Page 63 of Obsession

"This had better be worth my time, cadet," he growled.

I waited until he was close enough to see the dark pool spreading at my feet, the blood still seeping between my fingers where I pressed against the wound. His eyes widened slightly.

“Grek,” he muttered, stepping closer to peer through the bars.

I lunged forward, grabbing a fistful of his uniform through the bars with my free hand. He jerked back, but I held on, even though the movement sent daggers of pain through my leg. Through blurring vision, I saw Tov's arm snake through his cell bars, fingers closing around the key ring at the guard's belt.

The guard thrashed, trying to break my grip. My strength was fading fast, my fingers starting to slip. Just when I was sure I couldn't hold on any longer, Tov's cell door swung open.

Then my vision went blurry, and everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Tov had the guard in a headlock before he could shout for help. I slumped against the bars, my legs threatening to give out as I watched the guard's struggles weaken and finally stop, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.

Tov lowered the unconscious guard to the ground with surprising gentleness, putting a finger to his neck. “He is not dead.”

I exhaled in relief, even though it should not matter. The Drexian guard was not alive in the first place, so why was I worried about him being killed?

By the time Tov unlocked my cell, the other prisoners were pressed against their bars, calling out in urgent whispers to be freed.

"Here," Tov tossed the keys to the nearest prisoner. "Help yourselves." Then he was beside me, pulling my arm over his shoulders. "Let's go. You've lost too much blood already."

The dungeon tilted and swayed as he helped me toward the exit. My boots scraped against stone, leaving a trail in the dust punctuated with red droplets of my blood. Each step sent waves of pain through my leg, but they felt distant now, like they belonged to someone else.

"Stay with me," Tov's voice seemed to come from very far away.

Black shadpws danced at the edges of my vision. I tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other, but everything was getting hazy, indistinct. Had the torches always glowed like small suns?

Then I heard a voice that made me jerk.

"Kann!"

Britta? That couldn't be right. She was supposed to be safe; she was supposed to be out of the simulation. Part of me wasdevastated to hear her voice again, but an even bigger part of me had never been as happy in my entire existence.

I tried to say her name, but my lips would not move. Then darkness swept in from all sides, and the last thing I felt was my legs giving way as everything was blanketed in black.

Chapter

Forty-Four

Britta

Ihad expected ominous silence as we reached the subterranean cells, but I had not expected furtive chatter and urgent whispers to fill the air. Volten held up a hand, signaling me to wait, but then two figures emerged from the gloom. I tensed, ready to fight or run, but then I saw that it was one Drexian slumped against another.

"Kann!" His name escaped my lips before I could stop it.

His head lifted slightly at my voice, but his eyes were unfocused, fluttering. Blood dripped steadily from his leg, leaving a trail of dark droplets on the stone floor. My stomach lurched at the sight.

When Kann’s legs completely buckled, I rushed forward, ducking under his free arm to support him from the other side. His skin was clammy against mine, and he felt heavier than he should, like he wasn't supporting any of his own weight.

"Who are you?" The Drexian holding Kann's other side asked, his eyes sharp as they moved between Volten and me.

Right. They weren’t used to women at the old academy. I kept forgetting that my entire presence was a shock here.

“We came for him,” Volten nodded to Kann without answering the cadet’s question. “Who are you?”

"I'm Tov. First year cadet. Or I was, before I got caught during the hunt and they threw me in here." He tipped his head at Kann. “I knew this Drexian was no cadet, but I did not expect his rescuers to look like you.”

I exchanged a worried glance with Volten. How much should we tell him? The truth was too bizarre to be believed, but our lies were wearing thin.

"We need to move," I said in lieu of answering any questions. "Kann is losing too much blood."

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