City of Shattered Light by Claire Winn

Author:Claire Winn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: North Star Editions
Published: 2021-08-31T18:07:51+00:00

INCORRECT CODE, read the Adversary’s control panel when Riven entered Skullface’s ignition codes.

He chuckled, despite Riven’s death-grip headlock on him. “Like I said, that code will no longer work.”

Riven grabbed his head and shoved his cheek against the control board, smearing the blue paint onto the screen.

“Tell us new codes. Now.” She nudged his chin with Verdugo.

They were so close, holed up in the Adversary’s cockpit as the Duchess’s forces arrived. All they had to do was get the ship off the ground. Preferably without Little Miss Project Winterdark Engineer. Dammit, she’d started liking the girl too. But they could save Requiem without her.

But, conveniently, Skullface had changed his codes while Morphett stalled them.

Riven’s heart pounded in time with the commotion outside, her nerves prickling unsteadily. It would be a hell of a time for a white noise flare-up. Outside, Morphett plowed through the enforcers, which bought them some time, but it wouldn’t last forever.

“We should go back for Tripp,” Ty said. “Who knows what they’ll do to her?”

“The same thing they’ll do to us if we don’t leave.” Riven would’ve gone back for her, if Asanna weren’t a liar. If she hadn’t helped with her father’s murders. Samir still had the biocapsule—when they reached Earth, they could tell that Josiah guy she hadn’t made it.

And Riven could still claim some of the credit for saving this hellhole.

“Ty.” Riven eyed Skullface’s destroyed fingers. “You got any tools that can make him hurt more?”

Ty’s eyes widened. “What? No.”

“All I have to do is wait,” Skullface said. “My friends are here, and you—”

Riven grabbed Skullface’s collar and smacked his face against the screen again. “Enter the code.” She cocked Verdugo, pressing its muzzle to his crotch. “I might not kill you, but I can sure as hell wreck your favorite body part before your reinforcements get here.”

He gave a strained gasp. He was wearing down. Good.

“They’re here.” Samir peered out the door with his rifle drawn. “I’d say we have a good seven seconds.”

A taut, authoritative voice blared through a helmet speaker—one of the enforcers. “Come out with your hands in the air, and we won’t shoot.”

“Dammit,” Ty said. “We’re done for.”

Riven let go of Skullface, drawing Blackjack. “Not if we shoot fast enough.”

“We are not shooting our way out of this.” Samir set his rifle down. “Do you hear me, Riv? They will kill us.”

Kill us. Riven’s heartbeat was unsteady, and that familiar numbing prickle was creeping through her nerves. “Then let them. Better to go out fighting than rotting in the Duchess’s dungeon.” She trained both revolvers on the door. If she died here, she wasn’t dying a coward.

“And you want Ty to die here with you?” Samir said.

Riven hesitated. “You can surrender. But I’d rather die on my own terms.”

And if she went out in a blaze of gunfire, the others might have a chance. She braced herself for the first purple-and-gold helmet to appear, even as black spots swam across her vision.

But the sickness was flaring brighter, her stress stoking it like lighter fluid.

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