Crimson Lace

Chapter 45

ELLE
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

I think I flew across the room.

The club is spilling over in chaos and growls of agony, but my focus is narrowed in on the fallen prince in the center of the glass platform.

He is on his side, clutching his stomach and writhing in pain. I'm beside him in an instant.
"M-my manacles—" He roars in anguish.

My hands shake as I gently examine the metal around his wrists, trying to make sense of what is happening. The cold steel is solid within my palms. I send a trickle of power into them, feeling for any abnormalities. A jolt echoes through me and I stumble back, dropping his wrist.

"What the hell," I curse. The manacles are not just metal, they're devices.

I barely notice Matti as he drops down next to me and places a finger to Alec's neck. "His pulse is weakening," he says sharply, looping an arm under Alec's shoulder and hoisting the groaning prince to his feet. "We need to take him to Gore. Elle, support his other side. Hurry."

I do as I am told and wrap an arm around Alec's back.

The three of us make our way through the crowd of panicking Crimson Reapers, pushing past everyone and heading into the halls. Alec's legs crumble out from under him as we reach the first staircase. He vomits onto the floor.

All I can do is stroke his hair back, trying not to freak out.

"We need to get those off of him," I say as we hoist Alec back up to his feet and continue to lug him up the stairs. "What are they?"

Matti turns us down a long hall. "They send pulses through the Variants bodies. Commands and orders. Somehow they are malfunctioning. The pulses are killing them."

Killing them? My gaze shoots to Alec. He lifts his head to look at me, his eyes tainted with deep torture. I quicken my pace, pulling them both along. If he dies . . . if he dies . . . Tears well in my eyes. He can't. I'll be all alone.

"Stop," Alec bellows. We do as we're told and he straightens himself up, lifting his chin high and proud. His muscles visibly tighten. "Gore wants us to go to the launching sector. Where the armory and vehicles are." He turns around and heads off in the opposite direction. In an almost daze-like trance.

Matti and I exchange a look and he shrugs, taking after the Variant prince. I follow.

The launching sector is indeed how it sounds. There are jets and trucks, rovers and tanks. I never thought of the Crimson Reapers as a military force. We were taught that they were simple street gangs. Folks who are into drugs and a little rough around the edges. Stereotypes compared to the power before me.

Variants form symmetrical rows upon rows. Each fully suited in steel. None of them are screaming or puking their guts onto the floor. Somehow the manacles must have stopped attacking them. I inhale deeply and turn to find Alec stalking toward a large wall of metal. He immediately strips down to nothing but his briefs.

I'm at his side in an instant. "What are you doing?"

He doesn't turn to face me, instead he grabs a leathery suit from off a rack and pulls it on over his bare skin. "I will fight for Gore's cause."

"Fight?" I retort. He doesn't respond, so I place a hand to his muscled arm, stopping him mid-motion as he begins to zip the ensemble into place. He finally looks up to face me. "You were dying no more than a few minutes ago, Alec. This is madness."

He bites at his lower lip as he surveys my hand on his bicep, the only sign of his indecision.

There is something about his eyes. The yellow is burning gold. Behind them, I see only the mission he has at hand. The man I love is buried deeper within. This is a soldier. It is barely Alec.