Last Chance World: Dark Fae and Vampire Romance (Immortals of Talonswood Book 4) by Lidell Alex

Author:Lidell, Alex [Lidell, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-04-01T16:00:00+00:00

19

Sam

I f the mines had reminded me of one of those stone-carved Middle Eastern structures with orange and red hues, the Fusion processing facility is what must pass for the Industrial Age in the fae world. Gray slabs of stone. Metal worktables. Everything as clean and orderly as a laboratory.

Upon our late-afternoon arrival, the guards herd us directly into the refinery—a large, well-lit room where other humans are already working. Our job here is to take the precious crystals from the packing crates and use a special mallet to crack them open like eggs, consolidating the liquid fire itself into soda-can-size vials. These, I presume, then get used to power Bryant’s gateway needs.

“The outside of the stones is harmless to you,” Harve, the hollow-eyed man instructing Cassis and me on the art of crystal cracking, says in a monotone voice. “But the liquid fire within is a different tale.”

Holding a crystal with a pair of pliers, Harve cracks it expertly before picking up the two glass-like halves and showing off the silver-blue liquid inside. Pure undiluted magic. My blood buzzes, the power shimmering just inches from me sending a shudder through my body. Calling to me.

Cassis’s hand settles on my shoulder. “Calm yourself,” the vamp murmurs.

Harve grunts without looking up. “Listen to him. Be no faster way to death than letting your hands shake.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Conjuring a smile for the man, I extend my hand toward him. “Thank you for all your instruction. I’m—”

“Don’t,” he says gruffly before I can finish. “I don’t want to know your name. Or your life story. Or your brilliant hopes and dreams. Good money says you won’t last the week.” Shoving the tools toward me, Harve returns to his own workstation, pulling the next liquid fire crystal out with a set of pliers.

“These humans look half dead.” Coal’s voice sounds from the other end of the room as he strides alongside someone official looking. “After all the trouble I go through to mine the crystals, you let these imbeciles handle them?”

“They don’t need brains here, sir. Just steady hands,” the official assures Coal quickly. “The shaky ones don’t last.”

“Hm.” Sounding appropriately unconvinced, Coal steers his guide closer to Cassis and me. “How long does one of these purified cells last you?” He jerks his chin at the coke-can thing.

“It fluctuates, but one cell is usually enough to fetch a dozen from Lunos. It will take a few hundred cells to build the kind of self-sustaining structure we have in Terra. Another six months should do it.”

“See that it does.” Coal cuts off as a young woman at the station adjacent to us hits her crystal too hard. Liquid fire splashes on her hands and face as she jerks in surprise, the purified magic melting her flesh like acid. She screams .

Nausea grips my throat, my hand closing around Cassis’s muscled forearm.

None of the other slaves turn to watch, their grim faces saying why bother. One day, that will be them. Maybe tomorrow.

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