Page 13

thirteen

Dove

F lashes of light streak across the ceiling like lightning in a violent storm, and the crack of bullets shatters the night. I clutch the sheets under me, my heart pounding fast. Somewhere close a window shatters, the sound cutting through the chaos, and a scream escapes my lips before I can stop it.

Are they fighting? Has Cole started fighting back?

The urge to look outside clashes with the fear freezing me in place. My warm blanket feels like the only shield I have, but hiding underneath makes me angry at my cowardice.

Get up. Get the hell up right now.

My weak legs obey, and the room tilts with me as I stand. I don’t know if it’s from the explosions outside or if it’s my body giving out again. I lean against the wall, trudging to the door, my breath pressing against my lungs and making them hurt. They usually lock me in, but I still wrap my hand around the doorknob and twist. It doesn’t budge.

“Hey!” I shout as hard as my aching throat allows. “Let me out of here! Let me out !” I hit the wood with both palms, pushing into the door. But where there are usually lots of men walking in the hallway beyond, this time I can’t hear them. They’re not here. No one seems to be guarding my room.

Hope swells in my chest as I push my hair behind my ears.

“Okay,” I whisper. “Okay. Think, think , Dove.”

There’s nothing in this room that I could use to unlock it… but maybe I don’t have to. I hurry to the window, my pulse quickening the closer I get. My mind begs me to go back and hide under those blankets like the coward I am. I fight it as best I can, urging my legs forward until my hands are on the window frame and I’m looking outside.

My eyes take in the desolate scene. The air hangs heavy with an eerie silence, broken only by the now distant sound of gunfire and the acrid smell of smoke that stings my nostrils. Where is everyone? Either they left me here to die or… or my captors are already dead. I bring my hand to my mouth, the realization dawning on me. Could this be… could it be…

“Rowan.” I breathe out.

He came for me. Of course he did. He made it clear countless times that he protects what’s his, that I belong to him, that there’s no corner of this world where he wouldn’t chase after me. But coming into this wretched place… for me… My chest tightens as I consider the value of my life in the middle of all this mess. So many people will die tonight—and have died, probably—just so he can get me out. I know they’re not innocent, but neither am I. I stood there watching Magnus’s life drain out of his body and did nothing to stop it. What makes my life more valuable than theirs? There isn’t a logical explanation to any of this. Rowan acts by his own set of rules, never settling for less than what he wants. But what happens when he finds out? About Magnus… about how much of a coward I am? The world isn’t so black and white , he once told me. And maybe he was right. Maybe when I tell him about what I’ve done, he’ll understand.

Or he’ll regret saving your life , a voice inside my head tells me.

Looking outside, I can almost taste the freedom on my lips. Feel Rowan’s warmth against me, and his strength soothing my wounds. But guilt churns inside me like a restless sea beneath gray clouds, and I pull away, hiding my face from his ghostly presence in the town below.

Thud.

The door bursts in behind me, and I barely get a second to react. My hand goes through the window forcefully, so much so that it breaks and scatters glass everywhere. A brief stinging sensation tells me I’ve hurt myself, but adrenaline courses through me as I pick up a shard and point it at the man who walked in. He wears a mask, a white one with two small holes for eyes, just like Salister did the day I met him.

“Stay the fuck back.” I say in a threatening tone, trembling as I glimpse the tendrils of blood trailing down my arm. I can’t let him take me. If Rowan is here, he’s walking into a trap. I have to find him before he finds me and warn him about everything Cole told me.

“Fuck!” The man—my brother —groans, taking his mask off.

I sag with relief, leaning against the wall, my head clouded with dizziness.

“Fuck, Dove, what have you done? What have you done?!”

As Cole rushes toward me, the sound of fabric tearing fills the air. The sight of my torn bedsheet catches my eye, its soft texture now turned into jagged edges. He wraps it tightly around my wound, the surrounding air carrying the faint hint of detergent mixed with the metallic scent of my blood.

“You’re okay.” He sighs.

“Is…is he here?” I ask, barely able to form the words, wanting to confirm my suspicions.

My brother nods, helping me back to my feet, though the room keeps spinning. “He brought a fucking army with him. They’re slaughtering everyone out there. I’ll help you find him, and you’ll be out of here.”

“W-What about you?” I shake my head as he leads me out of the room. “I won’t leave you here.”

He ignores me. “Come on. Let’s go.”

