“Get her out of here,” I begged Diego.
“I can’t carry both of you.”
There was a wild look in Diego’s eyes. He might not have my friends’ frantic voices in his ear, but he understood. The mine was collapsing.
“It’s okay,” I told him. “Please. Just get her out.”
The foreman launched at me again. I moved out of the way with inches to spare.
“Diego, go!”
Diego looked sick. He wrapped a protective hand behind Lilly’s head. And then he was gone.
Relief like I’d never experienced washed through me. I dodged another one of the foreman’s blows, letting his momentum carry him forward. I waited for him to turn around and face me. I let him see his death in my eyes. Then, I struck.
One well-aimed punch sent him sprawling backward. For what felt like forever, he wobbled on the platform’s edge, his arms pinwheeling. His terrified gaze met mine right before he went over the side.
The foreman howled. There was a horrible thud as his body struck the metal wall. The two sounds bounced up and down again in a chilling cacophony until they faded completely.
Another tremendous boom rocked the entire shaft, making the platform tremble violently.
“Kill her,” Felix ordered his Synthetics.
The ones pulling up the elevator kept at their task, which left three to come for me. They were stronger and more powerful than me, and I was exhausted. I couldn’t take them down.
I wasn’t useless, though. I might not be able to save myself, but I could at least prevent Felix and his Synthetics from getting out of here alive.
“I love all of you,” I said into my mike, hoping my friends would hear me over their panicked screams.
I let out a startled gasp as the full force of my magic slammed back into me. A grim smile tugged at my lips as I met Felix’s gaze.
The Synthetics attacked, but I was ready. I jumped straight up, grasping onto one of the thick metal cables. I pulled with all of my strength.
Felix shouted. The cable snapped. And then, we were all falling.
CHAPTER 50
Ifell for what felt like forever.
All around me, the mine was collapsing. Debris rained down. Deafening booms ricocheted through what was left of the metal cylinder. Something heavy and metal struck the side of my face, hard. I felt my jaw crack.
Lilly is safe.
Those words echoed through my mind, giving me peace even as I fell and the mine exploded around me.
The air was filled with shattering sounds. Stone and metal crumbled. And still, I fell.
Lilly is safe.
My grasping hands caught on the metal rungs, tearing them free from the collapsing wall. The interruption slowed my descent just enough for me to truly understand how screwed I was.
I saw no sign of Felix or the Synthetics as I fell, but that was fine with me. It gave me no comfort to think of their bodies entombed in here with mine.
Lilly is safe.
I closed my eyes and tried not think about whether the impact or suffocation would be what killed me.
✽✽✽
I must have fallen hundreds of feet, and yet my magic kept me from dying on impact. The dirt floor of the mine was molded around me.
Stone, metal, and other debris struck me on their way down. I held my hands up, protecting my face as I watched what had to be miles’ worth of dirt raining down.
Through everything, I could see a small circle of light. It was so high overhead it might as well not exist, and yet, it was a comfort. I didn’t want to die alone in the dark. That little patch of sunlight reminded me of everything good that would exist even once I didn’t. Lilly and the rest of my family. The Seven. Diego.
I thought I was hallucinating when a very human-shaped piece of debris came zooming down faster than all the rest. I gasped, trying to form words. Panic flooded me until there wasn’t room for anything else.
Diego.
“No,” I managed. He wasn’t supposed to be here. He was supposed to be safe.
Even though I was half-buried by falling rocks and metal junk, Diego managed to zig and zag his way through everything. His hand closed around mine, hauling me out of the pile of rubble that was covering me.
I felt his whole body convulse as something heavy hit him. He sank to his knees.
“Get out of here!” I tried to tell him, but my ears were too full of the mini explosions going off all around us to hear my own voice.
I crouched down beside him. Diego reached out with a bleeding, trembling hand to touch my cheek.
“Go!” I shouted.
