26. Varkul
Varkul
The entire facility burns .
Sparks rain from broken fixtures. Sirens wail like dying animals. The stretch of smoke, blood, and scorched metal fills the air.
My clan has outdone itself.
Through it all, I run — with her in my arms.
Evelyn clings to me, arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders as I barrel through a collapsing corridor. Guards shout behind us. Bullets crack against the walls.
“Keep your head down,” I growl, shielding her body with my own as I round a corner and take the stairs two at a time.
They will not take her from me again.
We burst through a door. For the first time in a long time, air, proper Xavros air hits me. It’s glorious.
The endless sky stretches overhead, filled with stars. Freedom is so close I can taste it.
Orcs roar somewhere nearby A human transport shuttle waits near the edge of the launch pad, humming with power.
I spot Garomshir there, waving at me, his massive frame barely fitting inside the thing.
That’s our exit.
I rush towards it and only when we reach the platform do I set Evelyn down.
“We made it,” she says.
“Not yet,” I say. “But you are with me — and I do not lose what is mine.”
“Warlord,” Garomshir says. “Took you long enough.”
Evelyn and I scramble into the shuttle as another explosion rocks the compound. Debris falls from a nearby roof. Alarms scream behind us.
The doors seal behind us. The engines ignite. And just like that, we are gone .
Evelyn collapses into the seat next to me, finally letting out a deep breath. I wrap an arm around her and pull her close, and her soft frame melts into me.
“What now?” she asks.
I rest my chin on her head and inhale the scent of her hair.
“Now,” I say, “we go home .”