She cracks a smile. “And they always have the panic room if they need to fall back.”
“Exactly,” Soren consoles, always able to make her feel better no matter her mood. “So let’s just focus on getting your fire back, little dragon.”
A glance in the rearview mirror shows her sitting up straighter, a determined air about her. “And then I will burn that city to the ground.”
Chapter 17
Ezra
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“Way to sound like apsycho,” Cai scoffs from the front seat as we pull away from everything I’ve ever known.
I just need to take all that fear for my family and stuff it away. I can’t let my worry constantly distract me or none of us will end up surviving this. Kinsley made us leave our phones behind, paranoid someone would be able to track them. No calls in or out, complete radio silence. Dwelling on what ifs will only cause us to make mistakes, so I’m going to box that all up until we get through our current trial.
Just like the Gauntlet; you have to pass through one obstacle before you can move on the other. My family is the finish line and now it’s up to me to survive long enough to get there. And if there’s one thing that’s a damn fact? It’s that Ezra Veles doesn’t fucking lose.
“You’re the one that wants to mate me, so what’s that say about you?”
I see his lips curl into a smile in the mirror, feeling a little better. We drive as far away from the feuding cities as possible as we all remain lost in thought. I can only imagine how the guys are struggling, escaping a war torn country just to be thrown back into a similar situation. It must feel suffocating, like they’ll never be free no matter how far they run.
I slap my hand on the back of Soren’s seat rapidly. “Pull over!”
Cai doesn’t question me, just immediately slams on the breaks as we narrowly avoid getting rear ended. When the car comes to a stop, I unbuckle, leaning forward between the seats.
“We’re blocked in.” I raise a finger to point at one of the cars parked near the sign marking the city limits. “Ren, look familiar?”
He curses as he recognizes Vince’s car. The guy may be dead, but someone obviously felt fine repossessing a dead man’s car days after his death. It doesn’t take a genius to assume it’s someone we don’t want to cross paths with.
“The forest, come on.” Yri practically shoves me out of the car and we each sling our backpacks on before breaking into a sprint.
I hear car doors slam, but don’t waste time confirming how many people are chasing us. I’ve only briefly explored the woods surrounding the city, not nearly familiar enough with them to be confident. When I hear the first gunshot, I put on an extra burst of speed, weaving between the trunks.
“Do you trust me?” Yri huffs, voice hard.
“More than the guys behind us, for sure,” I reply flippantly, barely winded yet.
