Page 8 of Ash Fall

"So, what are we waiting for? We know where they are. Let's go get them. I want the rest of my family back!"

Mars steps toward me and lifts one hand. "You should stay here. This could be dangerous, Luna."

I turn so fast my hair swings into my face. "You know where you can stay? In your own damn lane."

His expression fills with hurt, but he doesn't argue. Good choice. I turn away before that hurt gets a chance to make me feel bad and find Gage standing directly in front of me. His brows pull together, and his mouth opens with that careful expression he gets when he's about to explain why he's being reasonable and I'm not.

"No."

His mouth closes. "I didn't say anything."

"You were about to."

"You don't know that."

"I absolutely know that." I point between him and Torrin. "I have spent the last week sitting in this house with no way to contact any of you and no idea if you were alive. I waited while every terrible possibility ran through my head because there wasn't a single damn thing I could do about it. I'm done waiting."

Gage rubs one hand over his beard.

"I am not staying here like a good little girl while all of you go rescue our family. I'm going, and if you're considering arguing with me, save your energy."

His eyes stay on mine for several seconds before he sighs. "I wasn't going to say good little girl."

"Not the important part, Gage."

"I know."

Torrin reaches for my hand and pulls me against his side. "We all go. I'm not particularly interested in having you out of my sight either."

His thumb moves over my knuckles in a soft sweep and gratitude fills me for his support.

Torrin looks toward the two soldiers. "Will you take us to the warehouse?"

"Yeah, mate," the taller one says. "If you can free the others the way you freed us, we'll help however we can."

The shorter soldier nods. "Most of the lads will too." His gaze moves around the room. "We need to collect Davey before our driver starts wondering where we've gone."

My stomach drops. I don't need to look toward the basement to see him again. One side of his skull is caved in, and his eyes are burned away. The image arrives immediately, in complete and horrible detail.

Torrin feels me tense against him. His arm tightens around my shoulders before he looks at the soldiers. "I'm sorry. Davey's dead."

Both men stare at him. The shorter soldier's face goes blank for a second before his mouth opens. "What?"

"He came downstairs with his rifle on Luna," Torrin says. "Things went bad fast."

The taller soldier looks at me, and anger takes over his face so quickly that I step away from Torrin without thinking.

"It was self-defence," I try and explain. "He had his gun pointed at us. He was going to shoot," my voice catches with guilt. "We didn't want him dead."

The shorter soldier looks past me toward the basement stairs. His eyes close for a second, and when they open again, he looks tired rather than angry. The taller one isn't there yet. His hand jerks toward the rifle hanging from its sling, then stops.

His fingers flex inches away from it, but no matter how hard he strains, his arm won't move any farther. Confusion cuts through his anger, and I understand before he does. Torrin told them they couldn't touch their weapons. The order is still there.

The soldier tries again and gets nowhere.

"Please don't," Torrin says quietly.

The man's head snaps toward him. "He was my mate."