by Anna Bowman
The charm fell from her hand.
It hurt to breathe.
“Rayn.”
Sol raised his head. His lip was swollen, still bleeding. There was a gash across the side of his neck.
“I’m sorry.”
She knew she needed to cut him loose, but she couldn’t bring herself to move. Lights were coming on now. There was shouting. An alarm bell sounded somewhere close.
“Rayn—look at me,” Sol pleaded.
Will rushed up, slicing through Solomand’s ropes.
“Was this part of your plan, too?” he asked, pulling Sol’s left arm over his shoulder and raising him to his feet.
“I may have gone a little over the top with the insults,” Sol admitted.
“I hope it was worth it,” Will said, sounding uncharacteristically upset.
Sol’s mouth twitched in pain, but he still grinned.
“Oh, it was.” He spit out a mouthful of blood
“Rayn,” Will said. “We’ve got to go!” He didn’t wait to see if she would follow. He raced toward the gate.
She grabbed Sol’s coat from the ground, tucking it under one arm, along with his pistol as she dashed after Will. It didn’t really feel like she was the one running.
How the hell are we going to get out of here?
The irrigation canals were a sickeningly long way off, and they would be hunted this time. There was a flash of movement, and something plowed into her. She was on the ground, gasping, as LeFrost’s bodyguard stood over her. His eyes looked like frozen grey lakes, a wildness there that chilled her. A long scar slanted across his lips, giving him a more sinister look as he grinned. His short hair was almost white, but his face placed him as maybe forty. He held a familiar looking knife in his hand; a curved blade of silvery white attached to a bone handle. It looked like the one Ivan carried.
Something deep inside her was screaming to get away. At any other time in her life, she would have reacted, tried to get away. But now, she could barely breathe, let alone move.
A blurry figured darted up, colliding with the man over her.
Ivan!
She was jarred from the daze as Ivan fought to push the vicious-looking man away from her. She pushed herself up on her shoulders as Ivan slashed at the ice-eyed man with his knife.
“Ivan!” the bodyguard’s eyes widened, and his head tilted back with laughter. “All this time you hiding here!?” He stopped attacking for a moment, pointing his blade at Ivan. “Leave it to you, Kirno Valk, to find war and pick losing side.”
He laughed again.
Ivan was paler than usual, his eyes filled with an emotion Rayn had never seen on him before.
“Aleksei!” his voice was a whisper. Relief turned to a cold feeling when she realized. Ivan was afraid.
He moved fast, sliding forward and slashing at Aleksei, but the bodyguard was faster. He easily evaded Ivan’s attempts to stab him and slit him across the face with the tip of his blade. Rayn’s mind slowly cleared, the instinct to survive returning. Ivan was not going to die on her account! Her jaw tightened, and she jumped to her feet. As the Slav moved past her, she kicked in in the ankle with a sweeping movement. The three-inch blade stuck him, and he took a hop back, looking genuinely surprised. He threw his head back, laughing at her and sidestepping another kick.
Ivan was in between them now.
“Get back, Rayn!” He pushed her towards Will. “Leave!”
The shouts grew louder. Minuet’s Airmen were close enough to see now, thundering in their direction with guns drawn. Loud explosions started going off, one after the other, growing closer and closer until—in a blast of fire and smoke—a wall was blown into the fence.
Will grabbed her arm.
“Get Sol out of here.”
He looked meaningly at Ivan as he struggled to keep LeFrost’s bodyguard at bay. Rayn didn’t stop to think, she just nodded, gripping his arm over her shoulders, and dragged him through the cover of smoke. Will ran back to help Ivan, keeping the others from following them.
“Rayn.” Sol was trying to walk. “We have to get to the river. Jank should be waiting.”
He stumbled forward, dragging her down under his weight.
Rayn struggled to get back up. Sol stood on his own, steadying himself with a hand on her shoulder.
“The explosions will keep most of the airmen busy. They won’t see the skiff.”
