Read Online The Sharpest Blade by Sandy Williams - Free Book Online Page A

The first time was when we were roommates at Bedfont House, a mental institution we tried to sneak out of one night. She took the fall for that, letting me escape the place permanently while she had to stay and endure more counseling. Then, almost a month ago, when the remnants captured me, she gave me the key to my shackles. I wouldn’t have been able to escape without her help.
    Lee answers Kyol’s question, giving him a quick summary of what he told me, saying again that Glazunov and Charles Bowman, the other vigilante he wants to abduct, will be able to find a cure.
    “It’s not guaranteed,” I say when he finishes. “And why would they want to help you? They could stall and let you and Paige and anyone else who’s been injected with the serum die. Or they might not even be able to find a solution. They’ve probably been trying to fix the serum since they learned it was fatal.”
    “We’ll find a way to make them help,” Lee says.
    “You won’t be able to trust anything they do.”
    “We’ll have to!” Lee sits up straighter, his dark eyes flashing with anger. “I have to fix this. I won’t let her die.”
    He’s making this about Paige again. I don’t know if he’s doing that to get my support or if he really is more concerned about her life than his own. Maybe it’s a little of both.
    “I’ll take the vigilante to Corrist,” Kyol says, using the bandage I give him to wrap around Lee’s ribs. The gauze and bandage aren’t a permanent solution. Lee needs stitches. He needs a hospital.
    “You won’t bring the other vigilante here,” Kyol continues. “You’ll call McKenzie and arrange a place to meet.”
    Lee’s jaw clenches. He might not hate the fae, but he admitted he doesn’t trust them. I don’t know if he’ll trust Kyol. Of course, he doesn’t have much of a choice.
    “Fine,” he finally says, slouching as the fight whooshes out of him.
    I try to talk him into going to the hospital. He says he’ll be okay—he just needs to rest—but I’m half-afraid he won’t wake up if he goes to sleep. He’s lost so much blood, and he seems to be sweating more now. His wound might be infected, or maybe since he’s injured and weak, the serum will take his life early.
    After Lee ignores my last plea and drags himself to my couch, Kyol touches my shoulder. “I’m going to the Realm. I won’t be gone long.”
    He disappears into his fissure, and immediately I feel like I can breathe again. I didn’t realize how claustrophobic I felt with him in this world. It was like I was trying to contain all of my emotions in a bottle not big enough to hold an ounce of water.
    Now that he’s gone, and now that Lee is passed out on my couch, I realize just how tired I am. I need to get some rest. How that’s going to happen, though, I don’t know. I have a vigilante in my bed and a half-dead man sleeping on my couch. Sosch, who’s become accustomed to snoring on my feet at night, doesn’t look too pleased with the arrangements either. He’s on the breakfast table glowering at me.
    “Looks like we’re both sleeping on the floor,” I tell him. I need to shower and change clothes first, though, and that means I’m going to have to go into my bedroom. I really don’t want to breathe the same air as the vigilante, but I walk to the door. As I’m turning the knob, I hear the sharp
shrrip
of a fissure opening behind me.
    “That was quick,” I say, turning to face . . . Aren.
    The slash of light behind him winks out, leaving him framed in twisting shadows. For once, those shadows don’t capture my attention. Our eyes meet, maybe for just one second, but in that single second, a million emotions crash through me. Even dressed in old, well-worn
jaedric
, Aren is gorgeous. On anyone else, the armor would look cheap and shoddy, but he makes it look durable and strong. I’ve always been physically attracted to him, a fact that infuriated me when we were enemies, but it’s the deeper part of him