grenade-looking canisters then glanced back at us. “The longer you stay here the less chance I’ll have of making it out of here alive.” Penton set his jaw in a way that reminded me of Ryder. Were all men born with that distinctive hardheaded stare?
“Raeth, he’ll make it. Penton always does. That’s his gift.”
“Trust me.” His words cut through Raeth and her crossed arms fell to her sides.
“I do.” With grace, she turned toward the hall, her movements graceful like a dancer, and raced for the doorway. At the threshold, she glanced back. “Don’t you dare die on me when I can finally keep up with you, Penton.”
My gaze scanned the three men with us. “You two,” I said, pointing, “with us. Sergeant, you’re human. Stay and help Penton.”
With the hellhole at our backs, the two men and I bolted for the hall and safety, such as it was, I thought as s weat-saturated clothing weighed me down. Forget the mist grenades, I had seconds to make it to cover before I was well done.
As we joined Raeth, I saw her flinch at the sound of the door to weaponry clank shut, sealing Penton and the sergeant in.
“I -I love him. More th-than anything. He’s m-my savior. My heart. I c-can’t lose him.”
“I know.” With my arm around her shoulders, I nudged her down the corridor and further from the heat to the storage room where others worked on stacking the supplies we’d rescued from the lab.
“Seal off the hall to the weaponry and evacuate above and below. This isn’t going to be pretty ,” a captain ordered.
Raeth gasped. “What do you mean seal it off?”
His eyes widened. He took a step back, the soldier obviously hesitant to give bad news to the legendary girl with the excessive power. “We need to lower the blast shield and seal off the area.” He motioned someone over to the controls.
Raeth lunged to block the man’s path. “You c -can’t. Penton won’t make it out.”
“If we don’t seal it and Penton fails then we’ll all be dead.”
“S-Semara, we c-can’t let them.”
He’ll die to save the Triune. Fallon’s words echoed in my head. Was it really Penton’s destiny? No, I rejected the prophesy. My mother was wrong. Penton wouldn’t die. The Triune was supposed to save the world, and if Raeth lost Penton, she wouldn’t survive. But if I was wrong, I’d be sealing Penton and the fate of the Triune to a fiery grave. My heart ached as I met Raeth’s horrified gaze. “The captain’s right, Raeth. Penton will either succeed and therefore survive or he’ll fail. But if we don’t shut the blast doors, we’ll all join him, thereby destroying the Triune.”
Raeth ’s glare of contempt-laced hatred speared my soul. My best friend, confidant, and sister to my fiancé looked ready to grab her blaster and shoot me dead. Not even when I was twelve and didn’t stop Mandesa from taking her leg had she stared at me as if wishing me to drop dead.
Everything in me demanded I rush back and force Penton to flee, but I couldn’t. Penton and the captain were right. Struggling to control my tremors, I forced myself to hold firm.
I hit the blast door button and watched it slide shut.
Chapter Twelve
What have I done? my heart and mind cried out.
You ’re a leader, who made the necessary decision that kept causalities at a minimum.
B riggs died because I didn’t use my gift correctly. I should’ve melted all metal on the bomber.
You haven’t been in close-quarters combat and used your gift, Semara. With time, your choices and reactions will become automatic, and Briggs is critical, not dead. She managed to duck behind some cabinets and other debris covered her body. Casualties are not as high as our original estimates.
Thank goodness. A little hint of hope filled me, but was quickly squashed. But that doesn’t change the fact I’ve just sentenced Penton to a horrific death if he fails, and based upon Mother’s prophesy, he’ll die.
The funny thing about
“Raeth, he’ll make it. Penton always does. That’s his gift.”
“Trust me.” His words cut through Raeth and her crossed arms fell to her sides.
“I do.” With grace, she turned toward the hall, her movements graceful like a dancer, and raced for the doorway. At the threshold, she glanced back. “Don’t you dare die on me when I can finally keep up with you, Penton.”
My gaze scanned the three men with us. “You two,” I said, pointing, “with us. Sergeant, you’re human. Stay and help Penton.”
With the hellhole at our backs, the two men and I bolted for the hall and safety, such as it was, I thought as s weat-saturated clothing weighed me down. Forget the mist grenades, I had seconds to make it to cover before I was well done.
As we joined Raeth, I saw her flinch at the sound of the door to weaponry clank shut, sealing Penton and the sergeant in.
“I -I love him. More th-than anything. He’s m-my savior. My heart. I c-can’t lose him.”
“I know.” With my arm around her shoulders, I nudged her down the corridor and further from the heat to the storage room where others worked on stacking the supplies we’d rescued from the lab.
“Seal off the hall to the weaponry and evacuate above and below. This isn’t going to be pretty ,” a captain ordered.
Raeth gasped. “What do you mean seal it off?”
His eyes widened. He took a step back, the soldier obviously hesitant to give bad news to the legendary girl with the excessive power. “We need to lower the blast shield and seal off the area.” He motioned someone over to the controls.
Raeth lunged to block the man’s path. “You c -can’t. Penton won’t make it out.”
“If we don’t seal it and Penton fails then we’ll all be dead.”
“S-Semara, we c-can’t let them.”
He’ll die to save the Triune. Fallon’s words echoed in my head. Was it really Penton’s destiny? No, I rejected the prophesy. My mother was wrong. Penton wouldn’t die. The Triune was supposed to save the world, and if Raeth lost Penton, she wouldn’t survive. But if I was wrong, I’d be sealing Penton and the fate of the Triune to a fiery grave. My heart ached as I met Raeth’s horrified gaze. “The captain’s right, Raeth. Penton will either succeed and therefore survive or he’ll fail. But if we don’t shut the blast doors, we’ll all join him, thereby destroying the Triune.”
Raeth ’s glare of contempt-laced hatred speared my soul. My best friend, confidant, and sister to my fiancé looked ready to grab her blaster and shoot me dead. Not even when I was twelve and didn’t stop Mandesa from taking her leg had she stared at me as if wishing me to drop dead.
Everything in me demanded I rush back and force Penton to flee, but I couldn’t. Penton and the captain were right. Struggling to control my tremors, I forced myself to hold firm.
I hit the blast door button and watched it slide shut.
Chapter Twelve
What have I done? my heart and mind cried out.
You ’re a leader, who made the necessary decision that kept causalities at a minimum.
B riggs died because I didn’t use my gift correctly. I should’ve melted all metal on the bomber.
You haven’t been in close-quarters combat and used your gift, Semara. With time, your choices and reactions will become automatic, and Briggs is critical, not dead. She managed to duck behind some cabinets and other debris covered her body. Casualties are not as high as our original estimates.
Thank goodness. A little hint of hope filled me, but was quickly squashed. But that doesn’t change the fact I’ve just sentenced Penton to a horrific death if he fails, and based upon Mother’s prophesy, he’ll die.
The funny thing about
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