Chapter 70
Sky’s POW
My hand that out to grab the car, but Mulia had already pulled it out of my reach, her eyes locked with me in silent determinations. The mind–link: between in flaird with ingency as 1 desperately tried to stop her.
Don’t drink it! You don’t have to do this! I prejected, my mental voice frantic.
ill,
da’s expression softened, though her grip on the cup remained firm.
*1 trust you, Skye. I believe you’re smart enough to find a way ond of here once we reach the hospital. Martus taught you reconnaissance skills, didn’t he? He said you were a numural.”
Please, let’s think about this, I pleaded, maintaining pur mental connection while keeping my face carefully neutral for the guard benefit.
“There must be another way. We don’t have to iesit to this.”
Nadia shook her head slightly, her dark eyes reflecting the dim light of our prison. This might be our best chance. Maybe our only chance
She glanced toward the impassive guard, then back to me.
“You need to escape, find Adrian, and tell him not to agree to Kane’s demands. Under no circumstances can be surrender Gisborn.”
“I’m not leaving you behind,” insisted, the very thought making my stomach clench with anxiety.
Don’t waste time arguing, Nadia countered, her mental voice taking on the authoritative edge I’d come to associate with her role as Deta
“If one of us escapes, Kane loses half his leverage, And I know you wouldn’t truly abandon me. Her gaze intensified, boring into mine. You’ll find a way to come back for me, won’t you?”
“Of course, but=”
“I trust you’ll do whatever it takes to save both of us, “the interrupted. Then her mental voice softened, becoming almost vulnerable.
“If you don’t at least try to escape, I’ll hate you forever, Skye. I mean it,”
Before I could form another protest, Nadia raised the cup to her lips and drank the poisoned coffee in several quick gulps. She set the empty cup down with deliberate calm, then reached for a sandwich as if nothing unusual had happened.
“You should eat,” she said aloud, her voice steady despite what she’d just done. “Keep your strength–up
I felt sick with dread, knowing what would happen next, yet forced to play along with her charade. I picked at my food without tasting it, watching Nadia from the corner of my eye, waiting for the poison to take effect.
It didn’t take long. Barely a minute later, Nadia’s hand frose mid–air as she was reaching for her water. Her fingers began to tremble, the tremor quickly spreading up her arm. She tried to speak, but her words came out slurred and incomprehensible. Her body stiffened, eyes widening with what looked like genuine fear.
Then the comulsions started.
Her back arched unnaturally, muscles contracting with violent force. Her head snapped backward, tendons standing out in her neck like steel cables. A strangled gasp escaped her lips as her body pitched forward, then sideways, limbs jerking in grotesque, puppet–like movements.
I caught her before she could strike her head against the stone floor, cradling her convulsing body against mine. Foam began to form of the corners of her mouth, tinged with an alarming shade of pink. Her eyes rolled back, showing only the whites, and her breathing became rapid and shallow.
“Help!” I screamed, my punic entirely as I held Nadia’s seizing body. “Guard! My friend is sick! She needs help?”
The guard glanced our way, his expression shifting from boredom to suspicion. He approached the bars lazily, keeping a safe distance as he observed Nadiať
1/2
Chapter 70
Fennvulsions:
“Nice performance,” he dieled, coming his arms over his chest. “You really think I’d fall for this? Let me giess–open the call, you jump ne distracted with your “sick friend, and you both make a run for It?” He shook his head, locking almost disappointed. “Stop watching so may movies. This trick is older than din.
“I’m not lying!” I shouted, genuine trans springing to my eyes as Nadia’s body continued to spasm violently in my arms. “Something’s wrong with her Please!”
The tears weren’t fake–they came from a place of real fear and frustration. While I knew the wolfbane want lethal, I had no idea what other effects in might have. Lydia had never specified the exact symptoms in potential side effects, only that it would induce temporary paralysis. What if Nadia’s reaction was abnormal? What if the reded immediate medical attention?
The guard remained unmoved by my pleas, watching with clinical detachment as Nadias convulsions gradually obsided. Her body grew still in my arms, limbs hanging limp and heavy, her head lolling against my shoulder. Her breathing had become shallow and irregular, each inhale a strained whisper.
Despite knowing this was the intended effect of the poison, terror clawed at my chest. She looked dead. The skin had taken on an athen hue, lips tinged with blue, eyes half–closed and unsering.
The guard finally seemed to register that something might be genuinely wrong. He stepped closer to the bars, preting at Nadia’s motionless form with growing concern. When he was close enough, be extended his electric baton through the bars, prodding Nadia’s leg with its tip
“Stop it!” I snarled, pulling her away from his reach. “You heartless monster! How can you be so cruel?
I glared at him with genuine hatred. “If she dies, do you think Kane will let you live? You were supposed to keep us healthy for the exchange
That seemed to penetrate his indifference. Uncertainty flickered across his face as he considered the potential consequences of failing in his duty. He retreated a few steps, pulling out a cell phone from his pocket.
“Alpha Kene,” he said after a moment, his voice betraying a hint of nervousness. “One of the women has collapsed!”
Through my tears, I watched the guards face carefully, trying to gauge Kane’s response on the other end of the line. A flicker of hope sparked in my chest Maybe, just maybe, Nadia’s desperate gamble would work after all.
As 1 held her limp body against mine, I silently promised her that if–when–we got out of here, I would never again dismiss her judgment. She had risked everything on this desperate plan, swallowing poison without heutation to create a chance for us to esOpe.
And I wasn’t going to waste it
