The Ravaged World (Book 2 of the Exiles Series)

Twenty-One: Magnus

I lower my gun upon hearing the voice. Her voice. Talia's. The voice I haven't heard in nearly a year, not since, I realize, our fight last spring. Not since I left her.

"Hey," I whisper gently, barely audible over the distant, now muffled sounds of panic and the unmistakable popping of gunshots below. I close my lips at the sound of that one syllable, unsure of what to say next, unsure what to say to someone I hurt so badly but who I still hold so dear.

Her shadow nervously drags its feet along the carpeted floor. "I miss you," she murmurs, eyes down, her voice lower still. I miss you. Present tense. Her words hurt, even though I know that's not what she means to do. She sees me, but she doesn't know what I want. She's going for the shock factor, wanting to get a reaction of some sort out of me. But instead, I remain silent. And march across the room, my gun discarded to the floor, settling there with a resigned clunk that none of us hear, and swallow Talia in a hug. Her arms raise up to embrace me, her small, bony fingers squeezing between my shoulder blades.

When we part, we hold each other's gaze, not wanting to lose each other again. Talia's eyes, her green eyes, her gentle, beautiful, soulful green eyes stare into mine, glimmering with unshed tears.

I glance quickly over her shoulder at Nicole, who appears patient, her face in a half-moon smile that I can see from here, almost dreamy. Maybe thinking about a similar experience or person.

"I..." Talia and I step back from each other. "We're supposed to escort you out," she explains. "You're...you're supposed to tell us how to get to the library where Max and the others are waiting."

I nod. "I can do that," I tell her. "But...I'm going to tell you, it won't be easy. There are guards everywhere. There's one in particular that we really need to watch out for. Her name is Avalon Chase."

Talia nods. I can see the wheels turning in her head, trying to formulate a plan. It's not something I've seen before. Nicole's usually the one calling the shots, her sister following. It seems that, like me, Talia has also changed.

"Ok," she says. "You lead us out."

Nicole steps forward and places a cautionary hand on Talia's shoulder. "No, one of us needs to lead," she disagrees. "If there are guards everywhere, then we need people to protect Magnus from each side. It's safer that way. Then, there's a barrier, so that..." Nicole clamps her lips shut, not wanting to say the morbid possibility. I finish her sentence in my mind: ...so that if we run into any guards one of us will get shot and Magnus will be spared.

Talia nods reluctantly. "You should go in front," she tells Nicole. "You're older and...um, better with a gun."

I guess that that's not the real reason. She doesn't want to get shot. She wants to be safe with me, even if it means putting her sister in danger. She's going to give that up for me.

"Ok," Nicole says. She turns to me. "President, which way should we go?"

Talia's eyes narrow at her sister's formality.

I contemplate where to go. If we went down my secret staircase, that would mean crossing the dining room to get where we need to go, which would be suicide. If we took one of the main staircases, it would make us exposed. But there is one last staircase, at the end of the bedroom hall, that would take us almost directly to the entrance of the library. That would be the safest and quickest way.

"Let's get out of here." I find my gun on the floor, pick it up, and feel for the handle of the door. I open it quietly, allowing the moonlight to flood in and illuminate the three of us.

"We'll leave my room," I explain, slowly tiptoeing out of the closet, "and turn left down the hall. There's a staircase down there that will get us straight to the library."