Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 111 - Chapitre 118

A clock started ticking in my head the moment the door closed behind Cassien. Tic. Toc. Each second felt like a hammer striking against my skull, loud and insistent and impossible to ignore. I ground my teeth together, the pressure almost painful as I forced myself to pull together. I reminded myself of what to do in situations like this, what I'd been trained for at the academy when everything went to hell. Don't give way to panic. It was the fastest way to get killed. Panic made you sloppy, made you miss things, made you dead. So I braced myself, pulling air deep into my lungs and holding it there until my hands stopped shaking. I turned the gun in my hand, checking the weight of it, the familiar grip grounding me as I faced Elias.Elias had no crass jokes up his sleeves, no teasing remarks or witty comments to lighten the mood. The constant tick on his jaw was the only thing giving him away that this situation was messing with him. His eyes were dark, harder than I'd ever seen th

I couldn't believe what I could clearly see. It had to be a dream. I had to be fucking dreaming. The burn on my bounded wrists told me otherwise. My head fell forward, taking in a staggered breath. A crazed laugher left my lips. I jerked back, and laughed. I laughed till the corners of my eyes started watering. I laughed till I couldn't feel the burn on my wrists anymore. I laughed till I drowned the sound of Elias ragged breathing beside me. "I want to know what's so funny, niece?" The man dressed in a black suit, standing in front of us adjusted the collar of his shirt. My uncle was alive. Ronald Laurent was alive and standing in front of me.I was on my knees, the cold tile biting into my skin through the fabric of my pants. My wrists were bound behind my back, the zip ties cutting into my flesh so tight I could feel my fingers starting to go numb. My hair hung in fiery waves around my face, stuck to my cheeks and forehead by sweat and dirt and God knew what else. Every breath I

My brain scrambled, thoughts fragmenting and scattering like broken glass as I tried to find a way out of this. Any way out. Face pinched in pain, the throbbing in my cheek where Ronald had struck me radiating through my skull in waves that made my vision swim.Cassien was still holding his shoulder, blood seeping steadily between his fingers and dripping onto the floor beneath him. His face was taut, pulled tight with pain and fury as he stared at my uncle with murder in his eyes. At my side, Elias was almost unconscious, his body slumped forward in a way that made my stomach twist with fear. I could see the shallow lift and dip of his chest through my now blurry vision, each breath so slight I had to focus to make sure he was still breathing at all.My ears still worked though, as I heard my uncle continue talking, his voice drifting through the space like poison. And then my mind went to Duke, to the way he'd disappeared so suddenly from the base. Like something had snapped into pl

Ronald's grip on my throat loosened, his fingers slipping away as his body went slack. He dropped to the ground beside me, landing with a heavy thud that sent dust scattering across the concrete floor. His eyes were open, unblinking, staring at nothing as blood pooled beneath him.I choked and coughed, my throat burning as air rushed back into my lungs. My vision was still spotty, black dots dancing at the edges, but through them I saw a figure moving toward me. Brown sandy hair, broad shoulders, green eyes that I'd know anywhere.Kyle."K-Kyle?" His name came out as a broken whisper, barely audible over the sound of my own gasping breaths. Tears rushed down my face, hot and fast, as I blinked at him in disbelief. He was here, actually here.He was on his knees in front of me in a second, his hands coming up to cradle my face and pull me toward him. We were mere inches from one another, close enough that I could see the concern written in every line of his face, could feel his breath