Page 93 of Princess

King handed him the Harvey map.

“Son of a bitch,” Nokita said.He looked up, and his eyes wandered to the bay again.“Are we supposed to board that ship?”

This is what I got for having Barnes on the brain.I hadn’t thought about the ship being a trap.

“That makes sense,” I said.“I think we’ll pass but we’ll give them a reason to think they’re plan worked.Radio alpha 2.They have a couple of spare bombs waiting to help.”

My thoughts turned back to Barnes, and I included Lesley in those thoughts.They had become one and the same in my head.I lived underground for years.Lived in fear and uncertainty.The island had been a sanctuary of sunshine and hope.I was no longer the fearful Marinah, and she would never come back, but still the dark, endless, sun-free thought of tunnels sent a shiver down my spine.Destiny said this would end where it began.

Thirty minutes later, the ship in the harbor exploded.

“Let’s find Harvey Tunnel,” I said after the debris settled.

Chapter Forty-Three

Beck

We managed two more strikes and killed over one hundred soldiers and eliminated approximately the same number of hellhounds.They still had a large contingency of soldiers, but they were wary, which muddled their unit.Fear was a powerful weapon.

Through the field glasses, I saw one of the commanders walk up and down the line of troops, yelling something at them.I could hear the bellow but couldn’t make out the words.His uniform was no longer pristine, which made my smile grow.

We took time to rest while we waited for Jackson.My brain wouldn’t shut down.I missed my family and worried about them.Missy had changed my life.Love was not an emotion I’d felt until I met her.Or more precisely, she shot me out of the sky.I was raised by my father, and he was not a kind man.He owned a farm and believed in hard work and no play.He literally worked me until I could barely walk.I stayed exhausted even as a young child.My teachers sent notes home saying I fell asleep in class.I became very good at forging his signature because I hated having my ass beat.I was unlucky enough to be born to the one Shadow Warrior who didn’t appreciate children.

Now I had a son and a daughter and understood that my father was simply a cruel man.He taught me what not to be.

Ruth was a hellion, and I loved her just the way she was.And then there was Barrett.His small, innocent eyes followed me across a room.I never thought I would have a family or know love like I did now, but the minute I laid eyes on Missy, that view changed.Wanting her wasn’t just sexual; I craved her in every fiber of my being.She was an amazing woman and a challenge.The fact she didn’t put up with my shit only made the deal sweeter.

They would be okay.The island was the safest place for them.And still I worried.

Jackson finally arrived.We set off at a fast jog to make up time.A plume of smoke rose above the town, and we ran even faster.When we topped the ridge, all hell had broken loose below.The air in the outpost was thick with the acrid stench of burning wood, mingling with the metallic tang of fresh blood.The hellhounds tore into human flesh, indiscriminately killing both those who wore uniforms and those in civilian clothes.

We were now in Warrior form.I led the charge.The outlying homes were demolished husks, engulfed in flames that licked at the sky.I felt a grim satisfaction that this particular destruction hadn't been the Federation's doing.Landan and Carmen had most likely detonated the homes when the soldiers entered the town.

My attention snapped to the nearest hellhound, a hulking mass of muscle.I moved, a low growl rumbling in my chest.It spun, sensing my approach, and leapt, its fangs bared.I sidestepped the attack and raked my claws across its throat.A wet, tearing sound filled my ears.Before it could fall, still thrashing, I grabbed a Federation soldier with my other hand, his surprised grunt cut short as I slammed his body into the wounded hellhound.The beast, in its frenzy, bit the man's arm, nearly severing it with a sickening crunch.I delivered another brutal slice of my claws, taking its head off.The hellhound's body collapsed, and the soldier rolled to the ground, his eyes staring blankly at the smoke-filled sky.My gaze swept the chaotic scene and found something else to kill.

Minutes felt like hours.I dismembered, I tore, I crushed.The air thrummed with the impact of my blows, the cries of the hounds, and the desperate screams of soldiers.

Suddenly, two hellhounds, larger than the first, landed on me at the same time, their combined weight threatening to pin me.Their claws raked at my fur-covered limbs.I tore them off, one with each hand, and clapped their heads together.I wedged one beneath my armpit to secure it, and with a savage twist, I severed the head of the other.I released it and let its body flop to the ground.The other hound wrenched from my hold.I faced it, and it came in low, aiming for my legs.I anticipated the move and grabbed its head.With a surge of power, I swung the snarling beast around like a grotesque club, knocking down two soldiers who were attempting to flank me.I brought the hellhound's thrashing body up, its legs flailing, and with a final, brutal thrust, I impaled it on a jagged, broken piece of farm equipment.It was a rusted plow blade that protruded from the wreckage of a blown-up barn.I quickly killed the soldiers.

Slowly, the sounds of battle grew weaker, replaced by the groans of the wounded and the crackle of burning structures.The sporadic gunfire became less frequent, then ceased.

My beast wanted to continue killing, but I throttled him as I noticed the outpost’s humans stood upright in the middle of the dead.A few cheers went up.Slowly, others joined in.

It was a good day to die, but a better day to live.

Chapter Forty-Four

Marinah

The Federation set up the entrance to the Harvey Tunnel much like they had for their last set of tunnels.Tents and trailers surrounded the entrance.When I had lived below ground, they had also set up explosive devices to bring the tunnels down.When I had returned at the Federation’s request, we had barely survived.They would use the same fail-safe.

When we captured Lesley Barnes, we’d marched in wearing Federation uniforms like we owned the place.It wouldn’t work again.

“We go in tonight,” I said.

King, Nokita, Alden, and Eagle sat in a circle with me.“We slip in after midnight,” I continued.“Twenty Warriors should do it.There won’t be enough room for a larger force.Our main troops should attack an hour after we get in or immediately if we’re spotted.”

King looked at me, and I knew I wouldn’t like what he said.

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