Ava's POV From the mansion, the streets melted together. My heartbeat had hardly slowed since we departed; every flicker of headlights behind us made my heart leap. Eli's jacket pocket kept the data firmly in place, but the weight of what we had done hovered about like a dense fog."Are you nice??" Eli's hands grabbing the steering wheel shattered the silence.I nodded, though the fact was far more complicated. "I'm ok." Mostly trying to catch my breath.His eyes went to the rearview mirror in search of any sign of pursuit. "We made it out," he said, as though trying to convince himself. Marconi, though, will not let this slide.I grasp. I found the weight of what we opposed returning to me. "Do you believe he realized?"Not at the moment, Eli answered, his mouth firm. "But he will shortly." The second will come for us; he discovers nothing amiss or even traces of betrayal.I drew hard, the understanding sinking in. We have to remain ahead of him then. Where from here should I be goi
Eli's POV Marconi's voice slinked across the night, spasming my spine. I made myself cool even if the weight of our situation crashed on me. Ava halted next to me, and I grasped her hand firmly. Her breath stopped Not just now; we couldn show fear.Marconi entering the dim light stated, "You have been quite the thorn in my side, Eli." His attire was beautiful, his grin predatory. To be very honest, I find it really impressive. Most people seldom remain this long.Retaining a forceful voice, I shot back, "I aim to disappoint." Every phrase was intentional, every second a chance to get away. Every minute to consider.Marconi laughed a deep, terrifying note. "Brave words for a man on the run."I went gently to sleep between Ava and him. "What then do you want, Marconi?"His eyes gleamed with entertainment. "My ideal has always been control. Eli, you have been too long meddling in my life. And today you have included this lovely woman into it. such a loss.Ava stayed rigid next to me, bu
Eli and I staggered along the black lane, our breaths raspy and mixing with the coolness of the night as the wind swept over her hair. Every stride seemed like a curse as much as a success. Marconi was gone, but so was any sort of protection we might have grabbed. My ideas flew, every one darker than the next. I looked at Eli; his face was pallid and his gait was heavy."You have to relax," I advised, sounding worried. Blood flowed across the improvised bandage around his side. You are bleeding way too much.He shook his head, his eyes flashing. Away from here. We have to move farther away.Though it would not make any difference, I knew he was right. Every fall, every grimace that graced his face tightened my heart. We persisted, negotiating tight spaces until we came to an abandoned warehouse. The door creaked open with a reluctance that matched our tiredness, and we stepped into the heavy air gathering in all about.Eli leaned against the wall and slid down till he was on the chill
Ava’s POVThe suspense in the atmosphere was as dense as the blackness all around us. Lucia's motions quickly and deliberately led us down twisting lanes and across abandoned streets. I kept beside Eli, each stride reminding us of how dangerous our circumstances were. Though he had severe bruises, he persisted, his jaw tightened with will."Are we almost at it?" I murmured, the quiet of the city weighing down on me.Lucia said, "Close," with an almost discernible voice. She didn't slow, and I sensed she was testing us—watching our distance before we broke. I resolved not to let her experience of me faltering satisfy her.At last we came to a generic structure with an uninteresting outside. Lucia keyed in a combination on the corroded keypad, and the door creaked open to see a dimly illuminated stair spiral below. She signaled for us to come in."After you," she said, her voice as cutting as the knife she held fastened to her thigh.I hesitated, then looked at Eli. His eyes locked with
Eli's POV From the shadow of the safe house, the air loaded with expectancy pressed down on me. We had just recovered our breath after the warehouse attack, yet here we were once more choosing our next move. "They're more powerful than you think," Lucia said, and her words stayed in my thoughts as a grim reminder of the web we had joined. She was not stretching too far. Every victory seemed like a modest ripple against an unrelenting stream.Ava sat across from me, looking grimly and with worn eyes. Benevolent resolution, nevertheless, underlies the tiredness—a powerful light not going to dim. I loved her even though I worried about what it would cost us both.Breaking the silence, Adrian said, "We need to know who their next target is." He was dominating, his appearance relentless. Every action they undertake will be purposeful, a response to what we have done."Which means they will come at us harder," Lucia muttered, sounding low and bitter. "You believe it would be enough to scar
Ava’s POVThe air heavy with the stink of perspiration and anxiety, the walls of the poorly illuminated room felt closer than they were. Our run from the wreckage had rocked me. The informant's whispering voice persisted in my head: "There is one among you... one who is not what they seem." It bit me, turning every look, every phrase into something dark.Eli moved tense with stress as he walked back and forth. Sharp shadows on his face came from the dim light of one flickering bulb. His mouth closed and he said, "It doesn't make sense." "How can we be sure he was not merely trying to rattle us?"From the corner, Lucia whispered, "We can't," her eyes never leaving Eli. But we would be idiots to dismiss it.Adrian leaned with arms folded on the wall. Trust is like playing a risky game. As always is the case."Easy for you to say," I fired back, the sharpness in my voice stronger than I meant. "You have been hiding things from the time we first met."His eyes clouded, but he did not rise
