The Girl Who Dared to Think Bella Forrest (best classic literature txt) 📖

doesn’t matter. If anything, it’ll be the perfect distraction if we are discovered. I’ll get them to chase me.”

“That...” I stopped again, giving him an incredulous look. “That’s no reason for me to take you along! I’m trying to do everything in my power to keep the people here safe.”

“Liana,” Grey said, his hand going up to my cheek. “Stop arguing with me. I’m going—I owe it to your friend for saving my life. And there’s no way I’m letting you go alone.”

I stared at him, trying to find the will to fight him on this, but found myself ultimately unable to. I really was on a selfish streak tonight, it seemed—throwing the people here into danger for my friend, potentially getting Grey caught trying to help me. But at the same time... I felt just so grateful that I wouldn’t have to do this alone.

“Then it’ll be a fun party,” announced a hushed voice, and I started, turning away from Grey to see Tian, a smile on her face. “Because I’m going too!”

Grey and I looked at each other and then back at her. “No, you’re not,” I retorted, just as Grey said, “Absolutely not.”

Tian’s eyes grew wide and large, immediately filling up with tears. “I can’t... go?”

Crap. A crying Tian was the last thing we needed right now. I immediately dropped down onto a knee, putting myself at equal height with Tian. “Sweetie, don’t cry. Just hear me out. You know we’re already going to be in trouble for doing this. Could you imagine how mad Cali would be if we took you?”

The little girl’s eyes widened in alarm, and she looked around. “Oh, my gosh, you are so right!” she said suddenly, her voice a rushed little whisper. “She’d murder you.”

“Yes. And... I’d just feel better if you were here, okay?”

Tian hesitated, and then nodded. “Okay, but you have to take Grey with you, then. So you’re not alone.”

I smiled and nodded my head. “All right. I promise. Now go to bed, okay?”

“Okay.” She turned to go, stopped, and then whirled around to throw her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. “Please be careful, Liana.”

“I will,” I vowed, holding her tightly to me. I let her go, and watched as she made her way back down the hall, my heart heavy. I had to keep them safe. I just had to.

“You’re stuck with me now,” Grey said from behind me. “Tian’s orders.”

“I swear, that little girl’s charms will be my undoing,” I muttered, standing up. “Now, let’s get out of here before I attract any more help in this supposedly stealthy operation.”

32

We took the plunge, and I quickly learned that Grey was afraid of heights.

“It’s not heights,” he insisted, his arms and legs holding tightly to me. “It’s the plunge. How you bloody Knights even attempt to navigate these things is insane!”

He winced as my arms suddenly snapped out to the left, hitting a nearby beam and using the gears in the harness to jerk us to the right to avoid a bent girder blocking the way. My other hand was already spinning, and I released the lash and felt the tug when it connected. I jerked us up, the new gears working as smoothly as if they were greased and twice as fast as they had before. The air tore at my hair as we flew ahead, the light in Grey’s hand illuminating our path while the painted symbols on the wall guided my route.

I took a sudden left, and he exhaled slowly, his fingers digging into my skin as I lashed us through a tight makeshift tunnel of pipes. “Can’t you just move a little slower?”

“Yes,” I said with a smirk, launching us through the opening on the other side and lashing the first thing I could see above us. I was sweating from the exertion and my heart was pounding in my chest with the excitement of finally doing something to help my friend. “You okay?”

I felt Grey’s weight shift slightly and compensated for it by throwing another lash and changing direction to rebalance. “I’m hanging in there. And by in there, I mean on to you. I assume this just shatters all conceptions of my masculinity, right?”

“You riding on my back and whining about the plunge?” I teased, my eyes flicking around at the marks, ready for a new danger. “Absolutely.”

There was another sharp left, and I took it hard and fast, much to Grey’s discomfort, the press of time heavy on my shoulders as I thought about Zoe in the Medica. At least I was finally doing something to help her. I just had to reach her in time—I couldn’t get to her if she dropped and the Knights came to collect her.

“So, do you have a plan for how you’re going to get in there?”

I shook my head, lashes flying. “Not so much of a plan... It’s more of an outline.”

“Which consists of?”

“Go to Zoe. Get her out. Go back to Sanctum.”

He went silent for a minute, and all I could hear was the tink tink tink of my lashes as I continued to move us upward. Then: “That’s literally just a concept.”

I let his words hang between us, unable to argue with someone who was right, and focused on step one: getting to Zoe. I just continued to lash, unwilling to be swayed by something as inconsequential as the lack of a plan. This was going to happen. I didn’t know how, yet, but I was going to seize every opportunity I was presented, and lie without compunction.

The exit came upon us so quickly that I almost missed it, which made my landing inside a little wobbly. I stumbled forward, Grey’s weight on my back offsetting me slightly, and he quickly dropped to the ground and relieved some of the pressure. Taking a moment to collect myself, I looked down the corridor in both directions, checking to see if there was anyone around.

Thankfully, the early hour meant the