Page 12 of Shadow

She was lying on the floor, her chest rising and falling faintly.

Relief flickered as I knelt beside her, but it was short-lived.

Her cheeks were flushed and scorching hot beneath my hand as I pushed sweat-soaked hair from her face.

She didn’t respond.

“King,” Beck’s voice cut through the heavy air behind me, slightly winded from running.

My original plan had been to unleash a string of curses and knock him around for not ensuring Boot kept her safe. Instead, I took a breath and resisted.

“Send a guard for Axel. Tell him to bring IV equipment to the pool.”

Gathering Marinah’s limp body into my arms, I rose and turned toward the door.

Beck hadn’t moved, his imposing frame blocking my exit.

His expression was as angry as ever, his jaw clenched tight.

“You can’t keep her,” he growled, the accusation clear in his tone.

Rage pulsed through me, dangerously close to spilling over.

Kill,Beast urged from the shadows of my mind.

The thought tempted me, but I forced it down.

Beck wasn’t a threat to our world; he was just another soldier bound by duty.

And he was my friend.

I leaned closer, my voice lowered. “Farris Church is her father.”

Beck’s determination flickered for a moment, his brow furrowing as he processed what I’d said.

His surprise said it all.

Without another word, he stepped aside, and I pushed past him, striding through the hall and down the stairs to the underground aquatics room.

This pool was seldom used; the one at the main compound was larger and better suited for our kind.

This was strictly a lap pool, left over from the opulence of the citadel’s former owner, a Cuban general who had thrived under the dictator’s tyranny.

The multi-million-dollar facility now served as a stark reminder of human corruption.

I stepped into the pool, lowering Marinah onto the first step, careful to keep her upper body above the water.

Cool liquid barely covered the step, but the fact that she hadn’t stirred even with the temperature change worried me.

This wasn’t good.

I stripped off my weapons, unbuckling the halter and waist belt, and tossed them onto the pool deck.

The air felt heavier without their weight, but unease gripped me as I cradled her again and waded deeper into the water, letting it rise to her neck.

The room had darkened now, the sunlight that once streamed through high windows fading quickly.

My enhanced vision adjusted effortlessly to the darkness, but the same couldn’t be said for her fragile human body.

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