She wanted to go after Dade. When she found him at Crispin’s, she had no idea what she’d do. Maybe she’d slash Crispin’s face off, or maybe she’d gut him. Both sounded equally good. As long as she could let out the rage that boiled free.
They had to physically restrain her. Roan, Mina, and Nastasia moving as one, blocking and crowding her. Their hands were as soothing as they were insistent on keeping her there.
Arden tried to shake them off. Her body fighting harder, the outrage of his leaving clouding her thoughts. She understood that he went to avoid needless death. Part of her even agreed with it.
But, no. Arden would not let this happen. Dade was not going to be taken from her.
Mina kept repeating her name, louder each time.
Arden felt like she was going to explode. That churning, hot, overwhelming feeling invaded every part of her. It affected her ability to breathe—to think.
He was gone.
The numbness she retreated into after Colin’s death, the numbness she’d grasped for when Dade left, could no longer be found. There was no more indecision. No time to let things take their natural course.
Blood—that was what she wanted. She’d paint the world with it if she had to. Vengeance would be hers.
“Let me go,” Arden snarled.
“You need to calm down,” Mina said. Her voice was steady. She tried to step in front of Arden. “You can’t force this right now. Stop and think.”
“Don’t tell me what I can’t do,” Arden said. “You knew he’d be taken.”
Mina nodded once. “I knew it was a possibility.”
Her admission shredded Arden’s soul. She turned her head away, not able to look at Mina. Afraid what she’d do if she focused her anger there.
Arden took a breath. She closed her eyes and centered. When she let her body relax, they released her, though they were still too close for her liking. Gripping tight on the tether that kept her anger from exploding, she said, “We have to get him back.”
“I understand that you want Dade, but . . .” Mina hesitated. “We can’t help you. I’m sorry.”
Angry. Fury. Heat.
Arden swallowed it all. She had to be smart about this. This was about saving Dade. Nothing else mattered. Not Mina. Not her group or their fear of a turf war. She didn’t need them. Arden could do this alone.
Nakomzer, who Arden had forgotten was there, sneered, “It won’t matter. You’ll all pay with your lives for what you’ve done.”
Mina glanced to the pew where he now sat after righting himself. Then she silently gave Nastasia an order with a nod of her head.
Nastasia stepped over to him and hit Nakomzer in the back of the head with the butt of her phaser. When he slumped over like a sack of discarded trash, she blew out a breath. “He’s annoying.”
Arden swallowed back a wild laugh. She had to get out of there before she cracked in half.
Straightening, she looked Mina in the eye. Held her gaze and poured her promises for retribution into it. Then she shouldered past her and walked down the aisle. Since Crispin was well gone by then, no one stopped her when she strode out of the church.
Arden was not surprised when Saben met her on the street. He fell into step beside her as they rounded the corner and crossed into the next district, putting as much distance between themselves and the church as she could manage.
When she’d felt the air change inside the church, when that door had opened, a twist in her gut warned her. Arden had turned and caught Saben’s eye. Like the flick of a light, she’d known who it was going to be and whom he was there for. Saben had been at the front of the church, the only one of them who had a chance of getting out. He’d taken a step toward them, but she’d given him a sharp shake of her head. Then she’d looked to the nave, where there was a secret exit, and prayed he’d do as she’d asked.
Thankfully, Saben had obeyed. Even though it must have killed him to leave them vulnerable. But she couldn’t very well rescue both Dade and Saben on her own. And with his acquiescence, Saben had earned her trust.
“You’re going to get him,” he said.
“Yes.” It wasn’t a question, and she didn’t treat it as one. They already had their phasers and new net-tech running suits. That was good, because they weren’t going back to get the rest of their things.
Dade and she had plans. This was only a temporary setback. A very temporary one. They were going to get out of this mess, and then they were going to wreak havoc on the city, just as they’d agreed to. The ass-kicking line, though, had just moved Crispin to the top of the list. Arden didn’t have any doubt about her abilities.
As she walked, her body protested the strain of the day. They needed a little downtime if they were going to do this, a chance to recover and reassess. They needed to organize.
Saben seemed to echo her thoughts. “We can’t follow them.”
“Not tonight,” she agreed. “But we’re going to get Dade back no matter what it takes.”
Saben gave her a feral smile.
“We’re gonna need some friends,” she said. “Mina won’t help.”
“I have some ideas for that.”
Arden was sure she wouldn’t like those ideas because they weren’t hers to begin with, but she agreed anyway. Beggars couldn’t be choosers. If Saben trusted them, she could too. It was time that she learned to work with a group, especially if she planned to lead Lasair.
