Page 133 of Forging Darkness

“Sterling, go grab some water from the bathroom,” Nova says. “See if that wakes her.”

Water sounds nice. I’m parched.

I try to pull myself together, but it’s not happening. Did someone weigh down my limbs with cement?

A door slams against a wall, the sound loud over the pulsing alarm.

“She won’t wake up. I was going to throw some water on her.” Sterling is the worst.

“Turn the shower on. Cold water only.” Steel’s here. Maybe he can make the noise stop. I can’t do much more than cringe as the ice pick digs deeper into my brain.

“Last chance, Em. You going to wake up?” he asks.

I can’t so much as moan.

Dizziness becomes my world as I’m hefted into the air. I’m able to pry my lids open a sliver to see Steel looking down at me as he walks me to the bathroom. His mouth is tight and brow pinched. He looks concerned. I would be too if I could string two thoughts together right now. My mind is like a scrambled egg.

Opening the glass door, Steel steps right into the shower, positioning me directly under the spray.

The water feels like needles hitting my skin, but it’s just what I need to groggily lift my head.

“What’s going on?”

Steel releases a breath and places a kiss on my forehead. “Thank goodness,” he whispers, then yells, “She’s awake!” over his shoulder.

“Can you stand?”

“I’m not sure,” I admit.

Steel slowly lowers me to the ground. With an arm still around me, he turns the shower off. Both of us drip chilled water onto the tiled floor.

My legs are shaky, but I wake more with each passing moment. Brushing a clump of wet hair off of my face, I tilt my head up. The alarm has stopped, but the pounding in my head hasn’t.

“What’s going on?” I ask again.

“That’s what we need to figure out. Come on.” He leads me back into the bathroom. Grabbing a towel off the rack, he wraps it around my shoulders before ushering me into the room.

Nova and Sterling are seated on Ash’s bed, the one closest to the door. Greyson paces in front of the window next to Ash.

“Em. What was that?” he demands.

“I was . . . tired?” How can I explain something I don’t understand myself.

“Let’s go to my parents’ room. Blaze and Aurora will be there too. It’s best we stay together,” Steel suggests.

The alarm starts again. Through each burst the sound grows in intensity before fading, only to start again.

“It’s the compound’s alarm. Something’s up, but we’re not sure what,” Nova says.

Ash pulls open the dresser, yanking out clothes, and then herds Greyson toward the door. “I’ve got her clothes. She can change in the Durands’ room. Let’s go.”

We leave in a cluster. I’m almost mowed down by an angel-born the second I step out the door. There are shouts in the distance, but I can only make out a few words here and there.

In under three minutes we’ve traversed the building and barge into the Durands’ sitting room. Eloise spins toward us. It looks like she was pacing a hole into the floor.

“Oh, thank goodness,” she says.

Blaze and Aurora are seated on the couch, unusually quiet. That freaks me out a bit.

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