Page 97 of The World Undone

If I was honest though, having her close, feeling her skin against mine, helped steady my nerves as well. There were no guarantees of success here.

And voluntarily entering a vicinity owned by the very people who’d kept me captive for years wasn’t exactly my idea of a relaxing afternoon.

Rowan and Haley were a few feet behind us. The boy’s fingers kept twitching toward the blade in his holster, like he was fighting every instinct in his body telling him to reach for it.

Fastest way to get found out—shoving a blade in the face of the enemy as we moved through their nest.

I clenched my teeth, hoping like hell he’d manage restraint. Truthfully though, it was kind of nice to know that I was the one most visibly in control. Not counting Haley—she never betrayed even the slightest emotion.

And it was also rather sweet to see the blood-thirsty side of Max’s brother.

I was liking him more each day.

Nameless faces scattered in my peripherals as Max moved forward with purpose, her eyes open but unfocused. I knew she was searching for it, the stone. Hunting. I dug inside of myself, tried to do the same, but all I could focus on, all that I felt, was her.

She was a beacon that my body stayed constantly attuned to. It took great effort to focus on anything else.

Max took a deep breath, shook her head once, before glancing quickly behind her at her brother.

Nothing.

Did that mean it wasn’t here or did that mean that it was protected, shielded somehow? Were we simply too far from wherever it was kept? I wasn’t sure what the radius on Max’s radar was but?—

“Bentley?” A stocky, pale boy with reddish hair stopped in front of us. The only word I could think of to describe his face was punchable. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. You’re here? Fucking hell, you have to have the mental capacity of an acorn to show your face here.” He snorted, then pulled out a phone as he turned back to a friend, equally punchable looking, ready to sound the alarm. “Tell Jarr?—”

The boys neck snapped with a smooth crack as I held his head between my hands. He dropped in a puddle of limbs at my feet, whatever warning he was preparing simply dissolved on his tongue as death took him in its grasp.

His friend screamed, the sound low and loud, alerting every passerby in the hall of our presence.

Well, fuck. There went the element of surprise. My bad.

Max took a deep breath, her fingers clutched around a dagger as she glanced from me to Rowan.

I shrugged in response. “I’m not exactly well-practiced in subtlety.”

“Well, here goes,” Haley muttered, trying to maintain her usual ambivalence, but I didn’t miss the way the corner of her eyes pinched with excitement.

Not fear.

It would have been dull if there was no bloodshed on this mission.

And Haley was clearly itching for a fight.

“Fucking hell.” Rowan took a deep breath, sighed, and positioned his back against Max’s as the four of us prepared for the sudden horde of protectors preparing to descend on us.

The two of them moved together with the kind of ease and comfort that came with years of trust. Honestly, having him on our team was a fucking privilege. No one needed Max alive as badly as I did. But her brother came in a close second.

His eyes darted briefly to mine. “Some of them are young, don’t know any better. Try not to kill too many of them.”

A woman, eyes green and round and filled with a venom that could have made plants whither descended on us first, her blade sinking into Rowan’s bicep as she clawed at his face in an effort to get to Max—more rabid than any feral wolf I’d seen.

“Never mind,” Rowan grunted, shoving the girl off of him and kicking her swiftly in the stomach. “Do what you have to do. You were right. Not much room for subtlety or nuance here, is there?”

I smirked.

From there, it was bloodshed. My teeth sank deep into one man’s neck, tearing and tugging—I had no interest in his blood, only his death.

The others filed in formation, the hall filled with bones snapping and dull screams as the four of us took out anyone in our way.

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