Warrior Queen: Lucia's Story (Renegade Origins Book 4) by J.N. Chaney

Author:J.N. Chaney [Chaney, J.N.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Variant Publications
Published: 2019-06-10T22:00:00+00:00

I woke sometime later in a state of confusion, though it soon became apparent that I was on the floor of a room. My head throbbed painfully where Mario had hit me with the butt of his rifle, but it wasn’t bleeding. A quick self-assessment didn’t reveal any other injuries except for my ankle, but even that was just a dull ache.

I took stock of my surroundings. The room was lit with more oil lamps casting the same dim light, but it was enough to see that I wasn’t alone.

There were perhaps two dozen others crammed into the space. Most appeared to be sleeping and I could only make out a few familiar faces, though none of the prone forms looked like Alma. Perhaps she had made it out after all.

“Lucia!” a familiar voice whispered from somewhere in the semidarkness.

“Mark? Is that you? We thought you were dead.” A shape moved close and a wave of relief washed over me at the sight of a friend.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he replied, keeping his voice low and studying me carefully with one eye. The other was swollen shut, bruised a dark shade of purple, and his top lip looked puffy. “You had us worried when we couldn’t wake you up.”

“Just needed a nap,” I joked. “How long have I been here?”

“A couple hours at least,” Mark answered, then gestured around him. “Hard to tell in this room.”

“Did Alma come in with me?” I asked, not sure what answer I hoped to hear. If she’d been brought along with us, that would mean she was alive, but captive. If not, then her fate was uncertain, but hope existed that she had made it out and would be coming with reinforcements.

Mark shook his head. “No, was she with you?”

I nodded, then found the movement made me dizzy and stopped. “Yeah. Mario led us right into a trap. I tried to give her a chance to escape by causing a cave in.”

Mark stared at me in disbelief. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

“Didn’t know what else to do,” I said, offering him a weak smile. “I just hope she’s okay. Mario shot her before it all went down.” My throat closed at the memory and I had to blink away tears thinking of Karin. I hated the thought of her body being left there alone in the tunnel, probably buried under the debris in a rocky tomb.

“I’m not surprised,” Mark replied tightly. “But Alma’s tough. If anyone could survive something like that, it’s her,” he promised.

“Funny, I thought the exact same thing,” I said, forcing a smile. “I have to tell you something. Karin…” I trailed off, unable to form the words.

Mark’s expression grew concerned and he looked at me with searching eyes. “What happened? One of the guards said…”

I grimaced and he trailed off, his own features taking on a hard look I didn’t know the prospus was capable of.

“Mario killed her,” I said angrily. “He didn’t even have to. They had us trapped and outnumbered.

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