Reckoning Read Online Free

into the hole.
    The thought hit me out of the blue. If I failed in what I had to do, I would be the one burying Riley. I pressed a hand against my stomach as it churned. Gritting my teeth, I kept the cry of agony locked inside, but I couldn’t prevent the claws of worry from digging at me. If Riley didn’t make it, I would be responsible for his death, and the guilt would weigh on me as surely as it did with Chloe’s.
    When they were done and Riley patted the last bit into the hole, Stone leaped up with a curse.
    He grabbed the fire-rock from me, nearly burning my hand in the process. Tossing the flashlight at my feet, he walked away.
    I started to go after him, but Riley stopped me. “Don’t. He needs to be alone.”
    I went to a large rock and sat on the end of it, dangling my feet over the edge. “It sucks,” I said with a sniff as I wiped at my eyes. Losing someone you loved left a hole that sympathetic words, distractions, and time never filled. I switched on the flashlight and shined it in the direction Stone had taken. I absently brushed away some dirt from the front of my shirt. “Do you think we wouldn’t have lost the people we love if our ancestors had never come to Earth?”
    “You can’t live in what-if land.” He shaded his eyes with his hand when I aimed the light at him.
    “Sorry.” I lowered it. Twisting the top of the flashlight back and forth, I asked with what I hoped was an air of casualness, “What was the conversation with Mallen about? You didn’t sound too happy.”
    He ran his hands down the sides of his jeans and gave me a reassuring smile. “It’s not important.”
    “If he’s a friend of yours, why can’t he get us out of here now?”
    “Ide knows I’m close to Mallen. The old Guard is being watched.”
    “Oh.” My stomach let out a loud, embarrassing growl. Tucking loose strands of hair behind my ear, I pressed a hand over my abdomen. Remembering the energy bars, I dug one of them out of my pocket. “Want some of this?”
    “Not hungry.”
    I tore the wrapper and broke off a small piece, then carefully wrapped the rest of the bar and stuck it back into my pocket. “I never thought I’d be happy to see raisins in my life.”
    Knowing I hated raisins, Riley smiled, but it seemed off. Like something was on his mind. I told myself I imagined Riley’s withdrawal. My fears and doubts were conspiring to create issues where there weren’t any.
    Picking out one of the fatter raisins, I made a face and pitched it off to the side. “It’s funny how before I knew you, I believed the rumors you were cruel like your father. I remember thinking you were mean, but that was only when we had a mutual hate thing going on.”
    “I can’t imagine how I could have ever hated you.”
    He looked into my eyes and my pulse raced. I experienced the familiar falling sensation I always had when I thought about him. I’d traced the taut muscles on his abdomen and looked into his handsome face the night I’d become his. Now, looking into his translucent blue eyes had the same effect. I wanted to kiss him. Get closer and wrap myself up in him until nothing else mattered. I wanted to close out the world and all the heartache in it before everything fell apart. Before he hated me again.
     
    RILEY
    I drank in the beauty of Juliet. I had a hard time thinking clearly whenever I looked at her. My love and desire for her had a tendency to drown out everything else. Sometimes it amazed me how important she’d become to me. How the only thing that mattered was being with her. Seeing her smile. Holding her. I’d never imagined I would ever love as deeply as I did or that I would be loved as much in return. The way she looked at me, peeking at me from underneath her long eyelashes, pushed me to reach for her.
    She came willingly into my arms and rested her cheek against my chest. I breathed in the sweet scent of her. My girl was a paradox. Tough, powerful, often unyielding to the point of