Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
“It’s every man for himself when the Kings are involved,” Schmidt replied sharply. “The moment you step on their toes, they’ll try to cut off your foot.”
“You shouldn’t have played with fire. Your involvement has only angered Arvo more. He’s waged war against you, us, and anyone who tries to stand in his way of taking over the academy,” Zephyr gritted out.
“He can’t do anything without that money, and he isn’t getting a cent. None of you Kings are,” Schmidt said defiantly.
I glanced around as Schmidt’s voice echoed through the courtyard. A weird sensation tingled up my neck. I felt like we were being watched, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if we were. Like Schmidt said, there were eyes everywhere. I just wondered who these eyes belonged to.
Zephyr parted his lips to speak, but his words got caught in his throat. His eyes darted over as a flash of light gleamed from the upper right. It only took him a second to react. He pushed me down to the ground and tackled Schmidt as soon as a shot rang out.
“Get down!” Zephyr shouted.
I stayed on the ground as I quickly looked around, trying to see where the shot came from. It was to my right, but I couldn’t see anything from the rooftops or the upper windows. I soon heard a shot from the left as Theo opened fire.
I covered my head, breathing shakily against the stone beneath me as my eyes squeezed shut. All I could do was hope that a bullet didn’t find its way to me. When there was a lull in the gunfire and all I could hear was my thundering heartbeat between my eyes, I subtly lifted my head.
“Is it Arvo?” I called out to Zephyr.
“It’s him!” Zephyr shouted over the sound of gunfire. He then looked over at me with an expression of urgency.
“Run!” he told me.
I didn’t want to leave him, but I would be useless if a bullet struck me. I had to trust that he would be okay on his own like he trusted me to be fine on my own. After pushing myself to my feet, I fled from the courtyard as gunfire rang out behind me.
CHAPTER 17
BIBA
I decided to run to the clocktower. It had to be one of the safest places to go, and all I knew was that I needed to stay out of the way until the chaos ended. The last thing that I wanted to do was get caught in the middle of it and become a liability.
I raced through the hallways, the sound of my heartbeat echoing in my head. Worry struck me. What if something happened to Theo, Zephyr, or Sol? The thought made my stomach churn, and I had to force the thought from my mind to focus.
I turned the corner to go down the corridor leading to the clocktower, but I had to come to a stop, seeing that they shut off the corridor due to the fire from Buffy’s room. I cursed beneath my breath, not knowing where else to go.
“Long time, no see, Biba,” a chilling voice spoke behind me.
I whipped around to see Arvo at the end of the hallway with a sniper rifle in his hand, blocking off my escape route. I took a step back, wanting to put as much distance between us as possible. He looked as malicious as could be, and I had no doubt that he would finish what his father started with me.
“Get back,” I gritted out, wishing my voice came out steadier.
Arvo chuckled lowly as he shook his head at me. He crept toward me, knowing that I was nervous. It drove him wild in a twisted way.
“Are you trying to get to the clocktower? Don’t worry, I know another way,” Arvo said before lunging forward and grabbing my arm. He yanked me toward him so hard that I tripped and hit the ground on my knees. “Come on!”
I grimaced as he halfway dragged me to another corridor, digging his fingers so hard into my arm that it ached. I tried to fight against him, but he struck me in the face with the barrel of the rifle, stunning me.
“My father told me you were quite feisty,” Arvo commented as he kicked open the door to the stairs that led up to the inside of the clocktower. He yanked me up the stairs, not caring if I tripped and stumbled. “Then, I didn’t hear from him at all.”
I swallowed hard, realizing that he already found out about his father’s death. He definitely wouldn’t be merciful now. I didn’t say anything as he dragged me inside of the clocktower and tossed me to the ground. I grunted in pain, my body aching all over.
“Give me the key,” Arvo demanded. “I know that you have it.”