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"You saved his life," Mira finally ratitude for this woht he was dead, but you found him You took care of him You and Doc didn’t know him at all, but you didn’t let hi "He needed help We gave it That’s all"
"You did all that, even though he was Breed"
"If you saw so and broken in the street, would you stop to see if he was different from you before you lifted him up?"
Mira fell silent as Candice’s words sank in And then she knew a profound shaht have been the one to turn her back Her hatred and mistrust of humans, rebels in particular, was so blind and deep, she likely wouldn’t have even broken her stride if it had been one of thely, what she’d allowed herself to beco, she’d held people like Candice and Doc and Nina in conteether with lowlifes like Vince and Rooster - villains all of them, to be squashed under her boot or skewered by her blades
And now?
She withdrew her hand fro of the kindness she was being shown She felt regret for the loss these people had suffered today And she felt fear for what their future ht hold, if what Kellan saw in her eyes eventually caht with it settled in Mira’s chest like ice She needed to find so down on her when she considered the price all of theht pay if her vision proved true
Mira su smile "You should rest now I’ll let Doc kno you’re doing"
At Candice’s nod, Mira backed away froratitude rising inside her, swa its best to pull her under
She looked back at the huo, bringing Kellan back fro the miracle Mira had hoped for so desperately "Thank you for saving him"
Candice smiled "My part was easy Now it’s your turn"
Chapter Fourteen
HIS CLOTHES WERE STICKING TO HIM IN THE HUMIDITY OF the bunker, his hands and forearms splattered with caked, dried blood Even the faint, stale copper tang of the dead red cells had Kellan’s head pounding and his h the main corridor of the fortress
He wanted to kill, not only because the predator in him was provoked by the scent of so ood people - had met with undeserved harm
Because of him
Because they’d trusted him as their leader, and he’d let the like he’d intended He still seethed with the urge to tear down all of Boston to find the bastard, but his crew had needed him here more And the rational part of his brain reht: A full-scale pursuit in broad daylight would’ve been suicidal He’d be dead soon enough, according to her vision And he couldn’t help thinking that the fact he hadn’t run out into the sun today only fortified that he was still on a direct collision course with the fate he’d glimpsed in Mira’s eyes
Kellan’s boots thudded hollowly in the corridor as he strode toward his quarters to change his clothes and clean up TheHe didn’t like it Didn’t like knowing that he’d brought this trouble down on the base
Despite living on the outeres of the law, Kellan and his small band of rebels had never had violence cross their threshold to attack from within They’d never lost one of their own before, not even in the field They’d been lucky, keeping a low profile, running tight operations, and living off the grid Avoiding the kind of unwanted attention and notoriety on which other rebel factions seemed to thrive Now that they had suffered this blow, their shock and grief was running deep
Kellan was no stranger to the feeling
All of this bloodshed brought him back to his past, when he was a sheltered Darkhaven youth and evil had robbed hiht, a madman’s violence had destroyed the Archers’ pri Kellan of everyone he loved but his grandfather, Lazaro Fortunately for the two of them, the Order had stepped in to offer its shelter and protection They’d brought Kellan and Lazaro into the fold as the Order’s own, a kindness Kellan could never hope to repay
Especially not now
And Mira
She’d been there for him from the moment he first arrived on the Order’s doorstep A pint-size pain in his ass ouldn’t let any of his bullshit slide, not even then He’d been so terrified of caring for so so many people he loved, he had refused to let anyone in back then
And although he’d been a stupid boy, hardly able to recognize the bone-deep fear at the root of his sullenness and pain, Mira had been far wiser, even as a child She’d seen right through hi as her friend and had refused to let go, not even when he pushed
No, whenever he’d pushed, she’d dug in her heels and stood steadfast for hi it upon herself to pitch in like one of his crew, to show them true concern and support, in spite of how he’d left things with her
He wanted to be furious with her for that, the way the caustic, aloof teenage boy she’d known so ould respond to such an act of defiant generosity of spirit But the er What he felt instead was a squeezing in his chest, an all-too-pleasant sense of gratitude and pride that she was his
Should have been his, he corrected himself harshly
And, as her da
His answering curse was rough and self-directed as he rounded a turn in the corridor and stalked past the closed door of the bunker’s shower roo on the other side
It wasn’t Doc or Nina, seeing how just a few o Kellan had left the two of them with Chaz’s body at the opposite end of the fortress And Candice wasn’t going anywhere for days She was resting quietly in bed when he’d checked on her on his way here