Page 96 of Princess

Apprehension pricked the edges of my mind.It was a sensation I hadn't felt so acutely since King came into my life.Or I guess, I came into his.

"Ready?"King asked.

He touched my face, then released me.His presence was an anchor.I nodded, unable to trust my voice just yet.Some part of me wanted to scream no.Tunnels were where I had been weak.

I took the first step.The dirt floor was soft and squishy beneath my bare Warrior feet.The air immediately grew heavier.The only sound was the echo of my too-loud breathing.King realized something was wrong and squeezed my hand.

This was stupid.Where the hell was the fear coming from?Hell, I hadn’t thought twice about entering the tunnel when we captured Lesley Barnes.It hadn’t been dark, though.Then it hit me.

Nikayla.

I had so much to live for and I wanted to see my daughter again.

Fuck you, Ms.Beast.You should be controlling this, I said internally.

Kill, she whispered back.

That’s not helping.I called on Nova.Nothing.

I inhaled slowly.I was a Shadow Warrior, and I would do this.My daughter would rest in my arms again.I squared my hairy shoulders.

A steady drip of unseen water surrounded us.No sun.No sky.Only walls.No, I was falling back into the disastrous hole of fear.Ms.Beast stirred, and a low growl grew in my chest.She remembered the fear because she was part of me, but she was not afraid.If she whispered, “sissy,” I wouldn’t have been surprised.

I stopped walking and turned my head back toward King."Barnes is here," I whispered.“I can smell him.”His scent and the need for revenge were my guiding force.Fuck my memories.I needed to kill the president and his wife.

“What the fuck?”a man yelled when he almost ran into me.

I grabbed him around the throat, and he made a gurgling sound.

We froze.Did his shout go unnoticed?

The blare of an alarm filled the tunnel.

“Get Desmond,” I told King over the noise.

Desmond was pulled forward so we could hear each other.

“How far are we from the president’s quarters?”

“Don’t know,” he said.“I didn’t get anywhere near him, but there was a hallway with guards stationed at the entrance.”

That had to be it.

“How far?”

“Fifty yards, maybe.”

I started running.

We turned a corner, and bullets exploded, causing me to pull back.King placed a dagger in my hand.I had my own, but he must have had his out.We were at a T junction.

“Backup,” I yelled over the sound of gunfire and the alarm.

I took three steps back and launched myself into a low slide, crossing to the other side, and released the dagger at the midway point.Someone cried out, and the gunshots stopped for a moment.King flung himself around the corner and barreled toward the men.Another gunshot sounded.I was right behind him, and Desmond behind me, stupid kid.

King killed two of the men, and I grabbed one and twisted his head until I heard the vertebrae snap.Desmond stabbed another, and Nokita finished him off.

The alarm stopped, and the tunnel lit up.I squinted into the flood of light.

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