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Chapter forty-one

Annabella

T he words had barely left Mira’s mouth when the first explosion punched through the building. Dust rained from the ceiling as the floor beneath us trembled, alarms blaring in discordant chaos.

“How many?” I demanded.

“At least eighteen enforcers,” Mira replied, studying her tablet. “Eighty-nine percent chance they will capture us. They’ve breached the east and south entrances.”

Damn it, I knew we should have evacuated immediately after discovering who Sam really was.

“Mira, help Zeke. See if you can hold them off. Disorientate them if you can. Do not engage!”

Another explosion, closer this time, as Mira bolted from the room. The lights flickered, casting the room in momentary darkness before humming back to life.

“Fuck!” This was the downside of operating from a warehouse in the university district—we’d sacrificed security for anonymity. No defensive spells, no escape tunnels, no explosive deterrents. We’d relied on staying hidden, and now we were paying the price.

Duke hauled himself upright, one hand pressed against a cut on his forehead. “We need to move. Now.”

I glanced at Sam and Talia, still strapped to the medical beds. Both were unconscious, blood trickling from their noses and ears. The Council might be coming to rescue them, but like this, they were likely to get caught in the crossfire.

“Help me get them somewhere safe,” I said, already working on Sam’s restraints.

Duke stared at me like I’d lost my mind. “Are you serious? Leave them!”

“We put them somewhere safe, get Zeke and Mira, then we’re gone,” I snapped, finally freeing Sam’s right arm.

The thunder of boots echoed down the hallway. We had maybe thirty seconds before they reached us.

Across the room, Vivienne and Lydia had their heads bent together in urgent whispers. The air around them shimmered—a concealment spell being prepared.

“Lydia,” I called out sharply. “We’ll need magical support to hold them off.”

Lydia’s eyes met mine. “Your stupidity and weakness caused this mission to fail. It’s time for contingency plans.”

Damn it. Why the hell did I think I’d get help from Lydia? I turned to Duke. “Help me move them to the corner. We can turn one of the beds over as a barricade.”

Duke didn’t move. “And risk our lives for Council dogs? After what they did to us? After what he did to you ?”

A third explosion shook the foundation. This one took out the power completely. Emergency lights kicked on, bathing everything in red.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Vivienne complete her spell with a flourish of her fingers.

“You’ve chosen poorly, Annabella,” Vivienne said, her voice already sounding distant as the concealment spell took effect. “Simon will be informed about this.”

Then they were gone.

Marvelous, just fucking marvelous. I’d have to deal with Simon later. He’d understand; I was sure of it.

Gunfire erupted in the hallway. We were out of time. “Duke, grab Zeke and Mira; use evac route three. I’ll handle these two.”

“You think I didn’t know? About you and him? I could smell him all over you.” His eyes flickered from me to Sam and back again. “I would have given you the fucking world. You chose your side, Annabella. It’s everyone for themselves now.” Then he turned and ran out the door.

I stood there, stunned for a moment. I knew he was pissed at me, knew he wanted more, but to leave Mira and Zeke? I thought we were family, that we had made something here that bound us together, no matter what.

Bastard. Fucking bastard.

Well, I wasn’t going to leave them. I couldn’t; it just wasn’t in me.

I gritted my teeth and finished freeing Sam’s restraints. His body was a dead weight as I hauled him off the medical bed, his head lolling against my shoulder. Blood smeared across my shirt, warm and sticky.

“Come on,” I muttered, dragging him toward the corner furthest from the door. I dumped him against the wall and turned back for Talia. She was lighter than Felix… Sam… whatever the fuck his name was, but completely limp. I pulled her free and dragged her to the same corner.

The gunfire was getting closer, punctuated by the brief crackle of radio static. I caught fragments of clipped voices: “— corridor secured—” “—structural damage in sector three—” “—proceeding to target location—”

I grabbed the nearest medical bed and flipped it on its side with a screech of metal against concrete. I shoved it in front of Sam and Talia, creating a makeshift barrier that I hoped would stop a stray bullet.

