Hunted: The Grey Gates - Book 3 by Vanessa Nelson

Author:Vanessa Nelson [Nelson, Vanessa]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2023-07-08T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter fourteen

Two flights up, there was a similar hallway to the one outside the Armourer’s office, only with fewer, larger doorways. There was one ahead of them that showed a glint of glass through the shadows, and Max headed for it.

She stepped into a room that was similar to the break room downstairs, now destroyed by the Syndicate’s bombs. There were chairs, tables, armchairs, sofas and side tables, with a long sideboard against one wall that held coffee cups and what looked like trays of food. She ignored all of that, instead looking ahead.

One wall of the room was entirely made of glass, showing a view outside. It was dark, the stars and moon vivid in the sky overhead, more than bright enough to highlight the landscape below. Max walked forward, feet dragging on the rug underfoot as if they didn’t want to take her onwards.

She stopped when she was close enough to touch the glass. And stared, not breathing.

She didn’t know the landscape outside. She had never seen it before. Not in her imagining, not in paintings, not in life.

There were high, bare mountains surrounding them, formed of the same sandy-coloured rock as the Vault. Ahead of them, the barren mountains curved, steep sides jagged in the moon and star-light, to form a valley that opened up to the land beyond. In the depths of the valley were hints of life. Trees swaying in a gentle breeze, a trail of water that must have come from somewhere in the mountains, the river trailing out along the end of the valley to the world beyond.

And the world was vast. It stretched far further and wider than the city, with hints of rises and falls showing hills and valleys. Here and there was a flicker of light, indicating possible buildings. Farms, towns and, at the farthest edges of what Max could see, the muted glow of a vast city sprawling halfway across the horizon.

Max’s breath caught and she sank to her knees, still staring outside. She was vaguely aware of Bryce beside her, but nothing else.

She had no idea what she was looking at. No idea where she was. She had never seen this world before. It was not possible. It wasn’t. There was the city, the Wild, the fog. Nothing else. And yet, she knew she was not imagining the scene outside. It was as real as everything else around her. It was real. It was impossible.

“Max, come and sit down,” Bryce said. He put a hand under her elbow, gently encouraging her to get up. She followed his suggestion and found herself in a large, comfortable armchair, facing the windows.

“Did you know?” she asked Bryce, her voice a harsh whisper. “Do you know where we are?” Her voice cracked.

“No,” he said. “I thought the city and the Wild was all there was. Like you. I’ve never … I never imagined …” His voice trailed off.

“The stars are wrong,” Max said. Amid all the other strangeness, she had looked into the sky for familiar constellations.

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