She turned off the skywalk and into a dark passageway. Arden opened her palm. Inside lay a small black tech-chip.
“Is that—?” Saben’s voice was full of awe and steel.
“Why would we leave this? After all, we went to so much trouble to steal it.”
Saben shook his head, clearly impressed. “She’ll kill you for this.”
Arden gave a nonplussed shrug. “I’m sure she’ll try.”
Saben stared at the black square. His gaze was fixed, intense. “Do you know anyone who can read it?”
“No. Do you?”
His mouth twisted. “No.”
Arden shut her palm and tucked away the bit of plastic. Her connections were burned, both with Lasair and with Mina. They’d figure out how to read the tech-chip later.
“For now, we focus on payback,” she said. “Everything else can wait until we retrieve Dade and show them—my family, Mina—that we’re not to be messed with. That we can stand on our own without them.”
Saben smirked. “And that is your plan? To go against them all?”
She nodded. “To make them suffer. They deserve it.”
Arden dug into her pack and pulled out two vials of liquid silver. She’d stolen them from the cold storage after Niall left. It had been a swift decision. But the need for it had come sooner than she had expected.
Holding them up to Saben for his inspection, she told him, “This will burn all nanotech in our bodies.” Then, thinking back to Niall’s reaction when he’d injected it, she added, “It will burn us too.”
His eyes went dark, contemplative. “If we leave their group, we’ll have no protection for a while. We can still choose to go back. Give the tech-chip to Mina. It’s not too late.”
But it was too late. She wouldn’t place her life in the hands of another again. It was time to forge their own path.
“I’m sure,” she said.
She handed over one of the vials and took another for herself. They both prepared the serum. And then stared at each other, needles to their skin.
“On three?” she asked.
Saben nodded.
The countdown was quick, and then the liquid burned. Worse than she’d imagined that it would. It felt like her whole body had gone supernova. Cutting out all her thoughts and whiting out her emotions. Arden embraced it. Letting the lack of control, of being burned and forged anew, embrace her.
And then there was satisfaction. An awakening feeling of power.
Distantly she realized that she’d fallen to the ground. She lay there, panting. Her watery ey
es blinked open, taking in the static cloud moving around her, swallowing her body in its mists.
She’d had enough of death and destruction on other people’s terms. It was time for her to make the world explode. They would all pay.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’m lucky to have many amazing people in my life.
A big thank-you to my mom, Beckie, who listens to me complain about every step of the writing process. Who is my sounding board for every new idea that flits through my head, and reads my first drafts (and second, and third . . .). Thank you for suffering with me!
Thank you to my dad, Mike, who thinks every idea comes from him. I’m glad I got your genes.
My life wouldn’t be complete without my family. Steven, Seth, and Rebekah, thank you for giving me the time and space and encouragement to follow my dreams. You make my life fun.
As always, a big thank-you to my agent, Carlisle Webber. You’ve been incredibly supportive and all-around awesome. Here’s to many more projects together.
To my editor, Adrienne Procaccini, thank you for believing in me. You’ve been a delight to work with. I don’t know how I got so lucky.
Amara Holstein, you are amazing. Thank you for pushing me farther than I thought I could go with this book.
Thank you to my publishing team: Brittany Jackson, Courtney Miller, Kim Cowser, Kristin King, and those members whom I don’t connect with but who I know have had a hand in making this book come to life. I’m so very blessed to be working with such a dedicated group of people.
I’d love to give a huge thank-you to the women in my life who encourage me in each step of the writing process: Anissa Maxwell, Laura Goodson, Danielle McIlroy, Heather Nordell, Mary Lynn, Deanna Kaech, Katie Smith, and Cam Williams.
And finally to my readers, I wouldn’t have a career without you. Thank you so much for buying this book and supporting me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The oldest of five children, Heather Hansen was born in California. She always knew she wanted to be a writer, and she wrote her first book, a murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie, in seventh grade. Unfortunately, she never could figure out who the murderer was, so the book went on for hundreds of pages, introducing new characters only to kill them off in the most gruesome ways her twelve-year-old imagination could invent. Her teacher was equally impressed and horrified.
Heather has a degree in English from California State University, Fullerton and has traveled the world with her husband, a retired marine. Her favorite place they’ve lived is Okinawa, Japan, where she had her choice of ramen, Japanese curry, and sushi every day. Along with their two teens and three dogs, they now live in Las Vegas, where she spends her time writing all day and eating Nutella with a spoon. She is also the author of The Breaking Light.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Stolen Sky (Split City Book 2) Page 28