Page 67 of The Brotherhood

Nexus slammed his hand into the external control panel at the stone slab as relics and statues toppled around them. “The gears jammed,” he yelled.

Volken hurried to the door. “Push!”

Sinrik set Beth on her feet. “Don’t move!”

He ran to the doors, slamming his weight against the frozen stone with the rest of the Kings and apprentices, every ounce of strength thrown into the slabs.

The floor beneath their feet shuddered and they pushed harder. The doors shifted a couple inches allowing ice cold wind to scream through the gap.

“More,” Sinrik yelled.

They pressed forward, getting a grinding, metallic groan. Another inch. Then another.

A sudden jolt hit the mountain, widening the crack in the door and dropping the floor beneath their feet.

Sinrik’s heart stopped at Beth’s scream. He spun and ran to her, pulling her to the opening now a foot higher.

“Go!” Nexus ordered, helping everybody pass through.

The second he cleared the door with her, he lifted her in his arms again, hurrying to the bridge at the end of the tapered tunnel.

The cold hit like a war hammer at the bridge, wind roaring across the cliffs, brutal cold burning right through their clothes.

Beth gasped against his chest, and he fought to pull her closer as he navigated the ice-coated stone bridge. Everybody ran across, slipping and stumbling as they went while Sinrik pushed into the force of the wind, crushing Beth against him as the bridge trembled.

Don’t you fucking break.

They finally reached the other side and continued to run. Several hundred feet later, they finally stopped and turned. Snow and dust swirled around the trembling pillars as fractures widened across the carved walls.

A deep, boom rocked the air, splitting the mountain. “Holy fuck,” Sinrik marveled watching the stronghold slowly sink. The front pillars crumbled, the walls caved inward then folded into itself. The bridge was the last to get devoured as a thunderous roar filled the air. And then it was gone. The entire mountain, gone from the surface of the desert.

The wind howled through the sudden emptiness as Beth’s body trembled violently against him. He turned, searching for the black jet in the whipping white air. His panic hit as he turned around.

“There!” an apprentice yelled.

Sinrik spun, catching sight of a dark spot and hurried with her toward it with the rest of them. They finally made it to the black hull, and he adjusted Beth in his arms, his limbs aching from the cold. His breath came fast, misting in the frozen air as he reached the entry panel.

He pressed his wristband against the scanner. Fuck. The cold had locked the system.

Teeth clenched, he yanked his coat sleeve back, exposing the thin metal band embedded beneath his skin. He tapped it twice. A sharp pulse vibrated against his wrist, bringing flickering lights and engines whining before giving way to a deep, shuddering thrum as all systems engaged.

The hatch unsealed and Sinrik moved first, stepping onto the ramp, carrying Beth inside. The air inside was warmer, but not by much.

Once they were piled in, he shut the door. “I need to get her warm,” he said, pushing through toward the private cabin. “I can only carry twelve,” he announced, as he went. “I’ll call my Riftborn to come for whoever remains. Are there caves nearby that would serve as shelter till they arrive?”

“The Black Throat Caves,” one of the Rift Monks said. “Deep enough to trap heat. Two miles east of here.”

“Good,” he hurried, as the panel door slid open with a hiss and he hurried into the small room. The air was warmer. Not by much. He lowered Beth onto the narrow bed, assessing her condition. She barely reacted and her body wasn’t shivering as much. Not good.

He moved fast, stripping off her frozen outer layers—coat first, then boots. Her clothes beneath seemed dry. She whimpered softly as the blankets covered her, barely shifting under them. Fear crawled up his spine and he tore his own jacketoff. His boots. His shirt. The cold air bit into his skin as he climbed in beside her and pulled her against him.

Beth barely moved as he sealed his body against hers, skin to skin, heat sinking into frozen limbs. He fought to get the covers around both of them tightly as her bare shoulders trembled against his chest. Her arms curled into her body tightly, her fingers barely twitching. Fuck, her legs were ice, tangled awkwardly with his.

She was so damn cold. And too small. Like he could crush her just by holding too tight.

His arms wrapped around her completely, one hand on the curve of her belly, the other over her arms pressed into her chest, his body flush against her back.

He moved his hands quickly over her legs then arms, trying to force warmth back into her body.

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