by Jessica Gunn
She turned and captured my mouth with abandon, swallowing any of my other comments. Her kiss healed me a little more every time. And her too, apparently. Supposedly she hadn’t had that much trouble with the map in her head.
“It’s like the super soldier part of me,” she’d said a few days ago. “It’s there and it’s a thing, but it’s tampered down ninety percent of the time.”
As long as that was the truth, I guess I could live with her taking the Waterstar map out of me and putting it into her own head so that I’d live.
Another person walked up the trail toward the outcropping. Short tan shorts, fiery red hair. Valerie. I nudged Chelsea. “We have company.”
She turned and waved. “Hey, Valerie.”
Valerie joined us at the railing. “Hey. You mind if I borrow your man for a moment? I have to discuss some family stuff with him.”
Chelsea’s eyebrow rose. “Is it bad?”
Valerie nodded. “A bit, yeah. They’re not happy we went and took down Atlantis without them. Or without totally destroying the city.” Valerie tapped the top of my head like she might a child. “His mommy’s not a happy camper that we went all humanitarian and let innocent civilians live!”
Save me. Someone. Please.
Chelsea laughed. “Yeah, sure. I’ll meet you down at the bottom for lunch, okay?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“Okay.” Chelsea kissed me once more, then headed back down the trail.
As soon as she was out of sight and earshot, Valerie turned to me with an intense seriousness overtaking her features. Her expression grew dark and urgent, and I knew instantly that this wasn’t about family.
“This is about Chelsea.”
Valerie nodded slowly. “Oh yeah. Big time.”
I turned away from her and started walking. “No. I’m not doing this again, Valerie. Everything is fine. The war is over and we’re building a new station and I think I want to start a life with her.”
Valerie’s face became pained. “I knew you were going to say that.”
“And I knew you were going to come in swinging with shitty news. Dammit, Valerie!”
“I know,” she said, resting a hand on my shoulder. “I know, and I’m sorry. But you’re forgetting the war involved more civilizations than Atlantis and Lemuria.”
My eyes met hers as the weight of what she was saying slid through me to the ground, anchoring me there so I had to listen. I had no choice. “No.”
She nodded again. “Yes. The White City knows what happened in Atlantis. That a super soldier, though they still don’t know which of you is one, let alone which super soldier did it, that one of you took the entire Waterstar map out of a Lemurian’s head and put it in themselves.”
“Stop,” I told her, backing away.
Valerie’s grip on my shoulder tightened so I couldn’t move. “Listen, Trevor. Charlie learned that they hate this because a super soldier isn’t supposed to have that kind of power, either. They can handle it, but it’s like having the Waterstar map open all the time instead of when they’re looking at a Link Piece. It’s a constant overlay; like what you experienced, except it’s turned on all the time. Chelsea’s done an exceptional job pretending it’s not bothering her, but she’s lying.”
I gulped. “What are you saying?”
“Do you want to protect Chelsea one last time?” she asked me. “Because as soon as they and General Allen find out that it was her who did this to save you, it’s over. They’ll come straight for her.”
“Why do you do this to me?” I asked her. “We were happy. Finally.”
She leveled me with a look that said she didn’t want this to be happening either. “Yeah, and so were Charlie and me until we found out that this fight isn’t over. Do you want to keep the love of your life safe or not?”
I searched her brown eyes for any indication she was screwing with me… and found nothing but urgent sincerity. “Yes,” I said.
Valerie pulled a vial out of her pocket—a vial filled with blood. A vial like the one General Allen’s men had used during their takeover attempt. “You know what this is?”
“What the hell? What is that? Whose is that?”
Valerie held it up between us and shook it. “You want to save Chelsea? Good, because so do I.” She paused, dropping the vial out of the way. Her eyes met mine with the weight of a thousand lifetimes and I knew, I just knew, that what she was about to say would change mine forever.
“I have a plan, Trevor. But you’re not going to like it.”
Chelsea and Trevor’s journey concludes in Countercurrent, the final book of the Atlas Link Series. For updates on future releases and access to exclusive content, join my newsletter!
Also by Jessica Gunn
Atlas Link Series
Gyre
Landlocked
Driftwood
Riptide
Countercurrent
Hunter Circles Series
The Hunter – Free Prequel
The Hunted
The Traitor
The Changed
The Hero
The Power
About the Author
Jessica Gunn is an avid science-fiction and fantasy fan. Her favorite stories are those that transport the reader to other, more exciting worlds. When not working or writing, she can be found binge-watching Firefly and Stargate, or feeding her fascination of the ancient world’s many mysteries. Jessica also holds a degree in Anthropology.
To catch up with Jessica, follow her on Twitter (@JessGunnAuthor) or on her website, www.jessicagunn.com.
www.jessicagunn.com/