That must have been what Ivan and Will were up to.
Yeah, if everything goes as planned.
She wondered just how many things had gone wrong so far. Surely whoever the hell Aleksei was, he wasn’t in the equation.
How could it get any worse? She kept moving forward, one step at a time, covering very little ground. They’ll be after us soon! The thoughts pushed her to run faster, straining as Sol’s strength failed.
Chapter 55
Will
Guards filled the streets, circling Will and Ivan. Calculating every move, Will took them out.
One. Two. Three.
He may not remember what he was born to be, but in every battle, his mind cleared. Emotion had no place in a fight. He drew a short knife from his boot and stuck the blade in a man’s neck as he lunged past. Ivan’s blade against the bodyguard’s; the knives flashed silver in the light.
Four.
Blood spattered across his coat. From the corner of his eye, he saw the rifle barrel in the window.
“Ivan! Look out!”
Will grabbed a guard and pulled him into his knife. Warmth spread across the front of his coat as the man fell into him. At the same time bullets riddled the man’s body.
Ivan spared a glance and slid to the side. The shot grazed his shoulder, but he did not take his eyes from his opponent for an instant more. Will reached in his satchel.
The grenade.
He pulled the pin.
“Ivan!” The Slav looked up and rolled to the side, realizing Will meant to throw it.
Aleksei tore his predatory gaze from Ivan in time to see the grenade fly his way.
“Ha! Good play, Olbian!” he laughed, dashing toward the mansion.
Will turned to run, but something stung his neck. He stopped, drawing his hand to the wound. He pulled it away and stared at the tiny, black dart; panic was spreading through him like a hurricane.
No.
This is how it had happened before. But last time, the Olbian wasn’t afraid. Last time, he didn’t have anything to lose.
“Will!”
Ivan slammed into him as the grenade went off, a wave of warmth and searing particles rolled over them. Will knew it was happening but couldn’t say he felt it. Already, he could feel the murky coolness entering his mind. Ennea that was his name—a member of Squadron 9.
No. Will!
His hand closed around the dart, and he stood. More guards were running toward them; the bodyguard would soon be too, that was certain.
“Ivan,” Will turned to his friend. “Go. I’ll hold them off.”
“What? No!” Ivan’s brows drew together, and he held up his dagger, turning to meet the oncoming men.
“Ivan!” Will seized him by the collar. He opened his hand, exposing the dart. “It’s too late.”
“No.” Ivan’s eyes were wide with horror. In many ways, their world had ended when that little dart entered the war. For Will, it had given him a second chance. Now, it was taking it back. Everything he was came to a halt.
“Please.” The long-held veil dropped from his eyes. He could feel tears forming.
Ivan gritted his teeth, his chest heaving. He gripped Will by the shoulder and gave him a short nod.
“Dovednjai, damaychi—farewell brother.”
He rasped out the words.
“Take care of them,” Will said.
Ivan nodded again, then tore his gaze from Will as he dashed away.
Will’s jaw set, and he turned to the men, heart pounding. With a yell, he charged.
If I die, I at least die fighting on
the side I choose. I will die as Will.
Chapter 56
Rayn
Ivan ran up behind them, alone. Sol looked up to see him.
“Where’s Will.”
The Slav’s eyes fell.
“He was hit with dart.”
Sol raised his head with a jolt, and he jerked his arm from Rayn’s grip and whirled around. Ivan moved to stop him, but Sol shoved him away, trying to get past.
“We’re not leaving him behind.”
Ivan grabbed him by the collar, dragging him closer.
“There is nothing we can do—you know this!”
Solomand’s jaw tightened, and he pulled free.
“I’m going to try anyway.”
Ivan’s face went dark, and he punched Solomand in the face, knocking him to the ground.
“We are going. Or we lose you too.” He dragged Solomand from the ground and lay him across his shoulders.