Neither of them so much as twitched, completely oblivious to the commotion erupting around us.

“Stay alive,” I whispered, then sprinted for the door.

The corridor was a war zone. Red emergency lighting strobed across smoke-filled air, casting everything in hellish shadows; the acrid smell of explosives mixed with the metallic scent of blood and fear-sweat.

I could hear Mira shouting from the converted control booth. Zeke’s chanting echoed from closer by, punctuated by the confused cursing of enforcers who suddenly couldn’t tell up from down.

Then I saw him.

Gideon Calloway moved through the smoke like death itself, calm and precise, while chaos reigned around him. Six enforcers flanked him, advancing toward the main operations area where Mira was trapped.

Where my people were trapped.

I looked over and saw Mira crouched in the doorway, her face white. There was nowhere to run. Calloway had cut off her escape route. Mira had already clocked it. Her eyes widened as she stared at me, and I could smell her fear from here.

I glanced back. I could still make it, could still disappear out the door, just like Duke and Lydia. But then I’d be abandoning Mira and Zeke to the Council.

Never.

I hit the nearest enforcer from behind, driving my fist into the nerve cluster at the base of his neck. He dropped instantly, his weapon clattering across the floor as his body went limp.

Calloway spun toward me through the swirling smoke, emergency lights strobing across his sharp features.

“Annabella McGrath.” His voice sliced through the smoke and noise. “Where the fuck are Shaw and Johnson?”

I glanced back at the containment room. If I could draw Calloway in there, maybe Mira and Zeke could escape.

“Where. Are. They?” Each word was precise, sharp as a blade. “I can smell their blood from here, McGrath. You know what? Fuck it!”

He came at me. Time slowed to a crawl as the emergency lights strobed—darkness, then red. Ten feet away, then darkness swallowed us.

Red burst—six feet now, closing fast.

Darkness.

Red—two feet, his fingers reaching for my throat.

I threw myself sideways just as the lights strobed again, ash thick on my tongue as I rolled across the debris-strewn floor.

He was on me fast. I slammed into the wall, then surged up, twisting hard as I aimed a blow at his side.

He didn’t flinch—just slammed his knee into my stomach, lifting me off my feet.

I hit the ground hard, gasping, but I’d created the opening I needed.

“Mira—go,” I rasped.

A flash of purple exploded behind me—Zeke’s magic slammed into two enforcers, hurling them into the wall. I caught a glimpse of him as he tore past, blood streaking down his face from a ragged gash.

Mira burst out of the communications room, sprinting for the back exit. Zeke caught her hand mid-stride, dragging her with him. For one breathless second, I thought they’d make it.

Then came the sharp, metallic thunk of a net launcher.

The weighted mesh burst wide in mid-air, crashing down like a spider’s web. They hit the ground hard, tangled together in limbs and netting.

“No!” The scream ripped out of me.

I grabbed a chunk of broken tile from the floor and slammed it into Gideon’s ankle. He yelled and staggered. I twisted, hooked my arm around his leg, and yanked.

He fell, crashing down beside me. I was up and running before he could blink.

Zeke was on his back, trying to cast something, his lips moving frantically. Mira was hyperventilating, her eyes wide with panic.

I tore the knife from my thigh holster. I could do this.

Cut them free, draw fire, buy them a chance.

I flipped the knife and was two steps away when electricity seized every muscle in my body.

My spine arched violently, muscles contracting in violent spasms. The world tilted sideways, my knees hitting the ground hard.

Through the ringing in my ears, I heard Calloway’s voice: “Taser her again if she tries to get up.”

I tried anyway. My legs wouldn’t cooperate, muscles still spasming.

“Zeke,” I gasped, reaching toward them even though I couldn’t stand. “Mira—”

Another jolt of electricity coursed through me. This time, darkness rushed in from the edges of my vision, pulling me down into unconsciousness.

The last thing I saw was Mira’s terrified face through the mesh of the net, her lips forming my name.

Then nothing.