direction. Spinning faster and faster. “Then I guess you should be thankful you’ll be free of that regret shortly.” “We have come to finish this,” Papa snapped. “So let us do it now.” Ronan handed his gun to Albert just as Papa did so with Ivan. Detached, I followed Ronan to meet my father in the middle of opposing sides. My papa wouldn’t meet my eyes. I didn’t care. This world was heavy and unstable. When Ronan looked at me, the spinning stopped. His eyes held me steady. Dark blue. The color of the one heart-shaped earring in my ear. And full of things unsaid. I didn’t ever want to look away, but I was forced to. An explosion threw me back a step and trembled the ground. With a curse, Ronan shoved me behind him. Pieces of the silo flew through the air, fiery tin chunks landing in the mud. And then a closer boom split through the air, nearly knocking me off my feet. My ears rang, and I touched one, wincing when I came away with blood. Disoriented, I blinked through the thick smoke. This world was spinning and on fire. Both silos were in flames, and a smaller blast sent sharp shards of tin into the air. Ronan grabbed me and cradled my head against the falling shrapnel. The smoke cleared just enough to see my papa and the silver glint of a pistol aimed at Ronan’s back. “NO,” tore through my body. I could handle mourning so much. But not Ronan. Never Ronan. My heart made the decision for me. I shoved him away from me just as a pop sounded. Then everything went silent. The smoke drifted away. Shrapnel stopped falling. This world wasn’t spinning. It was cold, quiet, and so very dark. OceanofPDF:com