by Alexia Purdy
The surface! I sucked in a breath in disbelief. Was I dreaming? How did this crazy criminal know the way out of the underground? Before I could dare to ask him, he pushed me forward to a small fissure, where the light was coming through. There, I stopped midstep, holding my breath.
“I hear voices,” I whispered, afraid of what was on the other side as much as what was on this side of the opening.
“Shh! Stay here.” Baron placed the girl on the floor, propping her up against the stone wall. He inched his way to the entrance of the tunnel, listening to the voices before he turned back, something undecipherable in his crazed eyes.
He returned and scooped up the girl. The gauntlets annoyed him but didn’t inhibit the use of his strong arms. I was far too exhausted to resist him, and I had no doubt that if I tried to fight or run, he would overcome me in an instant.
He glared at me. “Ladies first,” he snarled.
I stumbled forward, throwing frosty glares back at him. He chuckled at this, finding my fury amusing. He was more annoying than Gideon when he’d shoved a rifle into my back, taking me from my parent’s house to Farlan’s mansion. The irony of this happening to me over and over again was not lost on me. I really needed to disappear into an isolated place where no one could force me to do what they wanted ever again.
I sighed, resigned to my fate as I climbed out of the fissure and into the stark daylight. A tiny bubble of hope made me think Gideon could have escaped through this very same exit. Maybe he was safe and sound. Nothing would be better than that.
Instead, as my eyes adjusted to the bright afternoon sun, like a spotlight glaring into my retinas, I was grabbed by two soldiers. I scanned their uniforms, my heart dropping to my stomach.
Insurgents.
“Hey, is that you Baron?”
“In the flesh.”
My mind went blank. The soldiers knew Baron? How was that possible?
“Is she okay?” asked a soldier, gesturing at the girl Baron was carrying. Hey, is that Alana?”
“Yeah, we were in cryo, frozen like ice pops. She hasn’t woken up yet. I think this little gal here had plans to off her. She’s alive, but I think she needs some medical.”
The soldier nodded before sending the second one off to retrieve their vehicle. We were standing at a cliff at the edge of an ocean. A river spilled out from below us into a waterfall, dumping into the sea. The sea breeze felt amazing, warm and salty. I’d never seen so much water in my life and peered down at the waves crashing against the jagged rocks below. I wondered how many had jumped to their deaths at that very spot.
“Come on, girl. You’re under arrest.”
I didn’t fight. There was nothing I could do. There were at least a dozen more soldiers heading our way, and it would be suicide to make a break for it. I hung my head as they shoved me into a military vehicle equipped with bulletproof metal plates and windows. I stared at the ocean as seagulls squawked and dove down into the water for food. I wished I was a seagull, able to fly free and never answer to anyone. How lovely it would be.
“Where to, Major?” the driver asked. The soldiers sandwiching me in the back seat thankfully ignored me. I hoped wherever we were going, it wouldn’t be the one place I could never return.
“The mansion. Hurry it up. The president is going to be eager to meet our new guest.”
My heart stopped. No. They couldn’t mean Farlan’s mansion. There had to be some other mansion.
“President Farlan?” I asked, exasperated. Please, no.
“The one and only. He’ll like you. The last girl we took him was a cog. Who knows what kind of scrap metal or reprogrammed slave she became? Never did see her again. She wasn’t half bad for a robot. Well made.”
“I’m sure whoever failed to scan her will be scrubbing toilets for the rest of his life,” another said.
The other soldiers laughed at this as I died inside. I’d gone in circles, right back into Farlan’s iron grip. I knew I told myself I wouldn’t cry again, but this time, I couldn’t hold back the dam. Warm, hot tears dripped off my chin as I stared at my filthy pants. In my darkest moment, I wished I had stepped off the cliff when I’d had the chance.
“I can’t believe Baron got jailbroken out of a cryo. That’s insane! We haven’t been able to find out where the rebellion was holding him! And he found Alana too. She’s a mean-spirited little sprite. How long do you think they’ve been in cryo?”
