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I make it to Lord Larsen just a few minutes after the battle has begun. Finding him and his son Gunner through the throng is easy; with a simple flick of my wrist, I rotate my sword until the tip of it is pointing in his direction. “We won’t go down without a fight,” he roars at me.
I tilt my blade.
Smile.
And murmur, “I was hoping you would say that.”
Chapter22
THE FIRST
Sofia
For the second time today, I wake up in Gabriel’s bed.
For thefirst, he’s all I can see when I open my eyes.
It’s too lovely a sight to question. I wait for the bleariness to melt away and take in the straight line of his nose, his white-blond hair, the little scars that cluster at the base of his jaw.
“Hey,” I say, wondering if everything that came before was just a dream. My smile is quick, effortless, little more than a reflex. It’s just that I’msohappy. Happy that he’s here, with his scent that always holds me. Even happier that he’s sitting on the edge of the mattress and looking down at me like I’m pretty and made of sea pearls. He runs his fingers down my hair with the same attention and precision a soldier would give to sharpening his sword, biceps flexing with every tiny movement. I can’t remember ever feeling this at peace.
And yet, there is a small furrow between his brows. “Are you okay?” I ask.
The question makes him laugh. “Areyouokay, Sofia?”
“Of course. I just slept for…” How long did I sleep for? Alot, since it’s night. I must have, because we’re back to a regular High, and vicious currents swirl outside the window of his quarters. Not even a speckle of sunlight filters in, which means that?—
Everything returns to me at once.
The letter.
Lady Larsen.
The sirens.
“Shit.” I drag myself up to my elbows, heart going from nothing to a million beats per minute. “What happened? The filtration system, is it?—”
“Everything’s okay,” he says calmly, one large hand drifting to comb through the hair at my nape. “More importantly,youare okay.”
“But what happened? The lights went off, and?—”
“Lord Larsen tried to sabotage some of the life support systems. He planned to pump poisonous gasses through the air ducts, and we stopped his guards right as they started tampering with the filters. It’s all over, though. There’s nothing for you to worry about anymore.”
My eyes widen. Even soothed by his Alpha scent, I’m alarmingly awake. “Where is he? Lord Larsen, I mean.”
“I’m not sure.”
“Did he escape? Are you looking for him in the stronghold?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Gabriel’s smile widens. “My interest in him is null, at the moment. And I consider our matters settled.”
“Settled? How do you…?” Shit.Shit. I can’t believe how slow I am sometimes. “Is hedead?”
A simple satisfied nod.
