The words pour out like frost. I step closer. “If you end up finding your Harvester, I want you to remember you found him while riding on the backs of everyone else. Reuben.Me. And a trained man like you had to sacrifice a little girl to make it happen.”
“Enough.” Tobias tries to stop me, quietly, but I can’t. There’s this ball of fire inside me, begging me to go further. To make it hurt. I crouch to Xavier’s level and his eyes widen only barely.
Despite the heat in my veins my expression is cold, “You didn’t accomplish anything on yourown, Xavier. Peoplegaveit to you. You got itcheap... And everyone else but you, paid the price.”
Tobias pulls me up by my collar to shove me back. “I saidenough,” he snaps. “Reuben will be here soon to deal with you both.”
Reuben, Reuben,Reuben. It’s all I’ve been hearing anyone say.
I turn my back on them to walk away, but I’ve barely made a few steps when my body gives out. Gabriel is there to steady me when my knees buckle, but I shove him off with a snarl, “Don’t touch me!”
“Where are you going?” Gabriel glares.
“It's already noon.” Every nerve feels hot. Like my thoughts are spiralling out of control. “If Xavier’s so sure of himself, then we should be tracking the Harvester. Not waiting for Reuben.”
“Why can’t you justfuckinglisten—?”
“Because we’rewastingtimewaiting here—!”
“Christian, you can’t just do whatever you want!” He grabs my wrist. “This isn’t the Adler Squad—”
“You don’t have tofuckingremind me!” I rip my hand out of his grip. And suddenly it’s spilling out. It’s spilling out of me in ways I can’t stop. It’s spinning and spinning and spinning—
And Gabriel's staring at me like he's seeing me for the first time—like hecould haveanyidea what’s going on with me.
“You’re.Nothing.Like them,” I spit the words because if I keep them in, I might suffocate to death. “But there isn’t any other place for me, Gabriel. I’mstuckhere! Withyou!” I spit the words like I hate them, throwing my hand in Tobias’s direction, “And you! Andhim!” The glare I throw at Xavier is scathing.
I grab Gabriel by the collar to shove him backwards, “Stuck in teams that stab me in the fucking back no matter where I fucking run to!"
I see the moment when Gabriel’s temper flares, rising to match mine, “If you hate being here, then you should’ve justdiedwhen you were supposed to!”
The words echo in a suddenly silent space and regret flashes across Gabriel’s face like a shadow.
But we both know it’s too late.
The fire inside me is snuffed out without a sound. As though it was never there.
My thoughts become quiet. My hands can only fall at my sides. It’s like a void has opened up inside me, swallowing up all the fractures.
The sound of gunshots snaps our attention away and when I turn, I’m looking into Reuben’s eyes.
Fifteen yards away, and still, every one of us can sense the rage emanating from him.
Someone is beside him—a man with blonde and black hair and tattoos patterning his arms; I recognize him from the colour of his hair alone.
Baal Taiga. Reuben’s older brother.
Reuben’s head tilts, and I can see it in his eyes. How close he is to violence.
“Knees.” It drips from his voice as he walks toward us, even at this distance. Unfiltered. Unmistakeable.
Tobias steps forward, “Reuben—”
“On. Your. Knees.” The command chills the air. He doesn’t even look up as he unloads his gun, checking the number of bullets with a terrifying calm.
There isn’t anything we can do but obey. We’re lined up beside each other as we wait for judgment and I can hear everyone else hold their breath.
But I think I stopped breathing moments ago.
