Page 90 of Whispers of Fire

The dead body of Savannah flashes in front of my eyes.

I won’t be another dead girl on the list.

Vox won’t come. Let’s face it, it’s been weeks without any sign of him.

Nobody’s coming. I’ll have to save myself from this.

I know there will be an opportunity for me to escape right after the holy bath when everyone will congratulate the Shepherd. That will be my time to quietly disappear into one of the backdoors and run into the woods as far as possible until I'll no longer hear them looking for me.

Then I’ll run toward a bus stop. I know there's one about fifteen kilometers behind the forest. It should take two hours tops if I run fast enough in the forest. I don't know where the bus will take me, but my goal is to get as far away as possible until I know what to do next.

I've memorized Vox’s number because I won't be wearing anything under the wedding dress my mother made for me. I’ll find a way to call him once I’m safe and I’m sure he’ll have a reasonable explanation for his absence.

Trust him, don’t give up on him.

I keep repeating these words, stopping me from thinking he abandoned me.

He would never.

The Vox I know cares for me. He would never let me get hurt.

I need to trust him.

Just focus on your plan, Rose.

I've taken just enough money from my mother's wallet for one bus ticket.

I won't get another chance.

The Shepherd will never be my husband, of that I'm sure. What started like a spark of rebellion in me months ago spread into a wildfire, taking everything in its way.

I can't ignore the wrongs of my community anymore, the lies, the deceptions, the murders. It all has to stop. I know my friends and my parents will try to find me, but I’ll hide so well they'll never get to me. I won’t miss my parents, that’s for sure. But I will miss Greta and Jezebel. Even now, watching our world from afar, I still love them. But I know they don’t understand me anymore.

I’ll try to reach them once I’m safe, and maybe, maybe we’ll find our way back to each other.

All I need to focus on right now is my fight to freedom. And if everything goes to plan, I will be free to live my life in six days, even if it costs me losing everything and everyone I've ever known in the process.

But I can't do it differently.

I won’t let this man take from me what I only want to give to Vox. He is the only one I could ever envision a future with, the only one I know would respect my opinion and make decisions for me in my best interest. The only one who truly ever cared. And despite his silence, I keep faith that one day we’ll find each other again, that he must have a good reason for his silence.

Perhaps I’m lying to myself, but I need it. I need to hope, otherwise I'll have nothing left to fight for.

So I will fight this, with every fiber of my being.

For me, for my freedom.

For us .

Vox

Three fuckin’ weeks since I saw my girl and I’m fuckin’ dying in here.

Ares assigned me to work with Carter on a lot of guys we managed to capture from the Steelhawks MC club. He wants us to weaken their army before the takeover, kidnapping as many men as we can find to spread fear into them. I’ve only been out of the basement to sleep in my office for two or three hours at night.

Carter’s keeping a close eye on me.

I know I’m locked up here as much as the guys we’re torturing.

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