Kin (Annabelle's Story Part Two) Read Free Page A

cutting off the rest of my name.
    Once more, my vision locked onto the bars. One by one my fingers made contact until I had a solid hold. Silently, I screamed for the bars to widen. The currents radiated straight from my palms into the cool metal.
    I pictured Blake’s face, Blake’s betrayal, and yelled with every last ounce of strength I could muster. I pushed my limits so far that my vision blurred until shadows crept around the edges of my eyesight.
    Only a pinhole of light escaped into my vision before I allowed my train of thought to drop.
    Immediately, my body fell limp in the water, trying to recover. The beat of my heart matched the rise and fall of my chest. The throbbing sensation almost too much to bear, teetering my body on another round of unconsciousness. My body heaved like I swam a mile, but at the speed in which I’d perform a one hundred meter race.
    Jumping forward, Adrian pressed himself against the bars that denied him access to me. His arms shot through the narrow spaces, his face helpless. “Annabelle! Are you okay?”
    Then breaking his gaze from my face, his eyes went wide at the sight of the front of my cell. “You did it! Look, Belles, you did it.”
    Even in my exhausted state, relief coursed through my veins. I had managed to create a hole big enough for my body to squeeze through.
    Mustering up as much energy as I could, I ignored the primal need to recover from the use of my infinity. Instead, I dragged my body along the stone floor through the gap, and then used each vertical bar like a ladder to pull myself to the door of Adrian’s cell. We met there face-to-face, immediately grabbing hands.
    “You don’t have enough strength to get me out too,” he started.
    “I’m not going to leave you.”
    “You have to.”
    “Adrian, no. I would never do that. Leaving you is just…” I shook my head.  “What’s the point?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I have no clue what flower is on the coins. I have no clue where we are. I have no clue where to go from here. I need you.” This last statement left me feeling exposed, especially since I didn’t think needing him for this mission was all I meant. My cheeks blushed.
    “All right. There must be a key or something to unlock my cell.”
    “I’ll find it then.”
    As he closed his eyes, I knew he didn’t have another solution.
    “Just be careful,” he said, his brown eyes opening to lock intently with mine.
    I tried to infuse confidence in my voice. “I will.”
    Really, I was so scared to do this without him.
     
     
     

 
     
    CHAPTER THREE
     
    I made up my mind to find the key. Problem was, I didn’t know where to look first.
    In the movies, the key was always hid in plain sight. The kicker: it was always just out of reach. So the escapee would use his shoe or some article of clothing to knock the key closer. He’d struggle for a second or two, barely touching it with his fingertips. Then, magically, he’d be able to grab it.
    That definitely wasn’t the case here. No key taunted me.
    “Adrian,” I whispered. “Which way should I go?”
    There were two empty cells in front of us. To our right and left, two heavy-looking doors blocked the way.
    He pointed to his right. “When they brought us in, we came from that way.”
    Nodding, I pulled my hands from his.
    Suddenly, he yanked me close, pressing us both against the bars.
    Then, he kissed me.
    A spark escaped into my entire body and spread until every inch of me tingled. I even felt it in my toes.
    The only bad part… his lips parted from mine after only a second.
    As much as I wanted to protect myself, the last part of my wall of betrayal tumbled down with that first kiss. A heap of my resolve now littered the ground around me.
     “For good luck,” he added with a smirk.
    I still felt the warmth of his lips as my face lingered between the two strips of the cold, steel bars. Shock from what just happened, and my heightened emotions, also lingered.
    Regaining