Eli’s POVAva roused across from me, her face pallid and wan. When she saw her injuries, my chest contracted. It was like a sledgehammer as I remembered Adrian's treachery. I battled next to him and trusted him. Trust was ashes at this point."Ava," I said, my voice raspy. Are you alright?She blinked confusedly, then turned to look at me. Eli, we have to leave here."I know," I murmured, pushing myself to sit up. A nasty reminder of our circumstances, the shackles encircling my wrists shook. First, though, we must have a strategy.I stiffened as footsteps reverberated in the passage past the bars. A guard came up; shadows covered his face. Stopped in front of the cell, he wore a weird smile."Comfortable?" he snipped, metal-rod hitting the bars. Your friend will be here shortly.I bit back a response while my mind flew. Adrian was on route. The idea sent out a flash of wrath that briefly eclipsed the suffering. He had answers—answers I meant to get regardless of the price.The guard
Ava's POVThe bruises from past stillings seared on my wrists as the cold metal of the shackles burnt. Though I battled it, I could feel tiredness dragging down on me. Eli was still asleep as they hauled him off. For him, for us, I had to keep it together.It was not intended to be this way. The treachery of Adrian ached more than I could have conveyed in words. I had come to trust him. Each of us had trusted him. Now, though, that trust was destroyed beyond repair and we were trapped in a cell devoid of hope and strategy—yet something inside me resisted to accept that. I could not let it finish this way.The quiet of the cell was stifling, broken only by the faint sound of footfall emanating from some down the way. The door creaked open, and my heart surged as a shadowy figure entered."Lucia?," I asked With a rough voice.The shadow nodded and entered totally into the low light. Her eyes were keen, deliberate, yet just now they revealed something else I hadn't seen before. Possibly
Turning to watch Jackson barreling into the clearing, his wolf form was magnificent and horrible. He wasted no time flinging himself at the closest renegade with a passion that astounded me.Though brief, relief washed over me. The shadows moved once again, as a fresh person entered the area.He was towering and intimidating, with nasty glistening eyes. "Well, isn't this touching?," he said in a sarcastic voice. The courageous Luna and her warriors.Marcus, I spat, venomous in my voice.He grinned and looked over the devastation. Ava, I cautioned you. One cannot run from the past. And you most definitely cannot run from me.He lifted his hand before I could reply, and a flash of black energy rushed at me. I tuned myself, but it never hit.Riley launched himself in front of me with full assault might."No!." As he sank to the ground, his wolf shape flickering before he turned back into his human nature, I shouted.Jackson hissed, blazingly angry eyes guiding him toward Marcus. Marcus w
I'm locked in. No one knows how to get out. I detect it. Panic claws at the margins of my thoughts, my pulse thuds in my ears. Here's how we got here. How rapidly did things spiral?My fingers shake at my sides, and my brain runs for any answer. But not at all. Only me, powerless here. Levi... God, Levi's blood is staining the concrete and I am unable to stop it."Please, Marcus," I say, my voice breaking with need. "Please, please do not do this. I will do anything, I promise to God. Anything your wish is for. Just try not to damage him. kindly.He tilts his head as if he is thinking about what I said, and he smiles sickeningly. His firm hold on the pistol narrows. "Everything? You believe you still have something worth offering me?Though I'm not sure what I anticipate, Marcus fires before I could respond.The gunshot had an unbearable sound.But it's not me.My heart rushing, blood hammering in my ears, I automatically lower to the ground. Turning, eyes wide, I see something that s
I cannot lose you once more, Evie. Not like this. Not once again.Levi's voice is a harsh whisper on my skin; his words pierce the shroud of uncertainty and anxiety clouding my head. His hands quiver as they draw me in, his warmth sustaining me in this whirl of anarchy.In my chest, my heart beats wild and chaologically. Though everything seems to be disintegrating, I find it difficult to distance myself from him. His words and his touch really felt so authentic and honest. The pain I went through upon believing I lost him may easily overwhelm me once more. But the danger—that of Marcus—that is all too real. Too perilous.My voice quivering, I say, "I'm not going anywhere." "But we have to—”I swivel around, heart jumping into my throat, the sharp sound of cracking glass cutting me short. Under the low light of the alley, the figure's shadow blocks the passage. Breath freezes in my throat.He's it. Marcus?"You thought you could escape me, didn't you?," said Given the circumstances, h
