AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Trust you in an underground death-trap tunnel now?” Rek said angrily, growling through his teeth. “I’ll take my chances with Gretta.”
“Suit yourself,” Evelyn snarled in retort.
Gently, I touched Rek’s arm. “We have no other choice. Remaining here would be suicide.”
Rek stared at my hand and then up to my face.
“She’s right,” Killian grumbled. He interlocked his fingers behind his head and forcefully released them at his sides with a huff. “Let’s go.”
“No,” Bruno said as he held his palms up in front of us. “You’ll not be coming with us.”
“What?” Jo spat, anger evident in her tone and on her face.
Bruno walked backward, bumping into Evelyn, who was watching her guard with a narrowed gaze. “Ms. Evelyn and I will be going to the air chamber. You're on your own.”
“Bruno.” Evelyn balked. “That is preposterous. We shall all take shelter in—” She stopped talking. Her face paled and she clutched her stomach, shaking her head and taking another step back. “No. Bruno, no. Please.”
He lowered his arms and shifted away from us to face her. “We built a life safe from their chaos here, Ms. Zhou. And I’ll be damned if anyone comes in and tears that away from us. Let them battle it out amongst themselves. I’ll keep you safe, and Varium. We don’t need any of this. Just give them the key and be done with it.”
“Bruno,” Evelyn murmured. “How long do you believe it will be before it is us thatthey want? My power. Our advancements? Give them the key, only for it to be stolen and fall into the hands of our enemies?”Tears began streaming down her face. “It was you…” She trailed off in a near whisper.
It was in that moment that my heart shattered for the grief splayed across Evelyn’s features. The man she trusted most, the one person she trusted most in this world, had just sold us out. And she’d had no idea.
Bruno appeared ashamed before he reached over and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder. “I swore to protect you and I will.”
“Unhand me this instant,” she shrieked, beating her fists against his back and kicking him in the crown jewels.
With a pained “oof,” Bruno fell to his knees, and Evelyn scrambled away from him, breathing heavily. “Stay away from me.”
Suddenly, the sun was blocked completely, and darkness overshadowed our small group.
“Hit the ground,” Killian shouted.
I fell face-first onto the sand, spitting it out of my mouth, while it blew upward into my face.
The Phantom Saber landed hard and slid across the beach only a few paces in front of us. “What the bloody hell?” Killian shouted over the din of the engines sputtering and switching off.
“A bit of a rocky landing, but we’ve got it sorted now,” Jasper called over the side of the ship.
“If you damaged my airship, Jasper, I’ll kill you,” Killian said as he rose from the sand, brushing off his tunic and trousers. “On board, you lot. We’ll see if we can’t outrun her. Or at least get her with our newfound magic-caster crew.”
“Evelyn, we must go,” Bruno said.
However, Evelyn scurried to her feet and took several more steps away from him.
“I’ll not bring that woman to Varium,” Bruno continued. You must know, she can’t get away, knowing about this place. About the dome.”
“Yet, you already have. Clean up your own mess,” she said and moved toward me. “I’m coming with you. You will need me, anyway.” In true Evelyn fashion, she refused to apologize for her guard, nor should she have to. However, she would fight alongside us, and that meant much more to me than any “sorry” ever could.
“We would be happy to have you,” I said honestly.
“Speak for yourself,” Jo muttered as she brushed past the two of us toward Killian’s ship.
We boarded quickly—all except Bruno—and prepared the ship to launch from its semi-crashed location on Hellhole Island. Killian shouted orders to his crew, and with a jolt and a few minor quakes, we were lifting off the ground, rising to meet Gretta.
I took my place next to Killian. “She’ll never stop hunting us.” I sighed.
“Aye.” Killian studied the skies as Gretta and her airships flew in our direction. “We can’t outrun her. Not here. Not for long.”
