And once I was behind those shields…
Heart pounding, I let my eyes wander, tracing the path I’d take from this mud-pit the moment I could.
Marco jerked his thumb to a row of shattered buildings on the far left. “We’ve got two units waiting in the flanks in case they make another push.”
Flicking the corner of his jacket out of the way, the captain took the handles, igniting the molten gold within my veins once more.
This pain wasirrelevant!Goddess, it was all I could do to contain my glee, for there, peeking at me from the just beneath his shirt collar, was myperfectmoment. What I’d been waiting for, all this time.
The pendant’s silver chain glimmered up at me, forcing me to set my canines to the inside of my lip or spoil the surprise.
“You know,” the captain mused, inky gaze passing over my veiny, alien skin before returning his attention to the glimmer of rebel blue. “The circumstances aren’t quite what I had planned, but… this is going to be one hell of a demonstration.”
“You got that right, sir. You are without peer.”
The captain snorted. “You’re not getting a raise, Marco.”
“Tyrant.”
Bracing his cheek against the hilt of his weapon, the captain shifted, bringing the turret to life once more, but this time, there were good men in his sights.
“Light ‘em up, Captain,” Marco said, shifting just enough to block my view of the captain’s angular profile. And if I couldn’t seehim,he couldn’t seeme.
Now!
With a shout, I slipped my finger beneath the chain, and yanked—but it held fast. As if punishing me for losing it all those years ago, the chain did little more than threaten to garrote my parasite. Distorted his startled curse.
Planting my foot on his lower back, I pulled again, only to watch my pinned Elite seize the pendant in his large fist. Denying me with a choked growl.
“Wildcat, getdown,” Marco hissed, wrapping a muddy fist about my ankle.
My foot lashed out, striking him in the solar plexus, even as I dove for the only option I had left. I yanked the ornate silver handle from the captain’s holster and lunged for my escape route. Setting one foot on the ass-end of the turret, I hiked my skirts and rushed down the barrel. Leaping over the concrete barrier before anyone had the sense to stop me.
“Mila!”
And there they were. Belle’s good men, no more than a few hundred paces away—less, if I sprinted flat-out. Shouts frombothsides echoed through the stretch of ruined crops separating them, but the flurry of activity from behind the closest rebel shield lightened my tainted soul.
“Mila!”
I spun to the sound of his voice, weapon raised. Offering a parting gift for my impossible Elite.
After all, the general had wanted a show.
Chapter 21
I whirled, turning Caledonian firepower upon its owner, skin ablaze with Caledonian gold. “Call them off. Your men”—I flicked the weapon at the soldiers crouched behind the concrete, staring at me with mouths agape—“tell them to put their weapons down.”
Behind me, the rebels shouted all at once, their voices melting into one, unintelligible dull roar—I waved them off, focused on the pale shock settling upon the captain’s face. He was measuring the distance between us. Of that, I had no doubt. Knew he was trying to calculate how best to bring me to heel.
My lip curled.
Abandoning the turret, the captain stood, flashing the whites of his palms and revealing himself to the rebels across the field.
The searing pain at wrists and throat receded, though I didn’t let him see my relief. No, I fixed a toothy grin upon my lips, memorizing every detail of thisperfectmoment.
Ignoring the surge of activity from behind the shields and the concrete barriers, the captain took a step and said, “You’ve made your point, Miss Tannovic—”
The rebels shouted, setting the air alight with an electric tingle ofpromise.
