good.
scramble to feet, limping after train.
feet slipping in sand.
something slams into back.
Wraith. tackling me down again.
NO.
Moon needs me.
Cosima needs me.
JUST FUCKING DIE?—
Chapter 26
RAVEN
Oh,this is just fuckingperfect.
Knight and Wraith are tearing through train cars like they're made of tissue paper, and I'm standing here watching through a hole that used to be a wall, wondering exactly how many ways this clusterfuck of a plan can go wrong.
The answer, apparently, is all of them.
The train rocks violently as another explosion echoes from somewhere ahead. Through the gaping wound in our car, I catch sight of something that makes my jaw drop. There's a giant shirtless alpha riding up on a white horse like some deranged fairy tale prince, if said prince had biceps the size of melons and was wielding a rocket launcher.
I think his name is Whiskey. That tracks.
"Oh, look, the stripper's here!" I call out to Plague, unable to resist the quip even as my heart pounds. "And he has a rocket launcher. Aimedrightat the train his mate is in. How brilliant."
Plague's eyes narrow to slits as he glares through the hole. "I told him not to fuck with that."
The resigned irritation in his voice would be amusing if we weren't careening toward disaster at approximately seventy miles per hour. The train begins to slow, wheels screeching against the tracks in protest. Thank the gods.
"We need to get Cosima off this train," Nikolai says, stating the obvious with his usual charm. "Now."
Geo shifts Cosima's unconscious form in his arms, wincing. "My fucking knee's shot to hell. Here." He passes her to Nikolai with surprising gentleness for someone built like a battering ram. "Don't drop her, or I'll use your spine as a coat rack."
Nikolai takes her like she's made of spun glass, cradling her against his chest. The tenderness in his expression makes something twist in my gut. Not jealousy, exactly. More like recognition. We're all utterly fucked when it comes to this woman.
Even if Plague's sanctimonious offer of "help" made me want to turn him inside out like a sock, he's right about one thing. Something is wrong with Cosima, and we need to get her help, but right now, getting her off this train in one piece has to take priority.
Without hesitation, Nikolai leaps from the slowing train, landing in a crouch on the sandy ground below. Even from here, I can see how he shields Cosima's body with his own, taking the brunt of the impact.
I'm about to follow when Geo's gravelly voice stops me. "What about him?" He jerks his chin toward Plague, who's watching us with those calculating eyes.
A sneer curls my lips. "If his mate wants him so badly, he can have him." I gesture toward the door with mock gallantry. "Elders first."
Geo's eye narrows dangerously. "Watch your fucking mouth, kid."
But he jumps anyway, cursing up a storm about his knee the whole way down. His landing is less graceful than Nikolai's, more like a controlled crash, but he manages to roll with it.
At least until he realizes I'm not jumping after him and his eye goes wide.
"You little—" His words cut off as the train whips past, putting distance between us.