He walks ahead first, scanning the hallway. I poke my head out as well, but end up leaning against the door frame, exhaustion claiming me. Fire licks down my throat as I swallow, and I’m feeling hot, like a fever is nesting into my veins. Cole’s eyes meet mine, seeing it, seeing the state I’m in. Something has been seriously wrong with me since I got here, and by the look on his face, he knows it, too.

“What have they done to me?” I whisper.

Outside, the screams of the townspeople are so loud. They travel fast, following us around, some cursing, others pleading for mercy. I’ve never heard these people plead for their lives before—they seemed accustomed to the life of pain and torture they chose for themselves. But now… now they’re different. Whatever Rowan and his men are doing to them, I know seeing it would give me nightmares for the rest of my life.

Cole’s eyes flick down, focused and familiar. “Almost there. Can you still walk?”

Before I get to answer, a dark silhouette barges in between us and knocks Cole to the ground.

“Fucking traitor,” he seethes. He punches, and punches, and I fear Cole will never get a chance to get up. But then the man sags on top of him, and I realize he’s dead almost as suddenly as he showed up.

I suck in a little breath, bracing myself when spotting not one but three other silhouettes now heading toward us. “Oh, my God!”

Cole’s jaw clenches, and he curses under his breath. “Listen to me. We can’t both go at the same time. I’ll cover you so you can run. My men told me the church was empty, that Rowan blocked the way to the crypt, and there’s no way to get in from that side. But you’re small.” He looks me up and down. “You can climb over the bodies and go down.”

“T-The bodies?”

Cole steps forward, welcoming the new threat. “Head down into the crypt. There’s a tunnel. Go in and find Rowan, and I’ll be right behind you.”

That flicker of cowardice again.

The words tremble on my lips, but despite my mind screaming at me not to leave his side, I nod and say, “O-Okay. I’ll find him. Just please…”

My brother, tense and ready to fight the men who captured him, merely says, “I’ll be fine. Run, Dove. Run and don’t look back.”

And so I do.

I run behind the buildings, my heart pounding so hard in my chest I worry I might collapse. I keep to the shadows, following the huge church bells that stick out to the sky.

The idea of showing myself to Rowan’s soldiers comes to mind, but would they even believe that Cole is on our side? Would they come to his rescue, or would they take me away before I can save my brother’s life? If they went to him, I worry they might shoot him on sight, and I can’t take that chance. So I keep running, whimpering, as I reach the church and pull the heavy door open with my unwounded arm. The place is empty, just like Cole said, and I slide across the thick stone pillars, turning to the sign that points to the crypt.

Please be here. Please.

My heart calls out for Rowan, conjuring up images in my mind of when I’ll run into his arms and he’ll hold me. And God, I need that so badly. I need his strength, and his soothing voice, and the possessive grip of his arms around me, silencing my worries and the chaos in my mind.

I climb down the spiral staircase, where the air gets cooler and the light slowly fades away. I’m so scared. My entire body feels as if it’s hooked to a socket, bolts of electricity coursing through my veins. It makes me reactive and hyper aware, but not in a way that feels safe.

I halt, a stack of bodies blocking my way down to the bottom of the staircase. I recognize some of them from when I was locked up in that basement cell. Their eyes are wide open but empty of any sign of life. The abhorrent stench comes with my next inhalation, drawing out a groan through the length of my throat.

Jesus Christ.

Reluctantly, but knowing I have little time, I dig my fingers into their clothes, hauling myself up. Their bodies are still warm beneath my hands. Vomit looms in the back of my throat, but I hold my breath and make it to the other side and down, down into the cold, dark crypt.

I narrow my eyes, trying to adjust them to the lack of light. It looks like a dead end, but Cole made it clear that there was a tunnel somewhere around. The ghosts of the crypt breathe with me as I see the smallest red light flashing softly at the height of my head, behind an arch. I follow it, my vision finally adjusting enough to see the black metal door in front of me. It’s unlocked and I pull it open easily, gasping when I see the tunnel spreading in front of me—so long that it doesn’t seem to have an end in sight.

Swallowing, I step inside and make it to a crossroads, where every atom of my body comes to a halt.

“R-Rowan…” I whimper, pressing a hand to my mouth. “What have you done?”

Blood runs down from the ceiling and from the walls, leaking in soft, quiet drops into a bigger puddle. There are body parts… everywhere. And it reeks of death in ways no human should be aware of. I walk slowly through the remains, following his trail as if I’m chasing down a monster who hunts for sport. An insatiable one.

My body trembles with fear, even if I know in my right mind that he’s doing this to save me. Still, I can’t stop the hairs on the back of my neck from standing up.

Where are you? Where are you?