His brows lower a little. “What is it?”
“I don’t know.”
He cocks his head to the side. “You remember me. You know who I am. You have your memories back, right?”
“I mean, yes, but … Wait. How do you know that?”
“Valen. He sent me a message, too, right after Fatima’s, looking for some way to get you off the continent. I haven’t had time to respond. Well, honestly, I didn’t agree with his plan. We need you here.Ineed you.” His gaze bores into me.
“Valen told you to send me away?” I guess my speech about him not being the boss of me didn’t land like I thought. Here he is, still trying to dictate every step I take.
“That doesn’t matter anymore.” Gage smiles again. “I’ve got you.”
“Oh.” I glance at the helicopter, the blades turning slowly now.
“Georgia?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re free now. We can go. There’s a base—it’s safe. Tons of humans, all of them working on fighting this war and saving lives. That’s where you belong. Understand?”
“Right.” Still, I linger, my gaze jumping between the dark garden doors and the helicopter.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Are you afraid Valen will come for you?” His jaw goes tight as he takes my hand.
“No. I mean, yes. He wouldn’t want me to leave. I …”
“You don’t have to worry about him. He’ll never touch you again, Georgia. You’re with me now.” He squeezes my hand. “I’ll protect you.”
My mouth is dry, my heart hammering. I can’t go. Not now. When Valen gets back, we’ll work out a way to get me what I need to recreate the poison. After that?—
He steps closer. “When Wyatt and Evie see you, they might?—”
“What?” My eyes go wide. “Wyatt and Evie are alive?”
He nods. “They’re working right now at the lab I told you about. The only part they’re missing is you.”
My eyes sting and water. “They’re really alive?” My voice shakes. “I thought they were—the convoy to Atlanta, it was destroyed. They’re alive?”
“Yes.” He wipes a tear from my cheek. “And they’re waiting for you. Now let’s go. We’re burning daylight.” Wrapping an arm around my waist, he guides me from beneath the tree and toward the helicopter.
I walk, confusion and hope both dancing through my heart. Just the thought of seeing my friends again is enough to keep me walking, to keep me heading toward the helicopter.
But there’s something else inside, too. A pull. One that tells me to stay right where I am. My steps slow. Valen. I should wait for him to come back and tell him about this plan.
“Almost there, Georgia.” Gage tightens his hold.
“Maybe I should talk to Valen first. I think?—”
“Valen?” He scoffs. “The bastard who kept you prisoner this whole time? I practically begged him to release you to me. He wouldn’t do it.” He glowers. “You can’t trust him. You know that, right? He’s one of them.”
“I know, but he’s not like them.”
He gives me a sobering look. “I could give you report after report of the people he’s murdered in cold blood, Georgia. Hundreds, thousands. He’s a killer. The Specter. He has some sort of obsession with you, but in the end, he’ll kill you, too. That’s what he does to humans.Allhumans.” Without warning, he lifts me off my feet and carries me the final distance to the helicopter. As he hands me up to a waiting soldier, the pulling sensation behind my ribs only grows.
Gage climbs up.
“I think I should talk to—” The noise of the engine cuts me off, the helicopter shifting, and I grab one of the hanging straps to keep from falling.
