Page 235 of Silver Elite

“How did you even get here in the first place?”

Although I’m starting to realize the Uprising is far more powerful than Command Intelligence can even imagine.

No sooner does that thought surface than another explosion shatters the air.

It’s nowhere near our vicinity, somewhere off in the distance, but I feel the shock wave ripple through the ground beneath my shoes. The same force I felt from the bomb at the weapons depot. It ignites the sky, orange flames licking a black canvas, as the air thickens with smoke and a sickly-sweet odor.

I glance at Adrienne, only to see her disappear into the back of a car that speeds away like a bat bursting out of a cave.

I open a path to Cross, but he’s not responding. I need to find him. Figure out what the hell is going on. But I don’t make it back into the building. I’m running toward it when someone intercepts my path.

Roe.

I freeze, hoping my panic doesn’t show on my face.

“Where are you hurrying off to?” His tone is laced with a cruel amusement.

Recovering from the surprise of seeing him, I flash an irritated look. “Roe. Get out of my way.”

Rather than yield, he steps closer. “Why the rush? Afraid of a little fire?”

I clench my fists and try to brush past him, but he gets in my face again.

“I don’t have time for this,” I spit out.

I dart to the left, hoping to slip past him. But he’s faster. His armsnaps out, catching me by the shoulder and shoving me back. Shocked, I stumble, nearly losing my footing.

“You really think I’m going to let you escape? After you tried to blow up a Command installation?”

My stomach sinks like a stone. Fuck.Fuck!

Fueled by pure desperation, I spring to action, swinging my fist at his jaw. He blocks it easily, countering with a swift kick to my midsection.

Pain explodes in my ribs at the unexpected blow. I gasp, doubling over. For a moment, I’m stunned into inaction. Roe was always decent in Combat class, but clearly he’s been practicing since his total ass-kicking by Cross in the pit.

“Is that the best you’ve got?” he sneers, circling me like a predator.

I straighten, drawing a ragged breath into my lungs. “You don’t want to do this, Roe.”

“Oh, but I do. I want nothing more than to bash your Aberrant brains into the concrete.”

Ivy.

Hellfucking Ivy.

Fear rips through me. I feint left, then spin right, hoping to outrun him. But he grabs me again and shoves me into the wall behind us. I take him with me, and we crash to the ground, wrestling for control. I manage to land a knee to his stomach. He punishes me with a jab to the chin that brings black dots to my vision.

“You ’fects make me sick,” he hisses, then launches himself on top of me.

I land on my back, my skull smacking the ground hard. Roe pins me beneath him, his dark eyes sizzling down at me. Dripping with unadulterated hatred.

I writhe to free myself, but his weight is too much. My pulse grows thin, weak, as Roe slowly bends his head. His mouth brushes my cheek as he drags it toward my ear.

“I want to kill you with my bare hands,” he whispers. “However…”

He’s suddenly on his feet. The sound of hurried footsteps reaches us, and I glance up to see a swarm of soldiers appear, raising their weapons at me.

Nobody stops me as I scramble to my feet. I don’t try to run, though. Not when I find myself facing down half a dozen rifle barrels.

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