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He knows the drill.
“Looks like.” I get to my feet, pull him by the arm. “Let’s take a look.”
Luka hisses out a breath, collapsing against the wall. I look down at him, frowning. “Are you okay?”
“I’m just…give me a second,” he says. “They beat the everloving shit out of me before I got dosed. I just…yeah.”
That doesn’t exactly set me at ease, but I leave him behind, edging toward the door. The commotion grows louder, punctuated by the occasional curse and the unmistakable sound of boots hammering on metal floors. It’s chaos, the kind that says maybe today’s the day we die.
But we’re still breathing, so we’ve got a shot.
“What’s going on?” Luka croaks.
“I don’t know,” I whisper. “There’s something…an attack, maybe?”
My heart picks up a beat, my skin tingling. Goosebumps erupt on my left arm, all the way up to the nape of my neck…
“They’re here,” I whisper.
I don’t know how I know, but I’m fully confident in this—Gunnar and Oberon are on New Eden.
Here to save us.
And I have a hell of a lot of explaining to do.
“What was that?” Luka asks. He’s still on the floor, hunched over.
“The Angels are here,” I whisper. I rush back to him, reaching to help him to his feet. “We need to be ready.”
“Here?” His eyes grow wide with a mix of fear and incredulity. “How do you know?”
“Pack bond,” I explain, no further explanation needed. I manage to get Luka to his feet, but he still leans against the wall. Damn—they must have fucked him up more than I realized. I start looking around for anything we could use as a weapon, coming up empty.
“Ais,” Luka blurts out. “I feel…weird.”
“Define ‘weird.’” I turn, take in his ashen face, the beads of sweat on his brow.
“Like I’m coming apart. Like I need…” His words trail off, but they don’t have to.
I’ve seen this before.
He looks like Oberon did when I helped him detox.
“Shit, you’re going through eros withdrawal.” It hits me like a punch to the gut. “Hang in there.”
“Why aren’t you?” he mutters.
“Because I’m one of the first test subjects, remember?” I look back toward the door. “Can you walk?”
“I would say yes, but I don’t think I’m in full control of my body.”
“Then lean on me.” I offer my shoulder. “We’ll get through this part by part.”
“Always so sure,” he says, but he takes the support.
“Have to be.” I glance back at the door, ears straining for any change in the rhythm of boots and panic outside. “Just…stay close, okay?”
We stay in the corner, ready to move when we need to, mostly waiting for a sign. Gunshots pop and hiss through the concrete walls, each one a jolt to my already frayed nerves. I clutch Luka’s hand tighter, our breaths synchronizing in sharp intakes. We’re sitting ducks here, and if the guards don’t get us, Luka’s condition will.
