Haven wiped dust off her chin “Well, I guess that’s a mystery. Don’t worry, though. We won’t let the Kurjans get you again.”
“Right. That’s why I’m in a cell.” It was silly to keep playing this game, and Karma didn’t have the patience for it. “Do you have any idea what Benjamin is going to do with me?” He obviously knew she’d been spying on the Realm, and that was probably considered treason. Would she be put to death? Dread dropped into her stomach, and her knees weakened.
“I don’t know,” Haven said. “He just put you in here to keep you safe.”
That didn’t make sense, but right now, what did? Karma edged closer to the bars. “You’re mated to Quade, who was away from this world for so long.” She held her breath. Oh, there was no harm asking her question. “Quade is not modern, just like me. Has it been difficult for you?”
Haven tilted her head. “Difficult? No, not really. I mean, he steals the toothpaste way too much, and he’s a little bossy sometimes, but have you met an immortal who isn’t? I love him, he loves me, and we work it out.” She grinned. “Sometimes things get a little wild, but what fun is life without wild?”
Life was fantastic without wild. Karma would be just fine without wildness. Right? This might be her only chance to gain knowledge. “Is the Realm killing enhanced females as the Kurjans are?” The rumors were that the Realm liked to torture first. While she hadn’t seen any sign of that deplorable behavior, she had to ask.
Haven’s eyebrows rose. “Of course not. Did the Kurjans tell you that?”
Slowly, Karma nodded. After being at the Realm Headquarters and then with members of the Seven, she couldn’t help but see that the females were treated with as much respect as the males. Their lives were not at all as Terre had described to her throughout the years.
It was no surprise. She had to get her girls out of that world and into a better one. She’d taken the responsibility to love and protect them, and there was no choice now. If she could only tell Benjamin the truth without the Kurjans hearing or seeing it and thus putting the twins in danger.
Something roared high above, impacted, and blew the earth apart. Haven cried out and ducked. Karma grabbed the bars and hunched her shoulders, trying to stay on her feet.
The wall behind Haven split, and shards of rock rained down. The earth kept shifting and quaking. She ran to the bars and quickly used a keypad to open the lock before yanking the door open. “Come on. We have to get out of this tunnel.” Grabbing Karma’s hand, she turned and pulled her down the hard dirt passageway as rocks fell from the roof to land and shatter on the floor.
A rock sliced Karma’s forearm, and she flicked it off, running with Haven. Panic ballooned through her. They burst out of the tunnel into a round room with screens on three walls.
Mercy looked up from a computer console as rocks rained down around her. Blood dotted her chin, and her eyes were wide. “They hit us simultaneously from two sides. I’ve given the soldiers two minutes to make a capture and get back here. We have to prepare to evacuate. We’re going with Avenue B, Haven. Get your mind around it.”
Haven took a deep breath and blew it out. “Okay. I’m there. It isn’t like I haven’t gone on the run before. What’s our destination?”
“Point Zero,” Mercy said, turning to type quickly on a keyboard. “Setting self-destruct now.”
Karma’s legs shook. “Self-destruct? Wait a minute.” Were they going to blow up the entire mountain? The Seven Headquarters? Just because of her? “Hold on. Wait until Benjamin returns.” Why she was counting on him to be the voice of reason was beyond her.
Mercy gasped, looking at the screen. “Oh, crap.”
Karma stared at the biggest screen. She could make out two helicopters turning around and heading toward the mountain. As one, they fired missiles directly at the mountain. The swishing sound was instantly followed by a burst of fire out of each.
“Brace!” Mercy yelled.
Haven wrapped an arm over Karma’s shoulders and tugged her down to the floor. The explosion was massive. The entire floor wobbled as if water lifted beneath it. Karma was thrown against the far wall, and more explosions cascaded through her head.
She rolled over, gasping.
Mercy approached her, ducking to avoid the falling rocks. “Haven, we can’t wait for Benny. Faith and Ronan are approaching through Tunnel B. We have to do this now.” She pulled a syringe out of her back pocket and used her teeth to rip off the plastic tip.
Fear made her weak, but Karma tried to scramble backward, away from Mercy. Haven grasped her by the shoulders and held tight. Before Karma could fight back, Mercy plunged the needle into her arm, and warmth spread out from it.
“What did you just—” Karma’s voice trailed off. The room swam around her, and she fell back against Haven, her head going numb.
Then unconsciousness drifted through her, starting with her toes. By the time the fuzzy darkness reached her head, her vision and hearing had both gone. “Benjamin?” she whispered as unconsciousness tried to take her. Sounds grew muffled, and her eyelids closed, but her body still felt the pain of a rock slicing across her ankle. “Ow.”
“We have to hurry.” A male voice—a new one.
Gentle but steel-hard arms lifted her into the air, and even though her eyes were closed, nausea rolled through her belly. The male holding her was careful but moved quickly, barely jostling her. How odd. Just a few days ago, her skin would have been crawling with the mating rash. Never in her life had she thought she’d be free of that marking.
Then softness. A gentle blanket and a comfortable bed. Well, this was all right. She smiled slightly, ready for a nap. Whatever they’d given her felt warm and smooth through her veins. Much better than the sedative the Kurjans had used when they’d put the implant in her head. That had burned to her toes. This was nice. She settled in. Maybe she’d dream about her girls.
A cry of pain centered her attention.
“Faith. Are you okay?” the male voice asked.
“Yes. Just a rock landing on my shoulder. We have to hurry. Can you spread a tarp over her somehow, Ronan?” The female sounded in control of the situation. How strange.
A low growl sounded close by. “We don’t have a tarp. There isn’t time for the surgery. Make her comfortable, and let’s get out of here.”
“We can’t just leave her,” the female said as the scent of bursting wildflowers brushed Karma’s senses. Kind of like her own scent but with spice.
In fact, the female in charge smelled like the meadows of Karma’s youth. Even though she should be scared, she couldn’t help but relax more. Then a firm bracket centered her head. A bright light pointed at her face and heated her skin as if she were sitting in the sun. “What—” she whispered weakly.