Chapter 72 - Luna
Frustration claws at me as I shove past Mars, the heavy tension from the storage room still clinging to my skin. What the hell is he doing here? Where has he been for the last two years? Why come back now?
He follows me out, his voice low, saying my name like it still belongs to him. I throw up a hand, slicing the air between us, telling him without words to shut the fuck up. His fingers brush my arm, and I shake him off so hard my shoulder aches. He doesn’t get to touch me anymore.
I’m halfway toward the stairs when heavy boots pound against them. A soldier appears at the bottom, surprise flashing across his face when his eyes bounce between Mars and me. For a heartbeat, we all freeze. Then his rifle comes up, the dark mouth of the barrel staring straight at me.
“On your knees!” he barks, voice harsh with authority that doesn’t belong here.
Fear spikes through me, but fury roars over it like a wildfire. How dare he storm into my house, point a gun at me? My house. My safe place.
Dark shadows swirl up from the floor around my boots, curling higher like smoke, while a pale white glow pushes against them, battling for space. The soldier’s eyes widen. His finger twitches toward the trigger.
Behind him, I’m shocked to see Torrin barreling down the stairs with a baseball bat raised high over his head, his face twisted in grim determination.
It all happens at once… shadows erupt from the floor and white light bursts outward blindingly, glass shatters somewhere close, and a sickening crack fills the air.
The sound echoes in my bones, vibrating with the promise that nothing will ever be the same again.
To be continued in Ash Fall, Book 2 of the Fractured Series