I pressed against him, our legs twisted in the hammock. My entire body was shaking as I kissed him deeper, with a desire—a need—I didn’t even know I had. I wasn’t actually positive I was even breathing.
Fang held me tightly, like he’d never, ever let go again, and we kissed for what felt like an eternity, for all of those tense moments that had been building between us for years, and for every second we’d been apart. We kissed like we were inhaling each other, like we would live and die in this moment.
We kissed like the world was ending.
80
AND THEN, SUDDENLY, it was like the world really was ending.
Without warning, an explosion tore through my tree house, dangerously rocking the structure like an earthquake. Adrenaline overloaded my system and Fang and I scrambled to untwist from the hammock and ran inside. Our senses were hammered from all sides: Glass shattering. Wood splintering. Someone crashing toward us with the force of a tornado. What on earth—
“GET OUT!” someone yelled at full volume. “GET OUT NOW!”
A tall figure emerged from the shadows, looking totally strung out and insane and desperate.
I nearly shrieked in fury. After ruining everything else, now he was ruining my perfect night with Fang.
“Dylan!” I exploded at him. “What are you even doing here? On our island?”
“Max! Just give me a chance to explain—”
“A chance?” My mouth hung open. I could not believe what I was hearing. “How dare you. You went ballistic!” I yelled. “You abandoned the flock. And, oh, yeah, you TRIED TO KILL FANG! You don’t get anything, do you? There are no more chances!”
“But this is it!” Dylan persisted. “I saw something, in the sky.” His eyes were wild. “We have to get out right now!”
“No. You need to get out,” Fang said in a low voice. He stepped closer so that his face was inches from Dylan’s. “Now.”
Dylan didn’t flinch, but grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me toward the door. Fang shot forward, batting his hand away. Fang’s face was warped with anger, his body rigid and his wings spread wide. He looked deadly.
Things were spiraling out of control.
“Look, I know things haven’t been the best between us lately,” Dylan said, backtracking. “But you guys just have to trust me—”
“Trust you?” Fang almost spit. “Why should we trust you?”
“Because I have always, always had Max’s best interests at heart,” Dylan answered. Fang scoffed, but Dylan continued, his voice rising. “Because every second you stay here you’re putting her at risk—putting everyone at risk. Do you really want that on your shoulders? Don’t you care about her at all?”
“Enough!” I yelled, stepping between them. “Okay,” I snapped, pointing to Dylan. “You have sixty seconds. Start talking. Now.”
Dylan swallowed. “I saw something. In the sky,” he said, breathing heavily, trying to speak coherently. “I don’t know how to explain. We have to get to the caves, get all the kids out. Now.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay. We know about the plague and the 99% Plan. This place was built to protect us. We’re safe.”
“Even if no one else is,” Fang muttered from behind me.
“None of that matters!” Dylan shrieked. His eyes were wild, crazed. He looked like he was about to jump out of his skin. “This isn’t a plague. Not even close.”
I put a hand on his arm to try to calm him. After everything we’d been through, it still hurt to see him like this. “You… saw something in the sky,” I said gently, trying to make sense of what he was saying. “Did it have wings? Was it a jet? A flyboy?”
“No, nothing like that.” Dylan shook his head. “It’s something… big. And it’s moving too fast for me to clearly see what it is. But it’s headed this way.”
Fang walked to the window and peered out. I looked at him questioningly, but he shook his head. “Sky’s totally clear. The leaves are still—there’s not even any wind. Are you sure you didn’t just see a shooting star, buddy?” Fang asked dryly.
Dylan’s eyes hardened, his jaw tightening. “It was no everyday shooting star.”
I crossed my arms over my chest, thinking.
I glanced back at Fang and saw his eyes flashing threateningly through his curtain of dark hair. He was rational to a fault. My real “other half.”
And then there was Dylan, in front of me, looking all broken and insane and like he really needed me.
“Do you not hear what I’m telling you?” Dylan asked in frustration. “Max, I was created to protect you.”
“Protect me?” I bristled. “I have spent years leading this flock, making split-second decisions based on well-honed instincts,” I growled. “You have been alive for, what, a minute? And you’ve spent the past few days having a well-documented meltdown. Now, after almost murdering Fang, you have the nerve to show up here, to insist that we follow you because something weird is about to just… fall from the sky?” I was hitting a fever pitch. “Who do you think needs protection more, Dylan, me or you?”
His eyes were pleading, but I wasn’t moving. “It’s coming now,” he said. “Please.”
I sighed. “Dylan, just… go.”
“Fine, stay here. I’m getting the rest of the kids to the caves. I’m not having their deaths on my head.” Dylan sighed sadly. “I know you don’t trust me anymore, Max. But I’ve never lied to you, not once, and though it might seem like I’ve done some questionable things, I’m not crazy. You have to know that everything I’ve ever done, I did for you.”
I cringed as he turned his back on us, his shoes crunching over the broken glass.
“And Max,” Dylan called from the doorway, “after I get everyone to safety, I’ll be back for you. Even if it means dying with you out here. That’s the only way I want my life to end. With you.”
81
“WHO DOES THAT guy think he is?” Fang exploded after Dylan was out of sight.
“Seriously!” I was as cranky as a wet cat and pacing furiously. “What the heck does he think he’s doing barging into my house”—I gestured dramatically—“in the middle of—” I locked eyes with Fang. He raised an eyebrow, and his smirk sent a buzz through my whole body. “In the middle of the night. Trying to freak everyone out?”
I yanked an upturned table back over and slammed the door Dylan had left open.
“Max,” Fang said cautiously. When I turned around, there was uncertainty on his face. “Do you think he might’ve really seen something? His vision is crazy sharp, isn’t it?”
“Oh, please,” I huffed. “It’s not that great. And I don’t know if he’s short-circuiting or what, but he’s clearly not the brightest bulb right now.”
Fang nodded and bent to right an overturned chair. One of the reasons Fang and I work so well together? He keeps his mouth shut when I’m in fire-breathing dragon mode. Unlike Blondie down there.
At that point, I’d almost gotten used to Dylan strapping us in for his own personal roller-coaster ride of highs and lows, complete with lingering nausea at the whole rotten experience. This, however, was on a whole new level.
I was made to protect you, he’d said, his sea-blue eyes begging me to trust him, still full of that same fierce drive he’d shown when I’d taught him to fly, not so very long ago. But that dopey innocence, which had seemed almost endearing then, was nowhere in sight now.