Chapter Fifteen #2
He stepped out of the smoky, raining gloom.
Back in his rightful place as shepherd of the jewels, his fingers wrapped tightly around a sword from the armoury.
His linen trousers singed in places and blackened in others.
Soot dabbled his chest while his handsome face no longer looked kind and protective but ruthless and vicious.
He reminds me of Henri.
Stepping toward us, he held the sword facing downward, but his chest flexed as if ready to swing. “Suri is dead, Kirk. And you will be too if you don’t let Ily go.”
A switch flicked in Kirk’s barely functioning stare. He blinked again and saw reality instead of nightmares. “Oh God. Oh fuck.” Ripping his hands off me, he reeled backward. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay—”
“I have to find her.” His face blanked again, and with a blood-curdling scream, he charged through the smoke and vanished deeper into the fortress.
Peter stepped close and touched my throat, making me jump. His power from before faded a little as his shoulders slouched. “You’re drenched in blood, jaanu.”
I threw myself into him.
I hugged him ever so tight.
He hissed between his teeth as my arms lashed around him. “Gently, Ily. Gently.”
Breaking the hug as quickly as I’d given it, I ducked around him and choked. “Y-Your back.”
Scowling, he turned to face me, preventing me from seeing the twenty lashes he’d earned because of me and my stupid mouth.
“I’m so sorry, Paavak. I didn’t mean—”
“We don’t have time for that. Come.” Grabbing my hand, he carted me into the billowing blackness.
We both coughed as the smoke turned thicker, wetter.
The air dense with two elements fighting each other for supremacy.
He cut into yet another luxurious room and let me go as he stalked toward the side table with a purple silk runner draping over its sides.
Yanking it off the table, he sent a small figurine of a field mouse flying.
I had no idea what he was doing.
“We need to fight with the others,” I rushed. “I need to find Henri.” I staggered a little as my eyesight vanished, then reappeared.
Annoying.
Inconvenient.
Balling my hands, I braced my legs for stability. “Victor ran toward the battlement. He’s probably safe with his snipers by now. We need to figure out a way to—”
“I know.” Marching back to me, he stabbed the sword into the thick carpet and beckoned me to move closer. “Come here.”
“Why? What are you doing?”
Stepping into me with a snarl, he pointed at my silver lingerie.
Well...not so silver anymore.
In fact...most of it was a rich ruby red.
Oh, that’s strange.
I hadn’t killed anyone like Kirk.
Victor hadn’t been bleeding that much, and Mollie barely bled at all.
God, Mollie.
He needs to know.
“Peter...Mollie, she—”
“Don’t. I don’t want to know. Not until after.” Gathering my hair off my sticky shoulders, he ordered, “Apne baal upar karo.” (Hold your hair up.)
I went to obey.
To take my hair that he’d twisted into a ponytail—
Only...somehow, I was on the floor.
And Peter’s face had switched from determined to terrified. “Ily...Ily.”
I frowned and licked my lips. “I-I’m fine.” Something soft lashed around my neck, tying tightly. Tracing my fingers over it, I followed the ends of the purple table runner draping down my chest. “Why...why am I wearing the decorations?”
“You’ve lost a lot of blood.” He swallowed hard, doing his best to hide his fear but drowning in it anyway. “I’ve tried to staunch it. We need to get you to Dr Belford. If she’s even still alive.”
“No. No. No.” I sat up. “I’m fine.”
The room spun around me.
Drunk.
I felt drunk and light and spacey.
Had my food been spiked?
What food?
Ah, so that was the problem.
“I’m just hungry, Paavak. I haven’t eaten in...I can’t remember when.”
“Me too. But I’m not the one who just passed out in my arms.”
“Passed out?” I shook my head. “No, I didn’t. I—”
“It was only for a second. I caught you. You’re okay.
Just...stay behind me, alright? Don’t overexert yourself.
No running. No murdering. I’ll get you upstairs to the doc somehow.
If it’s not on fire. Actually, I should probably get you out of here instead.
We’ll find Belford some other way. Shit, that doesn’t matter.
” He shook away his scattered thoughts. “What does matter is, whatever direction we take, I’m going to have to fight, and I can’t be worrying about you.
” He pinched my chin with shaking fingers.
“Promise me you’ll do what I say and don’t get in the way, alright? ”
I smirked. “You’re sounding more and more like Henri every day.”
He smiled sadly. “Yes, well...I know who I am, and I’m not him.
But...I vow to you if you do what I say, I’ll take you to him.
Just keep breathing for me. Keep that cloth tight around your throat, and don’t remove it.
I have no idea if it will stop your bleeding, but it might buy us a bit more time. ”
“More time?” I struggled to sit up. “I know Victor cut me, but it’s not that deep. Whoever fired that first shot saved my life.”
“That was Stewart. Ben followed. Then the guards they’ve been getting friendly with opened fire.”
“And the explosions that have been going off? Is that really Rachel and Mollie’s handiwork?”
“Carlos got me free when all hell broke loose. He’s the engineer who’s been helping them. He said they gave up on the bleach and household detonations after Victor tortured all those involved and forbade them from ever stepping foot out of the slave quarters unless with a Master.”
“Then how...?”
“The guards have apparently been very generous with their bullets.” He grinned.
“Jin, Sadie, Tanya, and Devi—the new girls who didn’t get punished because they weren’t involved in the first rebellion—took up the fight without telling anyone.
They made explosives out of gunpowder thanks to Jin’s older brother being a bit of a pyro in his youth and rather good at delayed fuses. ”
Another teeth-rattling boom.
Peter threw himself over me, sheltering me as the chandelier swung wildly and dust rained from above.
The entire citadel of Joyero groaned and shuddered. Almost as if it agreed with Peter that gunpowder was far more effective than flower fertilizer and chlorine. The sprinklers cut off as if the latest explosion had either damaged their plumbing or they’d reached the end of their water reserves.
Someone screamed in the distance.
“We have to help them.” I shoved Peter’s bulk. “Let me up.”
Rolling off me, he clambered to his feet. Holding the handle of the sword as a walking stick, he gave me his hand to help me up.
The moment I slipped my fingers into his, everything I’d been ignoring pounced on me in horrible detail.
I wasn’t just lightheaded from hunger or clumsy from exhaustion.
I was ice, ice cold.
Nothing worked quite right.
I was stiff and achy, heavy and lumpish.
Almost as if my body was missing its lifeforce.
The lifeforce currently soaked into my silver negligée.
What if he’s right?
What if I’ve lost too much blood?
Swallowing back my fear, I leaned on him for support.
With a grunt, he hoisted me up.
His arm wasn’t nearly strong enough after two months of torture, but together...we managed.
Standing, he didn’t release my hand.
He was so warm.
So, so warm compared to me. Positively on fire compared to me.
Fire.
Flame.
Henri.
I have to find him.
Before it’s too late...
“Come on.” I tugged my fingers from his and headed with a slight sway toward the door.
“Wait.” Marching beside me, Peter reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out a rusty dagger.
“I got this from the armoury. I don’t know how old it is, but hopefully it holds centuries of protection and accuracy.
” Passing it to me, he ordered, “Only use it if your life is in danger. Do not go stabbing everyone we come across. You get your heart rate up any more than it already is, and you’ll probably die. ”
“I’m not going to die.”
“Regardless.” He smirked to hide his fear. “Let me do the exterminating, okay? I need you still breathing after this.”
Curling my fingers around the dagger, I nodded and kissed his dirty cheek. “I need you still breathing too, Paavak.”
“In that case, let’s get this over with so we can breathe free together.”
Without another word, we slipped into the smoke-thick corridor and hoped we’d be alive come dawn.