Awaken (The Cure Chronicles Book 2) by K. A. Riley

Author:K. A. Riley [Riley, K. A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-09-24T16:00:00+00:00

21

Welcome

Sometime in the middle of the night while darkness still falls in a thick blanket over the forest, the nearby crack of a brittle twig startles me into consciousness.

I pull myself into a sitting position then scoot backwards, cowering in the shadowy depths of my rocky shelter. Fearful of discovery by malevolent eyes, I look down to ensure the cloak is still activated.

Somewhere above me, Atticus lets out a low Hooo.

He heard it too.

The intruder could by Rys’ ally. But it seems far more likely this close to the Bastille that it’s one of Veer’s snipers hunting me down.

I wait, my breath trapped tight inside my lungs as another twig snaps, then another. A mere few feet away, branches part and a figure pushes its way out into the small clearing before me. Shielded as my eyes are by my drooping hood, I can’t see details at first—only that the stranger is a man. When I dare pull my chin up a little, I discern that he’s dressed in a dark uniform of some sort.

Yes, it’s definitely a uniform, with something small and shiny accenting the left side of his chest.

The Directorate rose.

He steps closer, like he knows I’m here. Though it’s possible I’m being paranoid. I hold in my breath, unwilling to make a single sound for fear of discovery.

I can see his feet now, encased in dark leather boots that are scuffed at the toes. His breath huffs out from between his lips.

He’s so close I swear I can feel each exhalation on my skin.

He knows I’m here. He has to.

“You know,” an exquisite, deep voice says, “you’re far too beautiful a woman to hide your face like that.”

Those words—that voice.

It can’t be. It’s not possible.

In a split second, my racing heart goes from panicked to euphoric. Fumbling and shaking with excitement, my fingers pull the cloak away from my face and shoulders. It drops to the ground as I slip out of the shelter and rise to my feet, leaping at the visitor.

“Finn!” I breathe against his skin, hardly daring to believe he’s real.

His arms are around me, squeezing me tight, our chests heaving in a mutual excitement approaching pure bliss.

“Rys said he was sending an ally. He was talking about you?”

He pulls back, his palms cupping my cheeks in the affectionate gesture I’ve been craving as desperately as a suffocating person craves air. Without answering the question, he kisses me, and I instantly forget where I am. I can’t recall my own name, even.

But nothing matters right now. Nothing except that we’re together out here in the open air, our heartbeats pounding in a perfectly synchronized rhythm.

“Yes, Rys was talking about me,” he finally replies when he pulls back. “He came to me after you left, wanting to make amends. He told me he had a way to keep an eye on you out here. He said he knew where you were. At first, honestly, I wanted to kill him for what he’d done to you, but I chose to listen to him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.