“Follow me,” he said to Rayn and broke into a jog.
Will is gone.
If he was hit by one of those memory wiping darts that would mean…Rayn felt like her mind would explode. She ran until she thought her lungs would burst. Her sides ached, and her breaths came in fiery gasps for oxygen. How the hell did Ivan run so fast—and carrying Sol too?
The 201st airmen, silhouetted in the growing light of the fires throughout Corcyra, rappelled from airships to battle the rising flames.
Guess they need their masks now.
Their boots thudded against the ground. Rayn’s foot snagged on something, and she fell forward, the Drakon banging against her back painfully.
Damnit.
She struggled back up and kept running. They were nearing The Mud now. Ivan was just ahead of her. She scrambled through the wall after him, and they made their way through the deserted town.
On the edge of the field she could make out the shape of the skiff, its lights dimmed. Jank jumped over the side, running for them, moving faster than she’d ever seen him.
“Sol!” his voice was panicked. “Zee! I can’t find Zee!”
“What!” This revelation caused Solomand to find the strength to fight free of Ivan’s grip. He tumbled to the ground, jumping to his feet and lurched forward, grabbing hold of Jank with his left hand. “What do you mean?
“I….I was busy sending the coordinates for the charges to Will and Ivan, and she just vanished. I don’t know what happened. I looked everywhere, but I couldn’t find her.”
Chapter 57
Solomand
Solomand turned with difficulty back towards the city.
“I have to find her.”
Ivan seized him by the arm.
“No! You will die if you go.”
Sol fought to pull away, cringing as pain rippled through him.
“She’s got nothing to do with any of this, Ivan—I will not leave anyone else behind!” His voice raised.
Will was lost, probably turned back into one of Corcyra’s finest, once again their enemy—either that or dead. He wanted to lay down and puke, but the thought of Zee being caught up in all of this—No! He would get her back or die trying.
Ivan must have seen his resolve. He towered over him, his fingers tightening into a fist.
“Let. Me. Go!” Sol clenched his teeth. “You don’t care if I die anyway?”
Ivan drew back, and Sol did not flinch, waiting to feel his fist on his face. But it didn’t come. Instead, the Slav seized Sol by the collar, lifting him into the air, and hurled him onto the deck of the skiff.
Sol rolled over, coughing, the taste of blood filling his mouth. Rayn was yelling at Ivan as she climbed onto the skiff. There was a ringing in his ear. Ivan and Rayn were both at his side. The Slav had probably been pushed far enough to finish him off now. Ivan bent over him.
“Dying does no good for Tristan,” he growled. There was a flicker of emotion in his eyes, and his voice lowered. “I do care, Sol,” he said before turning to Rayn. “I will look for her.”
He dashed away.
Solomand coughed, arching his back as any movement caused new pangs in the already stinging lacerations.
Damn whip.
It didn’t kill him, but it still hurt like hell. He couldn’t lay down flat or stand. Everything hurt. The first two fingers on his right hand throbbed. They felt hot and swollen—probably broken.
Jank was kneeling next to him, rummaging through a med kit and handing things to Rayn. He was paler than usual and wouldn’t look at Sol.
“Jank.” It hurt to talk.
The engineer’s eyes were moist.
“Sol, I’m sorry,” he said, rubbing his nose with the back of his hand.
“Jank, it’s okay. I should have made her go with Iminho.”
Sol gritted his teeth, biting his tongue as Rayn dabbed antiseptic onto his slashed neck.
“Sorry,” she murmured, pressing on a bandage. She was looking at his side now, at the black spider tattoo she had never seen before. “You are the Black Recluse…aren’t’ you?”
“No.” He could barely breathe as she pressed on another bandage, a little harder than necessary. She thought he was lying again.
“The Black Recluse isn’t one person. That’s just what LeFrost thought,” he explained through clenched teeth. “We were a special ops team for the rebels.”
Rayn’s hand moved to her stomach, her face pale, expressionless.
