Oblivion Read Free

his lips are back on mine, and I lose myself
    in his kiss. In that moment, nothing is wrong – Cam
    and I are just two people, two people who just told
    each other they love each other for the first time, two
    people who can’t believe they found each other.
    I want to keep kissing him forever.
    But I have to pul back. Because there’s a knock on
    the door.
    I move away from Cam, and he puts his finger to his
    lips, signaling me to be quiet. I freeze, afraid if I
    move even one mil imeter, whoever’s outside wil be
    able to hear me.
    The knock comes again, harder this time. And then,
    someone tries the doorknob.
    Cam’s eyes are locked on mine, and I know what
    he’s thinking. Stay quiet, stay stil , but if it comes
    down to it, we’re going to have to fight. I see his gaze
    flick around the kitchen, and I can tel he’s scanning
    the room, looking for something we can use as a
    weapon if we have to.
    Another knock comes from the door, and again, the
    rattle of the knob. And then the sound of a key turning
    in the lock. Cam’s eyes widen, and we both stand
    up, ready to run. But before we can, a familiar figure
    steps into the cottage.
    “Hel o?” a female voice cal s out. Danata.
    I let out the huge breath I’ve been holding.
    “Oh,” I say in relief. “It’s you.”
    “Yes,” she says, looking surprised. “It’s me. What are
    you doing here?” She sets her bag down on the
    table by the door, and goes to curtsy again, but I stop
    her.
    “You don’t need to do that,” I say, blushing as Cam
    gives me a ‘ what the hell is up with that?’ kind of
    look. “This is Danata,” I tel him. “She lives here. It’s
    okay, she’s on our side.” I turn back to her. “What’s
    going on out there?” I ask.
    She crosses into the kitchen and sits across from us
    at the breakfast bar. “It’s an ambush,” she says, her
    face serious. “From the other side. They’ve come to
    get Raine.”
    “But Raine was going to surrender,” I say.
    “Wel , apparently someone didn’t like that.” Danata
    shrugs, then looks down at her lap. “Everyone’s
    searching for you.” I know what she means. Raine’s
    side is looking for me. And my own side, led by
    Reed, is looking for me, too. They both want the
    same thing -- to capture me, to use me so that they
    can become more powerful. It’s exactly like Cam
    said. There’s no one we can trust.
    “We have to get you out of here,” Cam says,
    squeezing my hand.
    “How?” I ask. Outside, I can stil here the firebal s
    flying overhead, punctuated by explosions and
    yel ing in the distance.
    “You were right, we need to get back to one of our
    cars.”
    “Do you know where your car is from here?” I ask. “I
    parked mine on the path coming in from the
    highway.” I think about it. “But I don’t know how to get
    back there.”
    “I can show you,” Danata says.
    I look at her, startled. “What?”
    “I can help you,” she says, “I can show you how to get
    back to your car.”
    Cam and I look at each other, and I can tel we’re
    both thinking the same thing.
    Can we trust her?
    “Why would you do that?” I ask.
    “Because.” She looks down at the floor, playing with
    her hands. “I want to help you. I don’t think it’s right
    what Reed’s doing.”
    I hesitate, not sure what to do. On one hand, I don’t
    know if she’s tel ing the truth. On the other hand, if
    she is tel ing the truth, I can certainly use the help –
    but at the same time, I don’t want to be responsible
    for getting her involved in this. I shake my head. “No,”
    I say, “I can’t let you do that.”
    “Why not?” she asks, and for the first time, I hear a
    little bit of fire in her voice.
    She sits up straight and throws her shoulders back,
    like she’s daring me to tel her she can’t do
    something.
    “Because you’l be in danger,” I say.
    Cam nods. “Nat’s right,” he says. “But if you can just
    tel us how to get --”
    There’s a knock on the door.