There was still time. He could fly fast enough to avoid the falling rubble. He could make it out.
Diego shook his head. He reached for me again, yanking his arm back when a shard of metal sliced across his forearm.
I let out a muffled scream as blood gushed from the wound.
“Get out,” I begged. I didn’t know if he could hear me, but he saw my lips moving and must have known what I was trying to tell him.
Diego shook his head again. I understood he was as weak and exhausted as I was, and that he wouldn’t be able to get us both out. And he wasn’t going to leave me.
When my wild eyes went back up in the direction he’d come from, the patch of light was gone. Now, the only reason I could see anything was because of my skin’s silver sheen.
Diego winced as a huge stone came barreling toward us.
I rolled myself on top of him, using my titanium body to shield as much of him as I could. The stone shattered across my back. Jagged pieces sprayed around us, hitting against the metal wall and bouncing back. There was one dull thud after another as debris struck my back. With their momentum, even small rocks would be deadly if they hit the wrong part of Diego.
I looked down at him. He was trying to say something, but he was coughing too hard to get the words out. Not that I could have heard him, anyway. The only sound in my ears was the crash of the mine all around us. I felt Diego’s body shaking, though. His face was turning purple. He couldn’t stop coughing as he inhaled the swirling dust.
My lungs were clear and my breathing easy. In the midst of my panic, it took me too long to figure out why.
The gas mask Yutika had made and I had completely forgotten about was still over my face. She’d said something about it blocking out toxins and pumping in fresh oxygen.
Using one arm to hold myself over Diego so the rubble accumulating on top of us didn’t push me down and crush him, I tore off the mask. I fumbled with it until it was tight over Diego’s nose and mouth.
He coughed and writhed for another few seconds before his breathing evened out. I felt his body relax, just as mine seized up.
It felt like there was sand in my chest, swirling around and rubbing against my insides with every breath. Now, I was the one coughing.
Diego took another breath and then passed the mask back to me.
We went back and forth like that for several minutes. Our gazes stayed locked the whole time, even though we didn’t say a word. All of our efforts were focused on staying alive.
The explosions had stopped. Dust was still swirling around us, but everything else was darkness and quiet. My arms trembled as I fought against the weight of the entire mine. My body was all that kept it from crushing Diego.
I couldn’t last like this much longer. Titanium tears dropped out of my eyes and pattered onto Diego’s torn shirt. He reached between us, passing back the gas mask and cupping my cheek.
His hand shook, but the expression in his dark eyes was serene.
I didn’t know how he was so calm. My mind was in turmoil. I wanted to scream at him for coming back. I wanted to kiss him. Instead, I gave him a feeble nod, letting him know it was his turn to take back the gas mask.
Diego took the mask off me, but instead of putting it on himself, he leaned up to touch his lips to mine.
I choked back a sob. My whole body shuddered under the weight I was holding
up. My body and magic were exhausted. My arms were failing me, and as soon as they did, we’d be flattened under the weight of the entire mine.
Dark spots flitted across my vision. I could no longer see the reflection of silver in Diego’s irises.
I knew I had reached the end when the weight pressing down on my back lessened and light began to crowd out the dark. People always talked about going into the light, right?
It wasn’t what I would have pictured if I’d ever given my own death serious thought, but I recognized it for what it was. There was no other reason why sunlight would be filtering in through the dust and debris when we were miles underground.
I looked down at Diego, expecting to see him fracturing into shards of light as my life drained away. Instead, I saw confusion and amazement in his eyes.
A deafening sound filled the silent tomb. A beam of light pierced the darkness. I felt Diego’s arms come around me. And then, we were flying.
CHAPTER 51
The next time I had any awareness, everything was dark. I couldn’t open my eyes, but it didn’t bother me. I felt comfortable. Safe.
A woman was crying. Someone was trying to comfort her. Their voices, which had started out hushed, got louder.
“My patients, my rules,” a gruff voice said. “Get out if you can’t handle it.”
