All The Pretty Ghosts (The Never Series Book 1) Jamie Campbell (best life changing books .TXT) 📖

was so dark and we were walking so fast that I didn’t get a chance to see the heavy rock in my path. I tripped, going down without being able to get a good grip on anything to stop myself.

All the air was knocked from my lungs with an “oomph” escaping my lips. My ankle instantly started throbbing with pain at being caught on the rock.

Jet let out a sigh as he reached down and felt around until his hand found mine. “You really aren’t very careful. Are you, princess?”

“How can you see anything down here?” I grumbled. I really wished he would stop calling me princess.

I was no princess.

“You get used to it.” He helped me to my feet, his arms lingering around my waist to make sure I was going to stay up. “Are you going to be okay or do you need me to carry you?”

I pushed him away. “I can do it myself.”

I couldn’t see him, but I could imagine the shrug of his shoulders as he started walking again.

He kept a slower pace.

My ankle got better the longer we walked. I caught glimpses of Jet during the short moments the sun shone through vents from high above. Each time his eyes were fixed forward, his posture confident as he walked. He certainly wasn’t as afraid of me as I was of him.

I guess he didn’t need to be.

Jet didn’t take me back to the room he had held me in previously. Something I was acutely grateful for. Instead, he walked for longer until we entered an open space. It was an artificial room, manmade by concrete, with a high roof and many doors leading off it. He chose the one on the right and waited for me to go first before he followed.

This tunnel was lit with emergency lighting as we walked through. It was dry with a paved floor and concrete walls. It even had a handrail lining the edges. This was luxury compared to the rest of the underground I had seen.

Jet stopped at a door and opened it. He stepped inside, flipping a switch before inviting me in. He closed the door again behind me, sealing us in.

The room contained a bed, a set of drawers, and a chair. A woven blue rug covered the floor. “What is this place?” I asked.

“Welcome to Casa Jet,” he replied, sweeping the room with his arm like he was presenting something huge.

So this was where Jet lived.

Huh.

It felt incredibly weird being in his private area. It wasn’t like we were close or even really knew each other. Yet this was his bed, the place where he stayed and the place where he chose who could enter.

“Why did you bring me here?”

He sat on the bed and gestured for me to sit on the chair. I did, purely because it felt odd standing over him. “You said you wanted to talk. So talk, princess.”

His bed was unmade.

It momentarily distracted me. Why didn’t he make his bed? Maybe he was asleep when I demanded to see him? Maybe he just didn’t bother to keep his place tidy?

“Princess.” His harsh voice snapped me out of it.

“I want to talk with the adults,” I said.

“I thought you wanted to talk with me.” The amusement was back in his eyes. He wasn’t taking me seriously, he was probably trying to work out how best to deceive me again.

“Only so you’d take me to the adults.”

“What do you want to say to them?” he asked, his head lilting to the side as he studied me.

A retort about it being none of his business was left unsaid. It wasn’t going to get me anywhere. “I want to speak with them about going above ground.”

Jet leaned back, letting out his breath. His arms crossed behind his head, creating a cushion against the concrete wall. “We’ve already discussed this. They have no interest in going up.”

“Then you shouldn’t have anything to worry about by taking me to them.”

“You’ve got an answer for everything, don’t you?”

“I wish that were the case.”

“I don’t want you talking to them,” Jet replied sternly, much harsher than he had previously been talking. “They’ve got nothing to say to you.”

“How about you let them decide?” I challenged. I couldn’t see what the big deal was. If they didn’t want to go up, then there was nothing I could do about it. But I needed to hear it with my own ears and have the chance to try to convince them otherwise.

He chewed on his bottom lip as he stared at me. It was much warmer in the small room than it had been upstairs. The warmth, combined with his forceful gaze, was starting to make the room stuffy. I hoped we wouldn’t be spending much more time here. I hoped he would finally relent soon.

I raised my eyebrows in the silence, trying to elicit a response. We couldn’t sit here all day. Children were dying in the snow above.

Finally, he leaned forward, his hands returning to his lap. “I’ll do you a deal. I’ll take you to the adults, but I want something in return.”

“What?” My stomach clenched with dread at what he could ask for. Jet was unpredictable, it was the only thing I could really count on.

“I’ll take you there if you tell me how you escaped from the warehouse.”

I thought he was joking but the grim set to his mouth told me he wasn’t. “That’s all you want?”

“It is. Do we have a deal?” He held out his hand for me to shake. I couldn’t see the string that was surely attached to the agreement but I knew it was there somewhere.

I shook his hand.

The deal was done.

It was his turn to raise