“The mark where my scar is…it’s not a birthmark, is it?”
“No.”
The sharp stabs in his body began to numb. This was the moment he had been dreading and trying to avoid. She wouldn’t look him directly in the eyes.
“It was a spider tattoo?”
He nodded. “We all have one.”
“Who am I, Solomand Black?” There was a coldness in her question that twisted his heart. She already knew or had to suspect the truth.
“You are Rayn…Ivers…” His voice faltered as he finished. “Black. You are my wife, and the daughter of General Benjamin Ivers.”
The anguish he was dreading seized him as she asked the question that he feared more than any other.
“LeFrost. He said you kept Zee because you lost a child.”
Her green eyes locked with his and he felt ill.
“I didn’t keep Zee from him.” His voice was thick, and he blinked back tears. “We didn’t know you were…”
Rayn rocked back on her heels, staring off in the distance. Jank took over patching Sol’s wounds.
“Rayn, I’m sorry.” Solomand struggled to sit up. “Please look at me.”
She did, making him feel worse.
“Needing a gunsmith was just a bunch of bullshit. Why didn’t you just tell me?” Her eyes flashed. “You acted like this had nothing to do with me when it did! You were going to send me halfway across the damned world instead!” Her hand swept violently, indicating the North. “Why?”
“Because…” Sol moved to his knees and inched toward her. “You made me promise right after you were shot with that damned dart.” He leaned forward. “You made me swear that I’d kill you before I let LeFrost turn you into one of them!” His heart ached with every beat. His head lowered. “Minuet found out where you were, so we had to act. Grishtanburg would have been safe.”
When he looked at her again, tears glistened in the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall.
“Why the hell didn’t you just tell me?” Her lips trembled.
Solomand figured the only reason she didn’t slap him was because of his current state.
“I wanted to.” He scooted forward. “Tristan said if you didn’t find out on your own you might reject the past as reality altogether. That’s what happened to Will. He was a Coalition soldier, shot by accident. And now he’s…”
Rayn’s shoulders rose and fell with her chest, her jaw tightened. Seeing her like this hurt worse than anything LeFrost had done to him.
“Think, Rayn. When you first saw me in your shop—would you have believed anything
I’m saying right now?”
Rayn was fighting to keep the tears from coming. She slowly shook her head.
“Who would want to find out their father was murdered, they’d lost a child, and were married to a man like me.” His eyes pleaded with her. “I told you, some memories were better left forgot.”
A tear escaped, tracing a line through the dirt as it trailed down her cheek.
“Do you still want me to go?” Her voice quivered, and he felt his heart break the rest of the way.
“Rayn.” He took her face in his hand, fingers trembling as he wiped the tear away with his thumb. “I only wanted to protect you. You would have been alright without me.”
Rayn moved her head away from his touch.
“I know I don’t need you—I don’t need anyone.” Her words were like a dagger. “I don’t want to be kept safe—Port Ashbury was safe.” Tears of anger flowed freely as she yelled. “That wasn’t living, Sol! I would rather die here with all of you than…than…”
He didn’t care anymore that she might hate him. He reached forward, curling his hand on her neck. He leaned in, pulling her into a kiss. She didn’t stop him. Her hands laced through his hair, drawing his head closer to hers. Her lips were warm, and his mouth stung as she kissed him back fiercely. For one fleeting moment, Solomand forgot about everything else.
She broke away, wiping her eyes.
“How does Tristan know so much about the E.X. solution, anyway?” She looked around, horror spreading across her face. “Sol…where’s Tristan?” She looked from him to Jank.
Jank gave her a deadpan look as he stood up. She turned to Sol, anger growing in her eyes. She waited for an explanation.
Sol struggled to stand.
“Tristan’s father is Galin Highcourt, one of the most brilliant minds in the medical field. Tristan helped him design the E.X. solution. That’s why he knows so damn much about it.”
