Page 64 of Polestar
How dare this piece of shit be so cavalier?
A guard reached for her.
Magnus snarled at the guard, then shoved him so hard he bounced off the stone wall with a crack.“Leave, Ana; take the plane and go home.”
She was shaking her head before the words came.“No.”
“Havard is marked.Like Aksel.Come back with Kane and the others.”
Rooted to the stone floor, her gaze swept the scene before her.Magnus blocked the guards’ access to her.She had a clear path out if she could remember the way.
“If you don’t, they may kill both of us.”
Would they?
Still, she remained frozen for what seemed minutes when, in reality, it was mere seconds.
She stepped toward Magnus and he roared in her face, allowing his features to morph into the fierce polar bear he was, sending shocks of terror through her nervous system.
She was running before she knew she was moving as she passed through the door to the first courtyard.
Kane.
She had to let Kane know they had confirmation that other Barentians were marked.
Kane would get Magnus out.
The Organization wouldn’t abandon one of their own.Ana didn’t know Aaron Connor very well, but she knew Raya Burns enough to know that she’d never leave Magnus to rot in a Barentian dungeon.And where Raya went, so went Ian, her formidable mate.
And Carson.She had no idea what his relationship to Magnus was, but Ana knew he’d help her, as would Lirikai.
She clung to the absolute knowledge that she wouldn’t be alone.If she could get to the plane.A plane she didn’t know how to fly, but that wouldn’t stop her from trying.
Magnus, the banished, was still inside the stronghold.Everywhere outside of the stronghold remained deserted.
She passed through the curtain wall and across the last sheltered space toward the final exit, not daring to look back at how close any pursuers were.Her hammering heart, whooshing breath, the swish of her pumping arms and frantic boot falls made hearing anything other than herself impossible.
Belatedly, she realized she’d dropped Magnus’ pack at some point, as her own bounced on her back.She ran harder, putting as much distance between herself and the stronghold as she could.
Her initial terror-fueled jump-start was fading as regular adrenaline rushed her veins.
It was a long, long way back to the village where they had docked their little seaplane.
As her muscles strained, she finally spared a glance over her shoulder.If anyone were pursuing her, surely they’d have caught her by now.They were shifters with far more strength and speed than any human.
The expanse of road between herself and the stronghold was empty.
Why hadn’t they stopped her?Ulla had said to detain both of them.
Was she just not important enough to waste their time?
God, I hope so.
She never wanted to be so unimportant in her life.
Ana kept going as she considered her options, should someone try to stop her.She had her gun and her taser.Her pack held some few supplies, but not much.
SEVENTEEN
