h a heavy thud, sounding

x saw it, but he d

g the cold concrete. She turned slowly, taking it all in: the cots, the rusted table, the hand pump bolted to t

y said, "is where

re I'm keepi

e a diff

es

beans, a cracked rifle, and the plastic sheeting taped over the vents. Wh

yo," she said. "Villas in Ca

, you're sle

now

hy brin

nd sat down heavily on the nearest cot. The springs let out a

he said quietly, "I'll start t

d bodyguards. A father who stopped picking up the phone at

bed a canteen and a half-empty medical k

t on your ribs. There's ant

t the kit, t

ound," s

r en

toward t

ic hit a raw wound. Then, there was a small, shaky sound-the sound of someone try

Twelve.

, sharing the same spoon becau

l tool. She took one bite and chewe

orst thing I'v

prot

like grie

st

the wall, pulling his jacket tight around her knees, her pale hair a mess across one shoulder.

aid. "Explai

the ca

Every word, every pause. But looking at her w

Bond," he said. "It requires tw

nd

tim

g in the air

ly sign she'd heard him w

l," she

es

ifica

patible people bond fully, it opens a channel between their power." He kept his voice steady. "I get

ent for a l

e tower that it wo

t

f I sa

y to build the sanctuary. It'll be slower. Harder. Maybe even impossible." H

of man are

t about it

he said. "I'm not making that mistake again

urprise, maybe, or something gentler.

nest thing anyone h

been surround

a said soft

d her th

n he guided her hand into the air and whispered the word s

Elena Whitmore

g Mode:

Level: 1 |

able Up

tion (Tier I

d: LOCKED (Require

: LOCKED (Require

ne twice, her lip

key," s

re a

s, sparkling with a mix of anger and amusement. "You didn't rescue me

es

even preten

prefer th

nexpectedly, she laughed. It was a low, star

"I think I'd like y

his chest

re

d, and the bunker shuddered faintly. A new pump whirred behind

ation (Tier

amination in

ning SP

eath, and her should

first thing in twenty hours t

ly the b

s

rm light. A garden under the earth." Jax let t

was

ir shadows slid across the wall, to

poke, her voice wa

eed

ke

t's not that I'm afraid of you. It's just that I don't know who I'll be afterwa

ot a su

n't

. You'll be stronger than you've ever been, and so w

ide she'd built fell away. He saw the frightened girl who

l tomorrow ni

on

l sleep over there?" Sh

wherever y

us thing to say t

s

r mouth lifted,

night,

night,

n. He turned off the bulb, and darkness folded over the bu

me, neither o

far cot, he heard her whisper-so quietl

for comin

ed at th

Progres

st is a primary drive

panel and said