“She’s our daughter, and that boy—”
“Has thirteen broken bones and has been unconscious for hours. He’s not moving an inch until I say so.”
“Move him to a different bed or I will,” a familiar male voice ordered. “That’s my baby.”
“Mom, Dad, be reasonable,” another voice said.
Brent? What was he doing here?
Come to think of it…where was here?
“Bri’s friends said he’s the only reason Lilly and Bri are alive,” Brent continued. “If Bri didn’t want him in her bed, she’d find a way to beat him up even in her sleep.”
I shifted a little, holding back a moan as pain shot through every inch of me. I instinctively moved closer to the smell of cinnamon and magical heat.
Diego.
I snuggled closer and let myself drift off again.
✽✽✽
“Bri. Pumpkin face. Can you open your eyes for us?”
“Dad?” I croaked.
Muffled sobs filled my ears. Then, there was intense pressure against me. At first, I thought it was the mine collapsing on me and that the voices had just been a hallucination, but then my eyes cracked open.
My mom was draped over me, sobbing as she petted my hair. My dad was holding one of my limp hands and saying “Thank God,” over and over again.
I blinked, bringing the room into focus. I was in my room at the mansion. My gaze fixed on a family photo taped to my wall.
“Lilly,” I said, as my memory started coming back. “Where’s Lilly?”
“Right here.”
I twisted my head, trying to get free of my mom’s mass of blonde curls.
“Mom, you’re crushing her,” Brent’s voice said.
“Oh.” My mom let out a muffled sob. “Of course.”
She moved enough for me to get a view of the part of my room her body had been blocking.
Brent was leaning against my desk, his eyes crinkled in the first true smile I’d seen on him in as long as I could remember. Sarah was sitting on my rolling chair. She held a beautiful little girl on her lap.
“Lilly,” I whispered.
I barely recognized her. She was still too thin, but there was a brightness in her hazel eyes that reminded me so much of Brent’s and my own. The similarity took my breath away. Lilly’s hair, which had been dirty and matted down in the mine, was a shiny brown. Soft curls framed her tiny face. Instead of the awful sack-like uniform she’d had in the mine, she now wore a pretty red dress and sparkly shoes.
“Aunt Bri,” my niece said tentatively, looking to her mother to see if she’d said it right.
Sarah buried her face into Lilly’s back, her shoulders shaking as she cried silently. Brent put an arm around Sarah’s shoulder and leaned down to kiss the top of Lilly’s head. He looked at the two of them with so much tenderness it made my heart swell like a balloon. Then, he turned to me.
“Thank you,” he rasped, coming to perch on the edge of my bed. He wiped his sleeve across his eyes. “Bri, how can I ever thank you for this?”
“You don’t need to,” I replied. My voice sounded strange, like my vocal cords were grating against sandpaper. But I barely noticed. I was still trying to figure out how I was here at all.
Before I could form my mind around the question, Lilly slid off Sarah’s lap and shyly deposited a mangled daisy on top of my blanket.
“Thank you, sweetheart,” I told her, feeling my own eyes begin to sting.
I took the flower and tucked it behind my ear. My niece’s face lit up with the most gorgeous smile I’d ever seen.
Sarah came over and knelt beside my bed.
“Bri,” she whispered.
“You don’t even need to say it,” I told her. I didn’t want gratitude for this. Lilly was my niece, and I’d do anything for her.
Sarah nodded. She leaned over and gave me the gentlest of hugs, like I might shatter.
“Oh, Bri.” My mom burst into tears again.
Sarah had to scoot out of the way as my mom threw herself across me again.
While I patted my mom’s back and reassured her that I was okay, I looked around the room. I remembered Diego being here, but there was no sign of him now. Had I imagined his presence?
“Where’s Diego?” I asked.
My mom sat up, her chin wobbling. “That boy with the awful tattoos?”
I bristled.
