Between Burning Worlds (System Divine #2) - Jessica Brody Page 0,164

from his innocence.

And there she fell into a deep, peaceful trance. She didn’t know how long it had lasted. She hadn’t even realized the baby had stopped crying. When Chatine lifted her head, she saw his tiny eyelids were closed, his eyelashes clumped and wet with tears. His breathing was now soft and even. All of his former anger and resentment having faded into dreams.

Only then did Chatine notice that all the children had gone back to dancing. Even Astra had joined them. The workers continued. The chalet rose before her like a feat of impossible hope. And Chatine was all alone. With a sleeping baby in her arms and a dead monster lying at her feet.

- CHAPTER 46 - ALOUETTE

“GABRIEL!” CERISE WAS ALREADY UNBUCKLING her restraints and jumping to her feet before Alouette had even finished processing the empty seat next to them.

They left him behind?

No. They couldn’t have. Her mind scrambled to piece together the pandemonium of the last five minutes. She’d seen him on the tarmac when they were running to the ship. She swore she had. He had been right next to her. But had she actually seen him board the ship?

Her stomach seized.

It had been too chaotic. First the aerodrones, then Dr. Collins getting shot, then the guards firing at them. It had been impossible to make sense of anything. She’d been so focused on getting to the ship, getting on the ship and getting as far away from that planet as possible, she hadn’t even noticed Gabriel was …

The breath hitched in her chest.

They left him behind.

She heard voices around the ship, calling his name. Searching for him. “Gabriel?”

Hands trembling, Alouette fumbled with the buckle of her restraints until the latch popped open. She set Dr. Collins’s canister down on the seat, and then she was running. Darting from room to room. The galley. The sleeping couchettes. The—

“Oh my Sols, Gabriel!” Cerise’s voice howled from the cargo hold.

Alouette hammered down the steps, but her feet skidded to a halt as she took in the scene in front of her, her mind struggling to make sense of it.

Blood. So much blood. Rivers of blood. Leading to …

A body. Lying on its side. Curled in on itself, as though trying—and failing—to keep all that blood inside. Cerise was already on the ground, assessing the situation, her hands and clothes stained red.

“He’s been shot!” she cried. “I didn’t even know. He just kept running. But he …” her voice trailed off as shudders overtook her. Tears swallowed her words. Gabriel’s body started to tremble.

A cacophony of voices clamored for attention in Alouette’s head.

“Stay calm. Panic will only cloud your judgment—”

“Staunch the flow—”

“You are strong, Little Lark—”

“Apply pressure—”

“You are ready, Alouette—”

It was the sisters. They were all speaking to her at once. She clutched her temples in an attempt to drown them all out and focus only on what was important right now.

Sister Laurel. Her wellness lessons. Alouette had never learned how to deal with a situation like this. They didn’t have cluster bullets on Laterre. But the principles of any open wound had to be the same, right? Yes, it was just like when she’d helped Marcellus in the Frets that day they’d met. She needed to stop the bleeding.

Snapping out of her trance, she lunged toward Gabriel and fell to her knees beside him. She ran her fingers up and down the length of his back. The skin was intact. Which meant the cluster bullet was still inside of him.

“We need to flip him over so I can see the wound.” Alouette was surprised by the calmness of her own voice. Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, but her thoughts were clear and focused.

Cerise scooted back, making room, and together the two managed to gently roll Gabriel onto his back. Cerise let out a gasp that echoed the horror flashing through Alouette’s mind. In the center of Gabriel’s stomach, just below his rib cage, was a jagged, open gash, roughly the size of Alouette’s thumb.

Blood was still spilling out of it, soaking his clothes and the floor. Alouette pressed down, trying to cover it with her hands. But it wasn’t enough pressure. She needed more weight. Rocking back into her heels, she rearranged herself so that she could press one knee into Gabriel’s abdomen. He groaned in response, his eyelids fluttering.

“Are you sure you should be doing that?” Cerise looked on, aghast.

“Yes.”

Just then, Marcellus barreled down the stairs and stopped when he saw the