of stale gunpowder swathed his nasal cavities. He reached the door and saw the dead guards. As he entered the tall building, they stepped down in pools of blood. Despite the gore and carnage, the place seemed nearly empty. “Where the fuck is the military?”
Before Vash could respond, they were met with heavy gunfire. They shot back, and their targets dropped like flies. Vash ran forward and checked the guards for some extra magazines and weapons. Finding a pulse wave grenade, he tossed it back to Lucas who tossed it against his palms before catching it.
“There they are!” Vash called out.