Page 61 of Royal Guard

A man sprinted past me and his elbow caught me. I spun, stumbled in my heels…

“No!”yelled Garrett.

And the crowd swept me away.

42

GARRETT

I’ve never knownfear like it. The crowd carried her off like a twig tossed into rapids. Inside of a second, she was gone.

No! There!A glimpse of her white and gold dress. I jumped down off the carriage and was running as soon as my boots hit the ground. My height let me see over the crowd and keep her in sight:just.All around me, people were pushing and shoving but I just dropped my shoulder and ran like I was a linebacker again. The hot fury was building inside me: I could see people on the ground and lost children crying for their parents. These bastards didn’t care how many innocents they hurt. And the gunfire was getting closer: they were coming for her.

They weren’t going to get her. I surged forward, battering people out of the way. I kept catching glimpses of her up ahead and I was gaining.Just stay on your feet, Kristina. Another few seconds.

And then the smoke from one of the explosionsrolled across the street. It missed Kristina, up ahead, but it surrounded me. I’d been sucking down big lungs of Lakovia’s crisp, clean air as I ran, but suddenly my lungs spasmed, shaken by acrid fumes. All I could see was white and I could feel ash and cinders hitting my face, some of them still hot enough to burn. My part of the crowd slowed and broke up, everyone stumbling in different directions.Shit!I had to pull up short to avoid tripping over a fallen woman and then I couldn’t figure out which way I’d been going.

I turned in a circle, coughing. The smoke thickened and—

I felt the memory bearing down on me. I closed my eyes, tried to shut it out but—

It slammed into me. The sand scrunched under my feet as I fought for grip against the wind. I was fumbling along the side of the house, rough concrete under my fingertips. Then there was nothing to follow: I was lost, buried in sand and dust, the air as solid as the ground. I could see nothing, not even my own boots. I staggered on, gun out in front of me, struggling to breathe. And then the man ran out of the dust. Only feet away and heading straight for me—

Cool, damp mountain air bathed my face. The wind was whipping the smoke away. I was in Lakovia, on the street. The crowd was picking up speed again as more explosions sounded in the distance but—

I couldn’t see her. I couldn’t see her anywhere.

Oh Jesus.How long had I frozen for?Oh God, please no.My eyes searched the crowd.

But I’d lost her.

43

KRISTINA

I was lifted and carried,scrambling to stay on my feet. All I could see was shoulders and necks and black, screaming mouths.

Another bomb went off, this one close enough that the world jolted and rocked and, when it stabilized again, there was no sound. I looked back for a second and, to my horror, the carriage was like a toy in the distance. Then smoke hid even that.

The crowd ran until it hit the end of the street, then pooled and twisted, splitting to rush down side streets. Someone pushed me in their panic and I slipped and went down. I saw backs and then—

No!

Running legs and—

No!

Feet.

I screamed and curled into a ball as I was trampled.

44

GARRETT

It’s my fault.My fault for being weak, for being a mess. If something happens to her—

I forced myself to push it all aside. Now that the smoke had cleared, I could get my bearings. I sprinted in the last direction I saw her, overtaking the rest of the crowd, barging them aside. But I still couldn’t see her. Up ahead, the street ended and split into a maze of side streets. It was a swirling mess of people. I was taller than most of them but—my stomach knotted—if she was down on the ground….

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