Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 107720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 539(@200wpm)___ 431(@250wpm)___ 359(@300wpm)
Frank stopped squabbling with Dillon. Exhaling slowly, he rubbed a hand over his jaw as he studied the still twinkling frosty walls. Fear etched his eyes. “It can’t have gone that far...can it?”
“Can’t what have gone that far?” Lucien scowled. “Answer my question. How did Rook and I meet when—”
“Stop.” Holding up his hand, Frank looked a million years older. “I’ll tell you everything. I vow on my children’s lives that I’m on your side and I will do whatever is necessary to help you, but first...I need to understand how to help you.”
Studying us with a sharp, clinical inspection, he balled his hands as if he wasn’t prepared to hear our answer. “Can either of you eat? Drink? Please tell me you can still share a meal and digest it.”
My face fell, knowing exactly where he was going with this.
Sucking in a breath, I admitted, “Nothing stays down. Not even water.”
“Shit,” he cursed under his breath. “Shit. In that case, we need to hurry.” Marching into the lift, he stabbed one of the buttons far harder than necessary. “Get in. We don’t have much time.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
MY SKIN CRAWLED AS WE STOOD IN THE metal box, sinking deep into the belly of the glacier. The journey seemed to take forever—silent and swift—Whisper chuffing quietly with discomfort.
Laying my hand on his shoulders, the cat gave me a grateful look just as the doors opened, revealing a futuristic-looking labyrinth.
“Follow me.” Frank strode quickly down a steel-encased corridor. Heat vents pumped fresh air and warmth around our feet while the weight of the glacier felt as if I’d just entered a crypt.
My crypt. Our crypt.
Rook didn’t speak, but her fingers sought mine as we passed natural crevasses—some narrow and razor-sharp, others wide enough to swallow a truck. Each pocket of ice was reinforced with pillars and transparent walls, allowing the glacier’s blue gleam to break up the monotony of steel.
Far too many men and women darted around, looking official and busy. A few cast pleasantries at Frank, but a lot of them took one look at me and Rook and found something else to do.
I scowled, focusing on Rook. Her blood-splattered filthy nightgown was probably part of their wariness, along with the frailty of her body. My heart seized as I truly drank her in. She looked dreadful. Her eyes bruised with exhausted shadows; her lips pinched and face gaunt.
Gee thanks. Her sarcasm strayed into my thoughts.
My heart pinched with loss all over again. Fuck, I can’t lose her.
You won’t lose me. She squeezed my hand. And I won’t lose you, got it?
I wanted to tell her so many things. Nonsense, silly things that I needed a lifetime to say. In the end, I settled for silence as we headed deeper into the lab and spilled out into a vast chamber.
I sucked in a breath at the size. An entire section of the glacier had been hollowed out like an ancient cathedral, the roof touching the thinnest crust of ice above, allowing natural light to glow.
Frank caught me looking. “This chamber supports the energy grid for this level. What you’re seeing is only ten percent of the facility. The rest is deeper.”
I squeezed Rook’s fingers.
I despised this place.
The fire in me felt trapped and angry, hissing to get free.
I needed to be alone with her. To touch her, kiss her. To find a way to stop the migraine driving daggers into my skull and erase the ever-present nausea.
The longer we went without connecting, the sicker I felt. My heart stumbled over its beats. I could barely stand or take a satisfying breath. My body temperature rose from my usual scorching baseline, threatening to boil the tarry blood straight out of my veins.
Whisper came to my side, sensing my descent into agony. With a knowing look, he pressed against me, taking his usual place as my crutch.
My heart fisted with affection.
I didn’t know what I would’ve done without him during all those moments when he’d helped keep me upright in Cinderkeep. He’d supported me each time my emotions spiked and the vitalsync core delivered pain.
Fuck, knowing he was tailor-made for me? That he’d been genetically tampered with so his lifespan could reach sixty...I wanted to stick around for that.
I didn’t want to die and never see him again.
I didn’t want to leave him on his own.
Fuck...
I struggled to catch a breath. Weakness crawled through my body as we trailed down another twisty corridor before Frank finally stopped in front of a heavy steel door.
Pressing his palm to a scanner, the door slid open with a soft hiss, revealing a large, minimalist room with floor-to-ceiling glass on the far side. A glowing turquoise crevasse lit up the space with eerie light.
The other walls were lined with metal and shelving. Every inch of space was covered in apparatus that I was too fucking tired to care about. Everything gleamed far too white and sterile and I hated it because it reminded me of how I’d been forced to siphon my blood, giving it to men who’d turned around and used it to torture others.