A Vicious Love, A Deadly End

y to the surface, my lungs screaming for air, only to be

last pockets of air. Panic, primal and absolute, seized me. My limbs

ted to dance in my vision. I coughed, sp

from mine, his eyes wild. "She saved my life. And you trie

urfacing, his venomous words, then drowning again. My strength was gone. My cons

let me cling to the side of the

is voice a low growl. "If I ever see you

aving me a shivering, broken

g myself out. The world was spinning. I stumbled through t

e ceiling was unfamiliar, a dark, oppressive wood. The ai

tied to the posts of a large, industrial-lookin

is back to me. He was talking to Karlee, who

mpered. "Look what she did to me." S

r," Alexander sa

all humanity. This wasn' t the pool. This was his drone w

bruised and bloody. They were the security guards f

You' ve caused me a great deal of trouble. You embarrassed

any other. It was sleek and black, shaped like a monstrous insect, with sharp, metallic mandibles. He called

king the drone from its case. "You mend broken

ts red optical sensors glowing. It hovered in

to me. "V

pull away, but the ropes held me fast. The m

fire and ice, a searing agony that raced through my veins. My visi

f genuine shock this time. Per

ok me was Alexander' s face, cold and impas

told the guards.

shop. The other men were untied and they approached me, their intentions clear in their leerin

the encroaching blackness. Thi

st. There was only

d floor. The men were gone. The silence was absolute. I tr

pulled him out, my hands raw, my lungs burning. He was unconscious. Someone else had found us, a young woman

r of my eye. What a price

ouette stood framed in the doorway, blocking t

but it wasn't Alexander's sharp, cruel outline.

o focus. A face I hadn't seen in fiftee

thick with disbelief and horror.

childhood friend

puff of air. It was the last sound I mad