Renegade (The Elysium Chronicles #1)(47)
I push myself up onto my tiptoes and press my lips against his. Caught off guard, he stumbles backward, but he recovers quickly.
I wind my arms around his neck and he places his hands on my hips and pulls me closer. My heart pounds so hard all I can hear is the whoosh of blood in my ears and the gasping of our breaths colliding.
The hallway was so dark, I couldn’t even see Timothy, but I knew he was there. I heard the uneven gasps of his breath and felt them against my face. His hands were still on my cheeks.
“Are you going to tell her?” he asked.
“First thing in the morning,” I replied, feeling the familiar tickle in my stomach.
“You won’t forget?” he teased. Then before I could reply he kissed me again, pressing me against the wall behind me. The concrete was cold against my skin, and I pressed harder into the warmth of his body.
I closed my eyes. Cold air rushed in between us and I opened them only to see we were in Mother’s parlor. Timothy stood in front, between two Guards. His eyes blackened and blood running from his broken nose.
Two bullets ripped into his chest, hitting both lungs. He collapsed to his knees as the Enforcer that shot him stepped back into the darkness. But just before she did, she looked up at me and I found myself staring into my own face.
I yank away and clap my hands over my mouth trying to shove my heart back where it belongs. It wasn’t real. I don’t know anyone named Timothy, and I didn’t kill him.
Gavin steps away, gasping. “I-I’m sorry. Are you all right?”
I back away and turn around, so he can’t see the tears trying to force their way to the surface. I swallow them and hug myself until I’m sure my chattering teeth won’t come back.
“Evie?” He places a hand on my shoulder.
I yank away and stride to the door. “The tie is unnecessary. You can leave it.”
He looks at me a moment, then finishes dressing.
Minutes later we’re cautiously pulling the door to the rest of the city open again.
The “memory” replays in my head, but I force it away. I can’t try to remember it now. I need to focus on not getting us killed.
The store with the window Gavin broke is blocked off and Guards linger around it. We stick to the shadows, but they don’t even glance in our direction. The crowd thickens the closer we get to the Square, but we’re able to move through the Bazaar and across the Square with minimal fuss since no one likes looking in the shadows and we aren’t running into Enforcers.
The only problem is Gavin is gawking again. I can’t blame him for gaping at the people spinning around wearing their colorful costumes. Mother wanted it to be like some huge party the Surface Dwellers had before the War. Mardi Gras, I think she called it. And it’s very pretty and colorful.
As we near the Tube station that will take us to Sector Three, I notice the crowd has thinned again. Everyone is at Festival. No one is using the trains and I thank whoever is looking out for me, because I don’t have to worry about tipping someone off when we step out of the shadows to cross to the Tube.
I sigh a breath of relief, then pause. I hear a hissing sound and the grinding of gears.
I look around, trying to figure out why I recognize the sound and why it makes my blood run cold. Suddenly my right shoulder is on fire. I slap a hand to it, feeling something wet, warm, and sticky. I glance over and see my hand covered in blood, and more is pouring over my fingers. When I pull my hand away, there’s a hole in my dress, right in the center of the bloodstain. A hole that can mean only one thing.
I’ve been shot.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Due to her perfect genetics, Evelyn Winters has been chosen as my daughter. However, Evelyn is not just my daughter: She is everyone’s daughter. The Daughter of the People. She loves you as I do and you are to love her in return. Anything less will not be tolerated.
—MOTHER, FROM EVELYN’S DEBUT SPEECH
Screams fill the air as the turret claims victim after victim. I fall to the ground, pulling Gavin with me. His eyes are as round as saucers when he sees the blood soaking my dress.
He stands, trying to remove the backpack, but I yank him back down to the ground.
“Stay down,” I hiss. “Do you want the turret to see you?”
“See me?” he whispers back, but at least he’s lying on the ground. Then he blinks. “A turret hit you?”
“Yes. What do you think hit me?”
He lifts his eyes toward the ceiling before he closes them. “Well, what do we do? We can’t just lie on the ground until the Guards come.”
“No, we can’t. But they won’t come until the turret stops. Then they’ll collect the bodies and move on. So we’ll just have to move quickly when it stops.” I press a hand to the wound, wincing when the pressure brings tears to my eyes. That can’t be a good thing.
“How long will that be?” He’s staring at my blood-covered hand now and his voice wavers slightly. “You’ll bleed to death if we wait too long.”
“Stop it!” My voice is rougher than I intend from the effort it’s taking to stop my teeth from chattering. Being shot hurts a lot more than I thought it would. Like liquid fire covering my shoulder. “It’s just a small wound. Probably a through-and-through. It didn’t hit any major arteries or I’d be bleeding a lot more.” I glance around and notice the turret has claimed only four people. Three are moving around and moaning. One isn’t. Everyone else has disappeared. The turret pulls back into the ceiling with a hiss, its job done. “Move! Now! Get in the shadows.”