Page 19 of Silver Elite

I rub my damp palms against the front of my jeans. I’m anxious, astate made worse by the constant tugs on my mind. I’ve felt Declan trying to link with me all morning. Tana, too. I haven’t been letting them in.

I don’t care how worried Tana is, or how annoyed Declan must be that I fled the safe house. I simply don’t care. Because this is Jim. He’s saved my life countless times and it’s my turn to save his. Somehow. I hope.

It’s an excruciating wait. Forty-five minutes of fidgeting and shifting my feet, until finally, the tunnel gate creaks open, and an excited buzz travels through the throng of citizens. The two halves crank apart to allow a Command truck to drive out of the cavernous black space.

Resentment burns my throat. Fuck the Uprising for being so damn ready to sacrifice Jim. They wouldn’t have even half the intel they’re in possession of if it weren’t for men like Julian Ash, who put their lives at risk to infiltrate institutions like the Command. He had climbed the ranks to become a colonel. All the schematics he’d procured them, all the information he’d funneled out of the base over the years, and now they’re abandoning him because they’re too cowardly to attempt a rescue.

I feel a tickle in my mind. Tana trying to link again. I ignore her. I’m sure she can guess where I am.

The crowd murmurs again, low voices echoing in the square. Two uniformed officers slide out of the truck and march toward the back.

My heart jumps to my throat when I finally get a glimpse of Jim.

I’m relieved to see he doesn’t look too bad. He’s still wearing his jeans and undershirt, but his flannel is gone. His hands are cuffed in front of him. There are streaks of dirt on his muscular arms and white shirt, but other than that, he appears unharmed. No bruises. No bloody nose. I’m grateful for that. He’s been in their custody since yesterday, so it could be a lot worse.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting. A mangled face, maybe? But no, they would want everyone to see him clearly. To relish the fear and defeat in his eyes before the bullets tear into his flesh.

There is no fear, though, as the two men drag him up the wooden steps to the platform. They don’t push him onto his knees. He standstall, shoulders straight, face utterly expressionless. Until his shuttered gaze sweeps the crowd and lands on me. Only then does he react. Just slightly. His jaw tics, lips tightening.

For the first time in nearly twenty-four hours, I feel a poke in my mind.

Panic lodges in my throat, because what is hedoing? His arms are bare. Everyone will know if he—

But they already know, I remind myself, the panic dulling into resignation.

I let him in, needing to hear his voice.

“Get out of here, Wren. Now. You can’t be here.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“Freak!” yells someone in the crowd.

“ ’Fect!”

They see what I’m seeing. It’s less noticeable in the morning sun than when he uses his gifts at night—then, his veins are silver signposts. But we can all see them now. Rippling. It’s like liquid silver moving through them.

Suddenly Jim’s head is thrown back. Somebody hurled a rock at him. Outrage sizzles up my spine. If I had my rifle, that asshole would already be dead.

The Command officers immediately train their rifles on the mob.

“Enough!” one shouts. “He’ll get his due soon enough.”

“How do we stop this?”I ask Jim.

“We can’t. You really shouldn’t be here.”

“Where else would I be?”

I scan my surroundings in desperation. I need a weapon, but the citizens are unarmed. The only weapons belong to the officers on the platform. Close-range assault rifles. They’ll do. One of the men is speaking into his comm now. I can try to distract him and—

“Don’t even think about it,”Jim admonishes.

I glare at him. I don’t like the acceptance in his expression. It wasn’t there before, but now his face is bordering on defeated. Jim’s not stupid. He understands that if I’m here alone, that means the network didn’t find him worthy of rescue. And if he’s not trying to fight his way out, that means he knows there’s no point.

A second truck rumbles out of the tunnel.

The firing squad has arrived.

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