The Girl Who Dared to Think by Bella Forrest (best novels of all time TXT) 📗

impressed by what she was saying. I was good, but I wasn’t sure I was that good. “I guess that explains why the Champion knew how,” I said. “I imagine it was one of the challenges in the Tourney.”

“What do you mean, the Champion?” Cali asked sharply, her green eyes flashing in alarm. “Devon was there?”

“He was,” Grey said, his words dragging in confusion at her reaction. “I mean, what the Champion was doing at the Medica at three in the morning is anyone’s guess, but he was there. And he remembered us.”

His words may as well have been air for all the attention Cali gave him. She was already moving directly toward me, and before I had a chance to be alarmed, she grabbed my arm in a firm grip and was pushing me down the hallway.

“Quess!” she shouted, just as the tall man brushed by her, heading down the hall toward his room.

“I’m on it!” he replied, and I looked around, alarmed by the sudden flurry of movement from the Sanctum members.

“What’s going on?” I demanded, just as Grey asked, “What’s wrong?”

Cali didn’t answer as she propelled me forward into Quess’s lab. Quess was pulling something off a shelf—a long black plastic box with some sort of rod or wand connected to it by a black cable.

He jumped off the table he had been standing on and came over to me, the wand in his hand.

“What’s going on?” I asked again, as he began to pass the wand over my body, keeping it about an inch away from touching me.

“You got into a lash fight with Devon and he hit you,” Cali said.

“Yes, I told you that, but what does that have to do with—”

A loud screeching noise erupted from the box as Quess waved it over my leg, where Devon had used his lash against me. Cali cursed and let go of me, stalking away to run a hand through her hair. I watched her, straightening up, alarmed by the nervous energy radiating off of her. After a moment, she turned.

“We have to go. Quess, get Tian and the bug-out bags. I want us packed to go in ten. Liana, leave your uniform behind.”

“Wait!” I cried, and she turned. I sucked in a deep breath, feeling like I was drowning in the panic that was beginning to grip me. “Why do we have to leave?”

Cali licked her lips and sighed, waving Quess through. “Devon has special lash ends, which he can open to release a radioactive isotope. It leaves a distinct trail. He didn’t follow you because he didn’t have to.”

I leaned heavily against the table, my knees suddenly weak. Damn it. I had done this. I had led him here.

“My trail...” I started weakly. “I went all over the place—that has to buy us some time.”

“The equipment he has is specialized,” she said bitterly. “And he’ll start around these levels. He’s come close to catching several cells near this greenery, so he knows we’re somewhere close. The man is relentless.”

“This is all my fault,” I whispered, defeat starting to creep into my heart. “Your home...”

Hands grabbed my shoulders, pulling me upright, and I looked up to see Maddox standing over me, her green eyes hard. “Get it together,” she said evenly. “This is just a place; the home is the people in it. We don’t have any time to waste, and if you want your trip to the Medica to mean anything, you’ll change your clothes, grab your gear, and get ready to go.”

She let go of me abruptly, then reached over to grab a metal box on the table. It rattled as she picked it up, and I watched as she marched right out with it. In the hall, Zoe raced by, carrying a box, followed by Eric, who carried a heavy sack on his shoulder.

Maddox was right. I straightened and met Cali’s gaze. “Ten minutes,” I said.

“Eight, now. Hurry up.”

I ran to the bathroom and changed quickly. Grey was in our room when I returned there, already throwing all of his gear, and mine, into some bags. I threw the crimson uniform to the side and took over my bag, placing my meager possessions inside. A blanket, cup, toothbrush, and soap, plus the clothes I was wearing, my lashes, and my baton were all I had left. But I didn’t dwell on it, just closed the bag up and raced over to help Roark pack his gear and the medication, Grey by my side. We collected everything—we couldn’t leave any of it behind. Paragon was the best and only defense we had at the moment. If the Medics got their hands on it, if they knew what it could do, then we would be lost.

With it, they could figure out where the flaw in the nets was, and make the medicine useless. That was why giving it to Jasper had been such a risk.

Grey and I worked quickly and quietly. I sensed we were both feeling pretty guilty about the whole thing, although I didn’t know why he was feeling that way—it wasn’t his fault. I was the one who had led them here.

As soon as the bags were filled, I hefted one up, and then stopped, looking at Grey. “This is awful.”

He nodded, his eyes dark and heavy. “I know. But it’ll be okay, Liana. They figured out he has a way of tracking you, and they figured it out quickly. We’ll be out before he gets here—okay?”

I nodded, grateful to him for giving me the words I needed to hear. Only time would tell if they held true, but for now, it was enough to keep me going, heading up the stairs and toward the main living area.

Cali was already there, on one knee, speaking very softly to Tian, one hand on the girl’s shoulder. Tian’s white bob dipped up and down as she listened carefully to whatever Cali was saying, fighting back tears. She clutched her bag between her hands, shifting