Heart of Ash by Kim Liggett

Author:Kim Liggett
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2018-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

21

AS SOON AS I entered the bustling room, a hush fell over the crowd, but the dark whisper persisted.

My friend from last night, Mrs. Bridges, patted the seat next to her. As much as I wanted to sink into the background, be a fly on the wall, Katia would never give away her power that easily. They may not think much of Coronado, but they were in his home, and he was my immortal mate. We needed to show strength, now more than ever.

Dane was standing off to the side, speaking with a few of his guards, but when our eyes met, it was as if he’d understood everything. I remembered feeling like that in Quivira. We didn’t need words to communicate, because we were perfectly in sync. I forgot how seductive that could be.

He signaled one of the guards, and a chair was brought over, set down in front of the front row. That said everything.

“Now, to the matter at hand,” Dane said as he pushed a button to lower the screen and dim the lights.

Before he started, he gave me the strangest look—it was as if he were apologizing for something in advance. But the moment he closed his eyes, I felt his nerves evaporate.

When his eyes opened, they focused in on me with an intensity that registered in every molecule of my body, an undeniable attraction, but the anguish, the guilt had vanished.

As he went over the details of the recent casualties, I couldn’t help noticing that there was something hypnotic about the way he took the stage, commanding the attention of the room. I’d heard of people taking on roles when they had to perform, but this was something else entirely.

“We’ve identified three culprits who we believe are responsible for these killings,” he said as a photo of Spencer and Teresa popped up on the screen. They were walking on either side of a person slumped in a wheelchair, wearing a baseball cap. It was Rhys. It was the same photo that Dane showed me in Barcelona, but this was the full image.

I wanted to scream out, Why is my brother in a fucking wheelchair? but I bit my tongue.

The three of them were together. This was undeniable proof. But maybe Rhys wasn’t doing it by choice. Maybe he was hurt or they were drugging him.

“Where was this photo taken?” a spindly woman with a thick German accent inquired.

“It came from a port surveillance camera, Valencia, four days ago. We’re assuming the boy in the wheelchair is the source of the blood,” Dane said.

“Who are they?” a man from the back called out.

“We’re still working on putting names to faces, but these individuals don’t appear to have a digital footprint, which leads us to believe they were raised off the grid.”

“Maybe someone from that cult of hers in Kansas,” someone murmured. I recognized his voice as one of the men outside my window this morning.

“I’d watch your tongue,” Dane said as he paced the stage. “Katia

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.