Page 129 of A Cruel Kindness

Muli had played their hand, destroying our camp, our resources, and our way back to get more.

Our only solace seemed to be that most of the private cabins remained in tact.

“What was that?!” Esme screamed, running up from the stables. Her eyes flicked briefly to Ford before settling on the Bridge. Her breath caught, her eyes blowing wide.

“You okay?” Ford asked, but Esme brushed him off.

“Why are you up?” she asked me. “Wait, where is Bellamy?”

“She went back to the cabin to grab some stuff for us just in case. She’s okay. I wouldn’t have let her go if she wasn’t.” Something weird happened on Esme’s face then.

There was a moment where she seemed relieved that Bellamy was okay, even as our world burned down around us.

Then panic fled her expression so fast I almost missed it before she took off sprinting away from us.

♣

Bellamy

Elijah must really hate us.

Whether it was a personal vendetta against me, or Soren, or some combination of the two or just a general mean streak, it was clear that he was out to get us in some capacity.

Because I was standing in front of our cabin, watching it burn to the ground.

I’d heard an explosion rock the camp from somewhere distant, but I couldn’t bring myself to move.

I was frozen in shock, unable to do anything but watch as the structure that had been the closest thing to home I had, collapsed on itself under raging flames.

I’d just made it in time to grab a few things. Soren would probably kill me for going in at all, but the flames hadn’t climbed to the roof yet when I’d gotten here.

I’d dipped a bandana in water from the river before rushing inside. The fire was mostly contained to the kitchen at first, spreading back to the bathroom connected to Esme and Ford’s bedroom.

Mine and Soren’s bags were still pretty full from our trip back home, so those were easy to toss outside. It took a little more maneuvering for Esme and Ford. Their bathroom was lost to the flames, but I was able to get the go-bag Ford had conveniently stashed in their closet.

Always prepared, that one.

For Esme, I went right for her jewelry. Her case of rich metal was stored in the closet, so I swiped that and a handful of her clothes, looking back in pain as I watched a wooden beam collapse over their sink and smother her toiletries in flames.

That had been my cue to leave.

I’d managed to run a good distance away from the cabin before my shock took over and my feet planted into the ground, unable to move as I watched the structure burn.

Not even the explosion got my attention.

It was Soren’s voice that did it.

“BELLAMY!” he yelled at me, surely to tell me to get the hell away from the fire. Clover nudged my stomach, as if she was agreeing with him that I needed to move.

“I’m okay!” I yelled back at him as Lucky approached. Soren didn’t even wait for him to stop before he jumped off his back and ran toward me, crushing me to his chest.

“The Bridge is gone,” he said against my hair as he hugged me.

“Gone?” That didn’t seem right.

Soren smoothed his hand down my hair, then explained. “They blew it up. It’s still under there, but it will take us time to uncover. They burned fucking everything.”

“I got our bags,” I said, the sounds muffled against his shirt. That wasn’t really an appropriate response, but shock hardly ever was. “Some of Esme and Ford’s stuff too.”