Though I can't concentrate on anything except the heat of Levi's fingers clutching mine, the planet is disintegrating all around me. Knowing we have limited time, my heart is racing not only from anxiety but also from the intense feeling that this may be the final time I spend with him."Levi, we have to go—now, my voice quakes with panic."With his clenched jaw, he draws me in and I can see the weight of what we have gone through in his eyes. Though he is staring at something I cannot yet see, his dark and strong eyes convey everything I need to know: danger is near. overly near."I am not leaving you," he adds, his voice a hoarse growl of will. "Not again.."I wonder whether he is speaking to himself or to me. Still, I feel it. The truth was found in his comments. Everything we have endured weighs less now than this. Marcus, the falling stone walls—the improbable chances—we have come so far; now, everything depends on this one instant.Hearing the sound of feet behind us—faint at fi
The man slanted his head slightly, as though entertained by my query. "I am the one dragging the threads straight from the darkness. The one waiting for this turning point. And about what I wish for... The person fixed cold, objective eyes on me. "You have to decide something. a decision meant to either rescue or ruin everything.With fast, shallow breaths, Evie's hand tightened in mine. "Levi," she said, her voice breaking with terror. "please. You really have to trust me. Choose not to pay attention to him."The person advanced still another step, their gaze narrowing. " Trust her?" They laughed dimly. "How can you believe someone who hardly knows her? Someone who from the beginning has been lying to you?Turning to Evie, the weight of her words etched in my chest. "Is that true? Evie... I asked, hardly sure I could keep my voice steady. "What then is happening? Not what are you not telling me?"The voice of the stranger came out once again, louder now before she could respond. Levi
Varian's smile grew wider, his eyes shining with a terrible, nasty pleasure. "To release a power outside your comprehension. She belongs to a lineage of entities designed to transform our planet. And her blood? It is the essence of everything.My heart came to a standstill. Blood, please. What was he referring to?"Don't listen to him, Levi," Evie urged, her voice cracking and desperation leaking through the gaps. "He's lying. He is controlling you. He usually has.But Varian turned her aside, staring just at me. His tone caustic, he spat, "You don't get it, do you, Levi?" She is not any ordinary person. She is the one who may bring either the birth of a new world or the end of this one. And you, he added, his eyes narrowing, "you're standing in my way."I knew nothing about what to do. What Varian was saying eluded me in terms of logic. All I knew, all I believed was real, was disintegrating.Once more I looked at Evie, but she was shaking her head and tears were running down her che
"Levi, please, just trust me!" Now she was trembling, her voice a combination of terror and something more—a plea, a warning. " This thing... it's after me."My ears could hear my pulse pound. Her comments have weight like those of a goods train. "Once you?" I asked, voice just a whisper. "Evie, you are hunting this thing?"The beast howled before she could reply, the sound splintering the air. I halted momentarily, not sure what was happening; it was like the roar of a beast and the wail of a dying man.I turned back to Evie, but her gaze had altered. Now, there was something icy about it—a resolution that froze me right down. "Levi, you have to go." At now. Before it becomes too late.I shook my head, shoved her behind me. "Not a probability. I am not bidding you farewell here.She grasped my arm, her hold overly strong. You must have. Should we not, it will wipe us both. Ask kindly.She kept me steady as I attempted to back off. Her eyes softened, only a little, as though she were
A terrible, all-consuming terror seized my chest as the world darkened. My senses went wild and I could feel everything falling down right away. My sole anchor was the firm hold on my shoulder; my breath came in short spurts. Desperate for anything, anything to grip, I reached out.Levi... Evie's voice sounded far-off, a faint whisper that accentuated the terror chewing at me. "Levi, what's happening?"I had no retort for her. The gloom seemed overly weighty, too oppressive. Something cold pushed, metallic, and sharp pressed on my flesh; I automatically withdrew attempting to get away.Riley, the woman, leaned forward grinning wickedly from her lips. "You really thought you had control, didn't you?" Her voice sent chills up my spine like ice."Let him run!" Stronger now, Evie yelled, her voice tinged with an underlying horror I couldn't ignore.Riley's hold tightened, dragging me even nearer. Though it was pointless, I battled her grasp. Her strength felt surreal, as though she drew f
The planet appeared to spin at that instant. A huge crack sounded far away, then a deep, rumbling sound shook the earth underneath. The very ground seemed to be complaining, straying under the weight of something far more potent than I could understand.The shadows moved suddenly, then the unmistakable sound of shackles rattling. From the distance, a weak glow flickering revealed a shadowy figure rising from the gloom.Her face was hidden yet her shape was silhouetted against the low light. Her motions frenetic as she twisted and tugged, I could see her trying against the chains but she was nowhere."Evie!," My heart was hammering in my chest, I yelled. "Don't—,"The man's grasp tightened on my arm, pressing till it seemed as though the bones in my wrist were about to break before I could finish. "Don't waste your breath," he remarked frigantly. She had already left.Fury blazing in my chest, I turned to confront him. "You are lying!"But another crack louder this time rang in the dis