CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A train full of silent shifters isn’t as fun as it sounds. Not one peep was made. No one even moved, except for an Ancient king who paced back and forth down the aisle. He pinched his bottom lip and continued to check his bracelet.
Theron pointed a sharp finger at my husband. “You should have let her leave when she first wanted to. Her tears could have fucking waited.”
Alaric’s bear rumbled deep inside his chest, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. “We did nothing wrong, and you know it.”
Theron bared his teeth at him in warning.
Then he resumed his pacing.
All was quiet again.
Ba-ba-ba-boom. Boom.
Boom.
Everyone froze where they were.
My head shot up from his chest. “What was that?”
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Rune quickly looked out the window. “It sounded like a gas line exploding.” His eyes widened on the horizon, and his brows rose on his forehead. “Fuck me. That’s one hell of an explosion.”
Mina and Finn sat in the aisle next to us.
And Theron shoved right over them to peer out the window. He studied the view. Continued studying it. Then he hissed, “It’s the pasta restaurant next to hers.”
He pushed back and stalked down the aisle. His feet pounded and his fists clenched. The king stopped in front of the door and stared at it. Then…he just stood there.
Waiting.
He was waiting at the front of the door.
And we were still ten minutes out, at least.
I peeked up at my husband, and mouthed, “Is he serious?”
“He’s worried,” he mouthed back.
Theron suddenly growled. “If you can breathe, then you can damn well get over here and get in line. As soon as the door opens, we spread out. She is the priority, but save as many as you can.”
We all stood silently and formed a line behind him.
Wolfe cleared his throat. “You should change the address, Theron. There may be people lying in the street from the trajectory.”
Theron jerked his hand to the panel and tapped on the lit screen. His hands went down to his sides, fisting, and opening. Fisting and opening. He shook out his shoulders.
And we waited.
Single file line.
To enter a “dead zone.”
* * *
Dust and ash beat at my face. I grabbed more rubble and carried it carefully to the drop area. Cries for help resounded from under so much stone, citizens of New City trapped beneath. In was a constant rush to dig down to find. We weren’t the only civilians working like mad. Others were lining up down the block to take over when any helper needed a break.
The emergency crews had the gas off.
The firefighters were working diligently.
We weren’t too close to them, so they let us be.
Especially, when they noticed Theron was with us.
Rune walked by holding a little boy in his arms, the child crying against his chest. Both covered from head to toe in gray soot, like everyone else around here. Only eyes and blood splotches stuck out among anyone.
I coughed behind my fist and hurried back to my spot, and bent down, brushing away dirt from my eyes. I pressed my ear to the rock beneath me and could hear a woman sobbing. Gritting my teeth, I grabbed the edge of the stone and shoved it aside in slow inches.
A hand thrust out through a small crack between more stones. The female sobbed, “Please help me! Please!”
My own terrified cries attacked my mind, but I shook my head and grabbed her hand in a tight hold. I shouted, “Hold on, okay? We’ll get you out of there.”
I tipped my head up and peered around where the others were, all scattered about the explosion site. I shouted, “I’ve got one over here! I need some help moving the rocks!”
Theron charged straight at me, zigzagging around workers. His nostrils were flared, but I already knew the fire was messing with the shifters sense of smell. But when he started running right at me, I tensed up and held her hand even tighter.
Perhaps he could smell her now.
Theron’s eyes zoned on our clasped hands, and then he dropped to his knees beside me. He lowered down to all fours, his eyes peering into the small area around her hand, studying the inside where she was trapped.
The Ancient rose back to his feet, stating softly, “Talk to her while I do this.” He bent and started shoving huge rock to the side.
I used my other hand to pet the back of her gently, my voice loud to rise over the noise. “Hey, you want to know a funny story about a king and a fox?”
“I just want out of here!”
And…yes…that was her voice. Less the sobs.
Joshua had been right. I had to be here.
“I know, honey,” I hushed—shouted. “But while they work on getting you out, I’m going to tell you the story about a king and a fox. You see, the fox thought he was weird. But what he didn’t know was he was a special fox. A fox that made other animals obey the rules or face his judgment.”
I cleared my throat. Coughed past the dust.
“What about the king?” pizza girl asked.
Theron was almost down to my level with the rocks.
I stared at up at him, watching him work. “The king was steadfast and strong. Everything he did was for his people. But somewhere along the way, he forgot himself.”
Shifter 101 to the rescue! Thank you, Cass.
Theron glanced up and glared, then lifted a rock that was far too heavy for a human to lift and tossed it aside.
“The king sounds sad.” Her hand gripped mine tight. “Tell me more, please.”
“Well, the king went on vacation. He knew he needed a break. He thought to reinvent himself and tried many stupid things. People thought he was crazy. But he wasn’t. When it came down to it, the king knew he had a job to do and knew that was what he was born for. He hadn’t lost himself—he had simply forgotten the most important thing.”
“What’s that?” She asked.
“Love. He forgot to love himself for who he is—his strengths and his weaknesses. His duties and his interests. And that fox? The special fox was really his son in disguise. The fox came back into his life after a long absence, and they learned how to deal with their problems with love and respect. The kingdom prevailed under their duel duties.”
She mumbled, “I like that story.
“It’s a good one,” I stated loudly. “And you’re about to be free. Do you have any injuries down there we need to know about?”
“I have a cut on my head. But I don’t think it’s bad.”
I released her hand. “Put your hand back in there in case the rocks shift.”
Her soot-covered hand disappeared inside. “You know what would make that story even better?”
“Tell me, tell me,” I bantered.
I lowered myself on all fours to watch inside. I needed to tell Theron if the rocks shifted while he moved the rest of her. A crushed pizza girl would make the Ancient grumpy.
“A queen.” She called out, “Every king needs one.”
Theron paused with his hands on the rocks just over her, and then he heaved the first one off. He tossed it over his shoulder without a care, his eyes down on the girl inside the hole. I leaned back as he lifted the second and last one off her. He cast it aside absently.
Her eyes were wide on his face. She didn’t move.
Theron crouched down and set his elbows on his knees, his eyes carrying over her dirt covered body. They rested on his forehead where there was a splash of dark crimson pasted in the dirt.
His eyes returned to hers. “I’m going to get you to a hospital. You need to be evaluated.”
Her mouth snapped shut, and her eyes narrowed. “I am just fine, thank you.” She shooed her hand at him, regal and pissy…inside a hole. “Go help someone else now.”
The dirt on his forehead crinkled as his brows rose. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which do you prefer?”
“Screw you.”
“Hard way it is.” Without wasting another moment, he dipped down in the hole, his arms wrapping around her tiny frame, dodging her shoving hands. “Remember, you chose this.”
Pizza girl screamed in fury as he swooped her up out of the hole. She bashed on his chest, shouting, “You motherfucker, let me down now!”
Thereon merely started walking with her in his arms, in the direction of his train, and dumped her over his shoulder. He bellowed, “Megan! Get your princess ass over here. You’re going with me!”
I bit my bottom lip as the girl struggled in vain.
Megan jogged up next to him, cast a glance at the girl, and harped, “Shut your trap, or I’ll stuff a sock in it.”
Theron glanced at her. “That wasn’t nice.”
“I’m not nice outside of costume.”
He grunted. “I guess she can live with you.”
“What?” pizza girl shrieked. She started wiggling all over again. “Put. Me. Down. Asshole.”
Megan eyed the feisty one. “This’ll be fun.”