“I said let her go,” Ender repeats. His voice is icy and lethal. “Releasing her right this second is the difference between a quick death and a long one.”
“She’s your sister-in-law, right?” he asks. “Twins? Don’t see how you can bear to leave your wife behind if she looks anything like this one.”
Miles runs his other hand down my cheek, and I resist the urge to bite his damn finger. He’s enjoying this scene a little too much.
“Don’t you dare touch her!” Ender growls. “I will feed you your fingers.”
My mouth twitches. He stole my favorite threat.
“Are they alike?” Miles asks curiously. “This one has a mouth on her. If her sister is anything like that, I’d say you have your hands full. Can we expect that you’ll be retiring soon?”
Ender is on the opposite side of the tracks. It surprises us both when he takes a step back and leaps across the distance, landing in a deep crouch.
Miles’s friends slip out from the rubble, guns trained on his chest. Little red dots flutter across his jacket.
Ender looks at them, and they collapse, writhing in pain. Their bodies twist like acid is eating away at them. I didn’t know Ender’s powers could be weaponized like that. Their screams are sincere. Whatever he is showing them, it must be brutal. I wince at the shattering sound of their pain.
“Shit,” Miles says. “Stop that now.”
“Once I kill them, I’ll kill you,” Ender promises. “Slowly. With my bare hands.”
I touch Miles’s thigh, and the scene freezes. I spin around to face him.
“Whoa,” he breaths. “Are we frozen in time?”
“Yes, dumbass.” I pull his mask down and frown. He can’t be older than sixteen. “You’re a kid.”
“No, I’m not,” he says defensively.
I rub my brows in frustration and wince when a sharp jolt shoots up my side.
“Kid, listen?—”
“Miles,” he says. “My name is Miles. Are you single?”
“Are you seriously hitting on me, right now?” I ask with a huff. “When you’re five seconds away from dying?”
“I really want a girlfriend, war makes you lonely, you know?” Miles says with a crooked smile. “Plus, I don’t want to die a virgin.”
A startled laugh escapes me.
“Listen, kid,” I say slowly. “Can’t believe I’m saying this cause you’re weird as shit, but I don’t want you to die. And Ender does not make fake promises. You need to leave. I’ll tell him you are a Speedster who got spooked.”
“Look, we’re not supposed to be here,” he says nervously. “Cole and I wanted to prove we could fight with the others by capturing the big dog. It was supposed to be a foolproof plan. Prue didn’t tell anyone about your gifts. I eavesdropped on one of her meetings, and when I heard you were on our side, I figured you’d be willing to be bait. We knew they did routine sweeps of this place. So, we camped out here, waiting to grab him.”
I hesitate.
“Are you all kids?” I ask. “You’re all fifteen?”
“Sage is thirteen.” He points at the short girl whose gun hangs loose. “I’m the oldest.”
I curse under my breath.
“You got a mouth on you, sweetheart,” Miles says.
“Shut up and let me think.”
I can explain the boy vanishing, but how do I get the kids out? I’ve been holding this scene for too long. Sweat beads my forehead, both from pushing my powers and the injury.