The major sighed, rubbing his chin. “Hell, I don’t know. She’s going to be stark raving mad when she wakes up. I hope Baron has got some sedatives ready. She’s the definition of insane.”
The group laughed again, but I didn’t find it funny.
“Hey, wasn’t her name something different? Not Alana, but something similar? I remember she changed it but wouldn’t tell anyone what it was before anymore. Some sort of spite for her family.”
“Oh, yea, it was some sort of constellation I think. Stella? Cassiopeia?”
“No, it started with an A.”
“Aurora?”
“No, but that sounds close.”
The four solders puzzled over the girl’s name as I continued brooding in silence. I didn’t care what the hell the girl’s name was. I wanted to go home. I wanted to find Gideon. I wanted to find Clyde to rip him a new one for being such a shortsighted bastard. I wanted to shout at my parents for lying to me for years. I wanted to be anywhere but where I was heading right at that moment.
They continued to come up with absurd names for the girl but I’d had enough.
“Andromeda,” I mumbled, glaring at my hands.
“What did you say?” The major turned and eyed me as though it was the first time he’d ever seen me.
“Her name. Was it Andromeda?”
He scratched his chin once more and smirked. “Yeah, that could be it. It’s a constellation, right?”
I nodded, avoiding looking at him directly.
“Andromeda. Yeah, I think that’s what it was. Just don’t let her hear you say it; she’ll kill you where you stand.”
I listened to him curiously, momentarily distracted from my despair. My thoughts jumped back to the tattooed girl with jet black hair and freckles in the cryostasis pod. That had been Andromeda, and I’d failed to recognize her. I’d stood right by my own sister and hadn’t realized it. But there was something else bothering me even more.
Andromeda had worked for the Insurgents. I didn’t know how that was possible, but it meant that even if she discovered who I was, she would not help me.
I sank back into my despair. I had finally discovered my sister, and she had turned out to be everything that I hated.
Thank you for reading!
The final book of The Glass Sky series:
Crystal Heart
Coming Soon!
About the Author
Alexia Purdy
Alexia is a USA Today Bestselling author who currently lives in Las Vegas and loves spending every free moment writing or hanging out with her four rambunctious kids. Writing is the ultimate getaway for her since she's always lost in her head. She is best known for her award-winning Reign of Blood series, and A Dark Faerie Tale Series.
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More books by Alexia Purdy
The Glass Sky Series
The Storm Glass
Dark Prism
Crystal Heart
Accursed Archangels:
The Unbreakable Curse
The Cursed Labyrinth
The Irredeemable Soul
The ArcKnight Chronicles:
/> ArcKnight
Sovereignty
Reign of Blood Series
Resonant
Reign of Blood
Disarming (Reign of Blood #2)
Elijah (The Miel Chronicles):
A Reign of Blood Companion Story
Amplified (Reign of Blood #3)
A Dark Faerie Tale Series
The Withering Palace (A Dark Faerie Tale #0.1)
Evangeline (A Dark Faerie Tale #0.5)
Ever Shade (A Dark Faerie Tale #1)
Ever Fire (A Dark Faerie Tale #2)
Ever Winter (A Dark Faerie Tale #3)
The Cursed (A Dark Faerie Tale #3.5)
Ever Wrath (A Dark Faerie Tale #4)
Without Armor (A Dark Faerie Tale #4.5)
History of Fire (A Dark Faerie Tale #5)
Ever Dead (A Dark Faerie Tale #6)
Legends of Fire (A Dark Faerie Tale #7)
Guardians of Fire (A Dark Faerie Tale #8)
Ever Fade (A Dark Faerie Tale #9)
Other Stories
The Fall of Sky
Wicked Grove
Anthologies
Soul Games
Faery Worlds
Faery Tales
Once Upon a Curse
The Shapeshifter Chronicles
It’s a Bird! It’s A Plane! A Superhero Anthology
Once Upon a Kiss
The Aching Darkness
Dark Waters: A Mermaid Anthology
Once Upon a Quest
Once Upon a Star
Once Upon a Ghost
Once Upon a Wish
