Burning Skies by Kyla Stone

Author:Kyla Stone [Stone, Kyla]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781945410147
Publisher: Paper Moon Press
Published: 2018-03-20T16:00:00+00:00

20

Gabriel

Gabriel wrapped his arm around the girl, steadying her as they stumbled through the entrance. Her clothes were bloodied and disheveled. Her face was smudged with dirt and ash, her coppery curls a matted, frizzy mess. Blood dripped down her leg, smeared boot-prints streaking the floor behind them.

Celeste was alive.

Willow leapt to her feet, gaping. “We thought you were dead!”

Celeste trembled from blood loss and exhaustion, but her eyes were clear. “I’m not.”

He placed his hand on her back to keep her from falling. He was exhausted himself, his eyes gritty, his body almost numb from the hours in the freezing cold and snow. He’d given Celeste his coat. She’d needed it more.

Gabriel blinked, his eyes adjusting to the dimness. The sky was darkening outside the windows. The lobby was filled with shadows. Only the light of the moon reflected off the snow provided a soft glow.

Jericho’s gaze sharpened in suspicion as he turned to Horne. “You told us she was dead.”

Horne’s face drained of color. His features contorted in a barely disguised grimace. “Celeste, I was sure you—I never would’ve—it must be a miracle—”

“Do not speak!” Celeste straightened, all six feet of her. Gabriel grabbed her arm to hold her up. Her eyes blazed with fury. “You did this!”

Horne took a step back, then another. He lifted his hands, palms out in a placating gesture. “We must celebrate this joyous occasion. You came back from the dead and—”

“I didn’t come back from the dead,” Celeste forced between gritted teeth. “You left me for dead.”

The room fell silent. No one spoke. No one breathed.

Micah looked from Celeste to Horne and back again. His gaze flicked to Gabriel, questioning, searching for confirmation. Gabriel gave a small shake of his head, barely restraining his own rage. This was Celeste’s story to tell. He wouldn’t do or say anything until she’d said her piece.

“What do you mean?” Micah asked finally. “Horne left you behind?”

“Worse.” Celeste leaned down to her bloody leg and unwound the makeshift bandage Gabriel had managed to make out of torn strips of a linen tablecloth.

Micah gasped. Amelia made a wounded animal sound in the back of her throat. Willow looked even more furious.

A deep, ugly gash marred Celeste’s leg from the underside of her kneecap to her thigh. Blood welled in the cut as Gabriel carefully rewound the bandage. It wouldn’t stop the blood loss for long.

Celeste pointed a shaking finger at Horne. “That man tried to murder me to save his own worthless skin.”

Horne shook his head frantically, his perfectly styled blonde hair falling into his panicked eyes. Shadows flitted across his face. “No! No, I would never…there’s been a mistake. A misunderstanding—”

“Does that look like a misunderstanding to you?” Silas snarled, pointing at Celeste’s leg. A small puddle of blood formed on the floor beneath her, almost black in the dim light.

Micah turned to Benjie. “Go get the bandages and the antiseptic spray in my pack.”

Benjie stared wide-eyed at Celeste. “But—”

“Go!” Willow said, her voice deadly calm.

He

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