Smoked - Mari Mancusi Page 0,18
to finish her apology. Because at that moment, Luke burst through the door. He stopped short, as if he could sense the tension in the room. “I’m sorry,” he stammered. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. But—”
Connor was at his side in a second. “What is it?” he demanded, the soldier back in his voice. “Did they find something?”
Trin rose to her feet, her heart pounding in her chest, unable to speak as she approached Luke. “Did they…” she managed to say. “Find…Emmy?”
Please don’t let her be dead. Please don’t let her be dead.
“Look, we got some weird sighting reports earlier today from the website,” Luke explained, looking a little guilty. “I didn’t want to say anything until we were sure they were legit—you know, we’ve had so many leads fall through over the last two months. But you told us to check out everything, no matter how small. So I sent out a team.”
“And?” Trin managed to spit out, hope soaring and sinking inside of her at a ridiculous rate. “Did they find anything? Some sign that Emmy was there?”
Luke’s eyes flashed with excitement. “Not just a sign. Emmy herself. Your girl is alive, Trin. And we’re bringing her home.”
Chapter Five
“Look! There they are! There they are!”
Trinity burst out the back doors of the terminal, Connor and Luke hot on her heels. She could hear the Potentials shouting and screaming down by the runway, all chanting Emmy’s name. Her knees buckled, and she was forced to stop, clutching an electricity pole for support, her heart hammering furiously against her rib cage as she watched the truck approach. She was almost too afraid to look.
“Emmy?” she whispered. “Is it really you?”
What if it was only a dream? What if she woke and found all of this to be nothing more than a cruel joke played by her masochistic imagination? Her fingers dug into the pole’s wood, and she could barely stand she was trembling so hard.
“Please…” It was all she could say.
She felt movement at her back and realized Connor had come up behind her. Connor who, in her frustration, she’d lashed out at. But he didn’t look reproachful now. Instead, he reached out, cupping her chin in his hand and gently guiding her face, turning her eyes to meet the vehicle. One of the Potentials—an Aussie named Trevor—had hopped out of the passenger side and was walking around to the rear. In one single movement, he lifted the latch, and the back door rolled up with a loud, long groan.
And then Trin saw for herself. Saw what she thought she’d never see again. A mighty black shadow, crammed into the back of the truck. A shadow she would recognize anywhere.
“Oh, Emmy,” she whispered, tears leaking out the sides of her eyes. “It’s really you.”
She tried to will her feet to move, to run to her dragon, to welcome her home at last. Instead, she found herself frozen in place, staring at the truck with desperate, longing eyes.
She felt Connor at her arm again. “Come on,” he urged, taking her hand and pulling her down to the runway to join the reunion. “Don’t you want to see her?”
She nodded, scarcely able to breathe. Of course she did. If she never saw anything else in her life again, of course she would want to see Emmy.
And so she allowed Connor to lead her to the truck; then slowly, she stepped forward, heart in her throat, as if she were afraid Emmy would disappear if she moved too fast.
“Emmy?” she called in scarcely more than a whisper. “It’s me. Trin.”
She peered inside. Emmy was hunched in the very back of the truck, curled up around herself, her massive tail wrapped protectively around her body, her neck arched and posture rigid. Trinity frowned as she realized the dragon was shivering, her eyes white and wild. Drool dripped from the corner of her mouth, and her sides heaved heavily up and down.
“Emmy?” she repeated. “Are you okay? It’s just me. Trin. Your Fire Kissed.”
Okay, so she wasn’t exactly Emmy’s Fire Kissed anymore. But she wasn’t about to let that little technicality stop her from making a move to enter the van, putting one leg up on the truck bed and—
Emmy let out a loud cry, shrinking back, pressing her body against the rear of the truck so hard the metal groaned in protest. Trin frowned, stopping in her tracks and retreating, her hands up in the air to show Emmy she meant her no harm.