Page 86 of Victorious: Part 3
She’d fucking love this.
But there wasno wayI was risking her, and especially not after Livvy.
If Poppy got hurt in this fight, Alpha wouldneverforgive me.
So even though Poppy isreallyfucking angry at me for forcing her to stay out of this, I had to be the stepmom, and not a fellow bird in that fight.
Because Poppy meansfartoo much.
She’s the reason all of this is happening.
She’s the reason Javier needs to pay for what he has done.
And I am going to makedamnsurethat Javier pays.
For Poppy.
With a newfound strength, I charge down the final corridor and straight into the carnage. A dozen of Javier’s elite form a living wall of riot shields and full-body armor. Behind them, soldiers with automatic rifles and incendiary grenades rain chaos into the hallway.
Bullets tear into the walls. Shrapnel slices through the air. Peacock goes down hard with a cry, pinned behind a crumbling column. A soldier breaks formation and lunges toward her.
“No!” Magpie shrieks, vaulting over a pile of debris. She meets him midair, both of them crashing into the floor. Her blade comes up dramatically, stabbing straight into the side of his head, and he twitches once, twice, then stills. The hallway becomes a blood-slick battleground as the soldiers begin to gain the advantage.
“I’m done playing,” I growl, rage boiling in my veins.
I yank a gas grenade from my belt, rip the pin with my teeth, and hurl it straight into the center of their formation. It bounces a couple of times, then hisses, expelling a thick, noxious cloudthat explodes outward.
“Masks,” I shout.
In perfect synchronization, the birds pull their gear down as screams erupt from the soldiers. Guards stagger and drop their weapons, clawing at their faces when the gas eats into their lungs and eyes.
We don’t hesitate.
We push through.
Smirking as a unit, we shove forward, taking the moment of reprieve to move through the mass of flailing soldiers, but suddenly a shotgun blast catches me square in the vest. My breath is stolen as I fly backward, slamming into a wall. Pain explodes across my ribs, and my head swirls as I fight to come back from the hit.
But the air won’t come.
My lungs seize.
Vision tunnels as panic claws at the edges of my mind.
Darkness threatens to drag me under, and I force myself to stay conscious.
I can’t black out.
Not now.
Chapter Sixteen
HAVEN
Nighthawk stands over me, her gun raised, firing, reloading, firing again.
Like a damn machine.
Who knew the student would become the master?
