Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87193 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
She didn’t want to look at her hands but could feel the dirt mixing with her blood on her palms.
The sound changed with less cracking and more groaning. Long, drawn-out stress noises that made her stomach churn.
They burst into a chamber, and the ceiling sagged.
Bulwark slowed.
She nearly collided with him. Then she saw a real light. Natural. There was a thin break in the wall where daylight pushed through and showed snow clinging to the edges. Cold air spilled in to wash over her, sharp and clean. Her chest hitched painfully. “There,” she said. “That’s—”
Bulwark instantly ran in that direction. She turned to follow, and her foot caught on something, twisting painfully. An edge in the rock? She cried out, but he didn’t stop.
He wasn’t going to help her. Crying in earnest now, she forced herself to stand. The mine shook again, violently enough that she staggered sideways and barely caught herself on a broken support that immediately dissolved under her weight.
Rocks, boulders really, dropped from above her. Panicking, she turned away, protecting her head. More crashed down, blocking the way. Dust billowed out. She retreated as shards dropped, cutting into her hand.
There wasn’t room to shift.
The roof rumbled above her. She turned and ran deeper into the tunnels, away from that opening and Bulwark, pivoting blindly and trying to avoid the dropping slate. Her boots skidded. She fell once and scraped her hip before struggling to stand again.
Her coat snagged and she yanked the fabric, tearing it. She shoved her shoulder into the gap and twisted sideways, her ribs scraping rock hard enough to knock the breath out of her.
Something collapsed behind her.
The sound was enormous. Deafening.
She screamed and shoved harder.
Her palms burned as slate sliced into them. Blood made everything slippery. She nearly lost her grip and panicked, kicking her legs uselessly for a second before she found purchase again.
Light flashed ahead. “Nadia!”
She paused, her ears ringing. “Caidrik?”
He burst through a series of rocks. A helmet tilted on his head, and boulders fell behind him. “This way.” Without losing stride, he ducked, tossed her over a shoulder, and spun.
She shut her eyes to keep from getting dizzy. “I can run.”
Yet he ran faster. Faster than she could imagine. They twisted and turned, moving fast, and then suddenly, they were outside in the falling snow. He flipped her over onto her feet, holding her arms. “Are you okay?”
Numb, she looked up at him. Snow fell onto her face. “Where did you come from?” she coughed, her throat raw with dust.
He planted his hands on his hard thighs and leaned over, coughing out dirt. His helmet fell and crashed onto the snow. Finally, he stood and wiped off his mouth. “We’re on the south side now. I accessed an alternative entry tunnel.”
Gaping, she turned almost in slow motion to see another ramshackle entrance to the mine. “How did you know there was a viable tunnel to use?”
“Looked at a mine schematic after Bussy warned me where you were,” he admitted, his voice rough. The snow dotted his black hair and mingled with the dirt on his skin, forming a muddy paste that slid down the hard angles. “I didn’t want to leave you in a mine with my asshole of a brother.” He angled his head. “Where is he?”
“He went the other way.” She coughed out particles as her lungs revolted.
Caidrik stilled, looking more imposing than the rising trees around them. “He left you?”
“Yeah.” Everything hurt, but she didn’t care. Caidrik had come for her.
Alone in the conference room, Caidrik stared at the perfect oblong-shaped piece of slate. He picked it up and studied it, turning it slightly between his fingers. Yeah, it was a good one. The material was smooth where it had broken clean instead of shattering, was dense without being brittle, and was the kind of stone that held together under pressure.
He glanced up as Nadia stepped inside, a cup of coffee in her hand. Her hair was still damp at the ends, darkened from the shower, and a strawberry scent followed her in. He straightened immediately. “Hey.” There had been so much dirt on her earlier, he hadn’t gotten to really study her.
“Hi.” A large purple bruise spread across her right cheekbone, stark against freshly scrubbed skin.
He winced. “Did you get hit by a rock?”
“You could say that,” she muttered. She gestured toward the table. “I gave that sample to Solomon before I headed home to take a shower. That mine was abandoned but needs to be reopened quickly, right?”
He stepped closer without thinking, grasped her chin gently, and ran his thumb over the bruise. The heat of her skin contrasted with the cool trace of water still lingering there. “This is smooth.” A rock would’ve cut her. “Did Bulwark do this?” His voice softened as he controlled his temper.