Ash Princess (The Deviant Future #6) - Eve Langlais Page 0,41
Whoever originally built this place obviously worried that one day their basement crypt might run into problems, and so, every few floors, they built in a failsafe.”
“You do realize it’s still only a temporary measure.” He said it gently, and yet it stung.
“I know. Especially since this floor is now compromised. We’ll need to move up a level. A few actually.” Delaying the inevitable that now stared her in the face. The weight of it on her shoulders threatened to drag her down. Just like the deaths of three more now were her guilt to bear. I’m sorry Hale, Pelo, and Bea. I failed you.
As if he read her mind, he said, “You couldn’t have known.”
Her reply was as dry as her tears. “But I should have. You said it yourself; us being attacked was just a matter of time. And now that time is up.”
“What will you do?”
“Move floors, like I said.”
“You have to do more than that. If the ghouls reach this level, they’ll flood the tunnels.”
“I know.” She exited the room and gave Milo a nod.
He slammed the heavy door shut and dropped the bar. The clang sounded just like a death knell.
Eyeing the grimy band, she sighed. “Milo, set someone to watch the door and then take care of Lila and Gorri. I’ll clean up our guest.”
“I’m fine,” Cam grumbled.
She glared. “You’ve got a gash down your arm and a gushing cut over your eye. You will come with me.” She couldn’t tell him the real reason. Couldn’t admit aloud where people might hear that she didn’t know what to do next.
Turning on her heel, she marched and expected him to follow. As she noticed the gazes of those who happened to be around, she barked, “Everyone pack up. This level is compromised. If you finish quickly, help the others.” She snared Petra on the way to her room and said quietly, “I need your sharp ears listening at the basement door. First scratch you come get me, understood?”
The tyke, only seven years old with a mop of white curls, saluted her abruptly and ran to the door.
“You’re letting that child play guard?” Cam asked, his long stride catching hers.
“It’s not playing. I told you, we’re running out of people.” She entered her room, and he followed.
She’d never entertained a man so often in her quarters alone. As a matter of fact, he was the first man she didn’t consider a brother who’d been in her space. In her bed.
The reminder warmed her thoughts. Which angered her. Why was it here and now and with him of all people that she finally felt something? He’d been here less than a day, and already her world was tilting.
“Sit!” she ordered, pointing to the chair.
He opted to perch on the bed she noticed when she turned around with a damp cloth. The shirt he wore had already been stripped, leaving him bare to the waist. She ignored the tanned flesh to clean his arm, dabbing at the wound. The opposite arm from the one the dragon had chewed. It looked as if the wound was weeks old. Which, considering how it looked when she’d found him that morning…
“You really don’t have to do that. It will heal.”
“Not if it gets infected.” She scrubbed, letting some of her anger out at the same time.
He didn’t even wince.
She gentled her touch. “I’m sorry. I’m frustrated and taking it out on you. I don’t know what to do.” Something easier to admit to a stranger than those who looked up to her.
“I won’t lie. Leaving will not be easy. It might not even be possible. But you have to try.”
She uttered a bitter laugh. “Try with what? We are down to less than a dozen people who can fight. Most of those with little experience. And where do I take them? The moment we exit this mountain we’re vulnerable to the dragons.”
“How did you originally get here from the capital?” he asked.
“There is the Road of Pilgrimage. The route the funeral processions used to take when they went to bury their dead.”
“And the dragons can’t attack it?”
“Oh, they do. Which is why we took it at night when the dragons are usually least active. We still suffered casualties though.” The screams of those plucked and carried off rang in her ears for months after.
“At night...” he repeated musingly. “That’s when the ash is dormant. Any reason why that happens?”
She shrugged. “I’ve heard all kinds of theories and couldn’t tell you which