Wrong Side Of Dead by Kelly Meding Page A

away.”
    A bubble of emotion settles in my throat and makes it difficult to breathe.
He may have let you go
. I can’t argue the truth in Phin’s statement. It’s too late to fix what Thackery helped us break. Wyatt and I both changeddramatically, and I doubt for the better. All we can do—all of us, I realize, as I glance at the activity beyond the tent—is to start over.
    “It feels like such a small thing to say thank you,” Phin adds. “You saved many lives that day, Evy, but you saved mine as well. Again.”
    I put down the bottle of water and cover our clasped hands with my other, holding tight. His touch is cotton and steel—something so unique to him and comfortingly familiar. “I don’t have many friends, Phin, but I’ll always fight for the ones I have.”
    “As will I.” His eyes burn with a fierce truth.
    “Just stop getting kidnapped, okay?”
    He smiles. “I’ll do my best.”
    “Good.”
    Movement outside the tent catches my attention. A young man, probably a trainee, is standing in a patch of sunlight. His gray sweats are stained red and black, and his face is pale beneath a mop of thick brown hair. His wide eyes look around without seeming to really see. He’s scared, if his trembling hands are any indication, and more than a little lost. I don’t know him, but I can guess his story—this was his last chance to make a life, to matter. And he’s watching it burn to the ground.
    My heart aches for him, and for the dozen or so others like him who have nowhere to go. And more than that, my chest burns with anger.
    For the first time since waking up in Chalice Frost’s body and realizing I had a second chance at this life thing, I feel like I have a choice. A choice about my next step and where I want to go from here.
    “I want to speak with Astrid,” I say.
    Phin blinks. “I’m sure I can find her for you.”
    “Not right this minute. I want an official meeting with the head of your Assembly task force.”
    “Are you applying for a job?”
    “Maybe. Does she book appointments for that?”
    “There’s a first time for everything. I’ll speak with her and let you know.”
    “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome. And I meant what I said, Evy, about you having a place to go, even if only for a few days. You’re more than welcome in the condo I share with Rufus.”
    I nod, acknowledging without committing. Phin and Wyatt haven’t been there in several days; however, they may both return tonight, and I don’t have the strength for another fight with Wyatt. “So, any word on our evacuation progress?”
    “Several large trucks are en route to assist in removing all salvageable equipment,” he replies. “I don’t think a decision has been made on the structures.”
    The main building, which housed Research and Development, is a smoldering mess. The dormitory in the rear of the grounds and the entire gymnasium complex are in various states of disaster, but neither has serious structural problems. Still, if we’re really evacuating for good, everything needs to be leveled.
    “Some well-placed explosives will take care of the problem, I’d think,” I say, only half-serious.
    “It’s being considered.”
    “Problem is, it’s too damned noisy,” Kismet says from somewhere behind us.
    I twist my head to look at her, as sweaty and blood-smeared as the rest of us. “Fire?”
    “Harder to control. We don’t want the whole mountain to go. Normally, we’d ask the Fey for help, but—”
    A little hard to do with the brass dead, the entire Council ignoring us, and very little left in the way of magical allies. “Right,” I say. “Any news on Bastian’s condition?”
    Kismet takes a few steps forward. She’s short enoughto not have to stoop beneath the low tent. “Morgan’s taking him and two others to the hospital. Their injuries are serious and we can’t treat them here.”
    It’s a risky move. Without our contacts in the police department, those medical records will be