“Drive them back,” I snap. “We’ll clear the subfloor on our?—”
The world detonates.
Heat slams into me like a freight train. The floor heaves. My body lifts off the ground, then slams into concrete. The taste of metal floods my mouth.
Smoke. Screaming. Fire.
I roll onto my side, coughing through the ringing in my ears. Half the wall’s gone. Ceiling collapsing in sheets of molten rebar and dust.
Arlo’s voice cuts through the chaos. “Priest!”
I blink hard, my vision swimming. The ceiling groans again—one beam cracking free, crashing down and splitting the hallway in two. Fire roars up from the breach, cutting her off from me completely.
“Arlo!” I shout, forcing myself to stand. My rifle’s gone. Movement flickers at the edge of my vision.
Dalton. He’s up—Raisingmyrifle.
“Priest!” Raze’s voice, a split second before the bang.
Then impact.
Raze crashes into me, and for a heartbeat, I think he’s tackling me to the floor. But then Dalton drops. Skull exploding in red.
Raze goes limp.
More ceiling collapses, chunks of concrete raining down. I can’t hear anything over the roaring fire. The air’s a furnace, choking the breath from my lungs.
“Raze,” I grunt, shoving at him. “You heavy fuck, move?—”
I shove harder, rolling him onto his back, and that’s when I see it.
Blood.
Dark and thick, spilling between my fingers as I press down. He’s been shot. Straight through the gut. And there’s too much of it.
“Well…fuck me.” He coughs, and a spray of blood splashes my chin. “Guess I finally did something heroic.”
“You took a goddamn bullet for me.”
He snorts, grimacing through the pain. “Yeah, well—don’t get used to it. I’m not making a habit outta catching bullets for your ugly face.” His chuckle breaks into another cough, more blood. “If I’d known it’d hurt this bad, I’d’ve let it hit you instead.”
“Don’t you fucking die on me.” My voice is lost in the roar of fire and collapsing steel. “You hear me, Raze? You’re not dying here.”
“We knew someone was feeding Sterling our locations.” His breath hitches, chest jerking under my hands. “Just didn’t think it’d be the dumb one. Should’ve figured. Always is.”
“Shut up. You’re losing too much blood.”
“Got shot by a fucking pretty boy…you believe that? Not even one of the good ones. Just some sloppy-ass foot soldier in designer gloves.”
More blood bubbles out, trailing down his jaw. I press harder on the wound. He lets out a guttural groan, one leg kicking against the floor.
“Listen to me, Priest.” His fingers twist in my vest. “You don’t let Sterling take everything. You hear me? He already got enough. He fucked you up enough.”
“Stop. Fucking. Talking.”
“You’re the biggest liability I’ve ever known. But you’re the best goddamn weapon the Sovereign’s got. Don’t waste it on him. You need to lead, Priest. For the forgotten. The soulless fucks like us. We deserve a chance.”
“You’re not dying on me, Raze.”
