Page 111 of Star Bringer
“Yeah, well, we need to get the fuck out of here. Who knows how many reinforcements this bastard called in.” He bends down and gathers the planetas that scattered on the floor during the fight and shoves them in his pocket, then turns to me. “Just do me a favor and don’t shoot at anything else, will you? I don’t think Gage and I will survive a second time.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Hey, I was shooting with mylefthand! Becausesomeonehandcuffed my right! And look, I did a number on that wall over there. Crushed it.”
“Oh, you crushed it all right. You showed that plaster who’s boss.” We’re both laughing now, and I kinda can’t believe it when there are four dead people at our feet.
“I think you did great, Kali,” Gage says with a weak smile. “You kept them busy until Ian could take them out. It’s a super important job.”
His words warm my belly, but they also remind me that he’s the one who was shot here. “What can I do to help?” I ask Ian.
“Get the door. We’re leaving—now.”
“What about Gage?” I ask, worried by just how nauseous he’s looking. “I don’t think he can go very far—”
“If it’s a choice between staying here and dying and getting the fuck out of here and living, I’m pretty sure he’ll take the second choice.” Ian starts moving more quickly, half helping, half dragging Gage along.
“I will, definitely.” Gage hobbles faster in an effort to keep up. And since I know exactly what that feels like, I deliberately drag my feet so that Ian has to slow down a little.
At least until I scoot past them to push open the door and step out into what is already a full-blown storm. Like, a textbook storm—the kind I doubted in geography lessons with my tutors on Askkandia. Within seconds, the wind and snow are slapping us in our faces so hard that there’s no need for me to slow Ian down. Nature is more than taking care of that for all three of us.
Suddenly, the concept of snow falling from the sky isn’t as sweet and innocent as it felt earlier. And I’ve got more of it in my mouth than I ever could have asked for.
I really don’t want to go out there—Glacea has turned into a frozen nightmare. But as Ian so graphically explained, the other option is staying here and waiting for the dead men’s backup to arrive and kill us.
Frozen nightmare it is.
The second we’re outside, another gust of wind whips up and snatches the door from my hand, slamming it shut. For a minute, we stand in the small shelter provided by the building, getting our bearings as we try to figure out what we can possibly do next.
I tremble as the wind cuts through me and icy rain lashes at my face. “Which way do we go?” Gage asks in a much more subdued voice than I’m used to hearing from him.
“We just need to put a little distance between this place and us,” Ian answers as he starts striding down the level, Gage—and me—in tow. “Max will be here any minute to take you back to the ship.”
“How do you know?” I ask. “Has it really been long enough—”
“Is it safe for him?” Gage cuts me off, his voice filled with a concern that has me looking over at him to read his expression. It’s…one I don’t recognize, twisted with pain.
“Is anything on this shithole safe?” Ian shoots back.
The answer is no—nothing on Glacea feels safe right now, especially not the elements. “We should all go back—” I start but break off when Ian gives me the fiercest, angriest look I’ve ever seen.
“You wanted to come on this trip, Princess. Now you’re here. So chin up and let’s get this done.”
He continues walking quickly, forcing me to scramble to keep up despite the icy wind and snow slapping at every millimeter of exposed flesh. He doesn’t stop until we ride an elevator down to a courtyard with a giant iron fence. We slip inside the narrow entrance.
“What is this place?” I ask.
“Doesn’t matter,” he answers.
I’m about to ask him why not when the gate clangs behind us. I whirl around, heart in my throat, only to find Max standing there.
He doesn’t say anything, and neither does Ian, but they stand there staring at each other for several seconds before Max slips a hand under Gage’s arms and says, “Be careful.”
Ian snorts.
He and I watch as the silhouettes of Max and Gage fade into the swirling white of the storm. I hope theStarlightis right around the corner, ready to get him first aid, but I can’t see a thing.
I start to duck back into the street and the wind, but Ian grabs me at the last second and yanks me against his chest.
It’s the last thing I expect, and I squawk as he pulls me off balance. I have one second to register hard thighs, a flat stomach, and an even harder chest pressed against me before his free hand is sliding over my mouth.
