“He’ll come with us; he just needs a minute.”
Thunder booms, and the skies open, letting rain fall down in fat droplets that have us running for shelter.
“Are you ready? We’re going to have to run. We won’t have much time.”
I nod, watching the rain turn the world to a blurry grey.
Mordecai lifts a whistle and blows it three times, stops and repeats. He does it over and over until I hear something faint hidden under the sound of the rain.
“This way,” he says.
I bolt into the rain, running through the streets, staying on his heels.
The whistles continue sounding until we get to an intersection of roads. Three of the buildings have been flattened, and the fourth looks close to it.
Bear and Legion step out of it, but the whistle keeps moving away.
“You made it!” Bear says and hugs Mordecai.
I glare at him.
“Good to see you alive, Keres.”
I bare my teeth at him. “No thanks to you.”
He shrugs. “It would have been a grievous loss, but I weighed my decision, and I needed to save the people I was with.”
He’s full of crap. I know it, and he knows it, but I don’t say it.
“Keres found the way out, Bear.”
His eyes widen, and I smugly let that sink in. Yeah, you bastard, if I had died, you probably never would have found it, and you’d be just another dead alpha.
Legion clears his throat. “They’re ready. We can get about ninety percent of people out in the next twenty-four hours.”
They, the Resistance group of Mordecai, Legion, and Bear, exchange some silent looks and conversation made entirely of squints and lips movements. Legion, then Mordecai turn to Bear expectantly. He rubs his chin, looking into the distance. At last, he clicks his tongue and smiles.
“All right, let’s do it. Where are we going?” Bear asks with a wide smile. It takes ten years off him.
I still hate him.
Jarek is standing to the side, quiet, his face white, and not a smile to be seen. He looks deadly, like he’s going to rip throats out and just kill everyone.
I’m not scared of him at all. I finger my cape, tugging at the edges, while I watch him without obviously watching him.
“Take Legion back with you and prepare it. I will start sending people through,” Bear says and turns back the way he came. He lets out a long whistle and two short.
“Head to the spire in the uncharted part of the city. It’s almost right below it,” Mordecai says to Bear. “Look for the metal door carved with crescent moons.”
Bear’s eyes widen. “I never would have thought to look there.”
I have to bite back the urge to say something sarcastic; instead, I focus on Jarek, who is trying to slip away without being noticed. I circle the group, following him silently until we get around a corner.
I tag after him and grab his arm. He stops, and his shoulders droop.
“Kaida,” he whispers. “I’m not in the mood right now.”
“Why?” I ask. “What did I do wrong?”