“Mom,” Brent said, rolling his eyes at her back for my benefit. To me, he said, “He left with your friends when you started waking up. I think they wanted to give you some time alone with us.”
“Pumpkin face, are you in a relationship with him?” my dad asked. “Because I’m not sure—”
“Alright everyone,” Brent said, scooping Lilly into his arms. “Bri’s friends are going to want to see her now. Let’s give them some privacy.”
Thank you, I mouthed to my brother. Brent winked at me as he ushered our parents out.
They were barely out the door before A.J. and Yutika poked their heads in. They let out simultaneous squeals and charged me.
The two of them jumped on my bed. Kaira and Sir Zachary quickly followed. Charlotte and Kaira’s two cousins squeezed on, too.
Graysen, Smith, and Michael stood, since they weren’t really the bouncing-on-the-bed types. Not that there was room for anyone else, anyway.
“Bri!” A.J. wrapped his arms around my neck and tried to squeeze the life out of me. I almost had to turn into titanium to avoid being strangled, before Kaira pointed this fact out to him and he released me.
Sir Zachary was trying to drown me in slobbery dog kisses, and Yutika was shrieking so loudly my ears were throbbing.
Oliver poked his head into my open door and shouted, “Have you idiots lost your collective minds?!”
“Oops,” Yutika whispered, scrambling off the bed along with everyone else.
“You almost died,” Smith’s dad said, pointing an accusing finger at me. “I know for a fact there’s a brain inside your head. Use it.”
With that, he spun on his heel and stalked down the hall.
“That’s his way of saying he’s happy to see you awake,” Smith said, nonplussed.
“Aren’t we all.” A.J. swatted me with his polka-dotted handkerchief. “If you ever do something like that again, I’ll kill you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, searching the sea of faces in the room.
My friends looked back with expressions ranging from relieved to ecstatic. As happy as I was to see all of them, I didn’t see the one face I was looking for.
“Diego,” I said, interrupting more threats from Kaira about what would happen if I ever scared them
like that again.
Had I imagined him being here this whole time?
“He left, love bug,” A.J. said gently. “About fifteen minutes ago.”
“He didn’t leave your side the whole time you were out, though,” Yutika said. “Even Ma couldn’t lure him out with food.”
So, I hadn’t imagined his presence. But, why did he stay all that time just to leave?
“He was saying the mushiest stuff to you in Spanish,” Desiree said, rolling her eyes and clicking her long nails on my bedframe in irritation. “I got this app that translated everything.”
“Ma told you not to do that,” Cora said to Desiree, aghast.
“I thought he was cool before,” Desire continued, ignoring her sister. “But he’s actually as bad as Graysen.”
“Why, thank you, cuz,” Graysen told Desiree, giving her a bright smile.
“How long have I been out?” I asked, because I didn’t want Desiree to start going into details in front of a room full of people.
“Two days,” everyone replied at once.
“Two days?” I managed.
“You were buried alive,” Smith mumbled. “You should be dead.”
At that, there were a lot of hard swallows, sniffles, and more suffocating hugs.
“What happened?” I asked.
I remembered everything up to the part where light was coming into the mine and I thought I was dying. What happened after was a blurry haze.
“Finally,” A.J. sighed. “We get to the good part of the story.” He stole my pillow and tucked it under his own head. “I was obviously the hero.”
He made an affronted sound when Yutika lightly smacked his arm. “You were only a partial hero,” she said.
“Why don’t we actually tell her what happened,” Graysen suggested. “We can do a dramatic retelling later.”
“Party pooper,” A.J. muttered.
“We were trying to get to you,” Kaira began, “but the explosions had already started, and the whole mine was coming down.”
“We barely made it out,” Yutika said. “The tunnel back to Boston started to collapse, too. We would have been crushed, except Smith detected the air shaft that was used to blast the Agent S gas through the mine.
Steel for 5 (Mags & Nats Book 3) Page 34
