Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead Read Free Book Online Page B

anything. She kept moving through the pain, but—again—I was superior. I caught a hold of her shoulders and threw her down. Her head hit hard, but she remained conscious. I didn't know whether to be grateful or not. Maintaining my grip, I put her in a chokehold, waiting until her eyes closed. I released as soon as I was sure she was out, my heart twisting in my chest.
    Glancing over, I saw Dimitri had also taken down his opponents. Our group kept moving as though nothing had happened, but I glanced at Eddie, knowing there was grief on my face. He looked pained too but sought to reassure me as we hurried along.
    "You did what you had to," he said. "She'll be okay. Banged up, but okay."
    "I hit her hard."
    "The medics can deal with concussions. Hell, how many did we get in practice?"
    I hoped he was right. The lines between right and wrong were getting confusing. The one good thing, I supposed, was that Meredith had been so occupied by the sight of me that she probably hadn't noticed Eddie and the others. They'd held back from the fight, hopefully keeping on Adrian's veil of spirit while Dimitri and I took the attention.
    We finally reached the garages, which were indeed more crowded than usual. Some Moroi had already driven off. One royal was hysterical because her driver had her car's keys, and she didn't know where he was. She was shouting to passers-by to see if anyone could hotwire the car for her.
    Dimitri led us purposefully forward, never wavering. He knew exactly where we were going. There had been a lot of planning, I realized. Most of which had probably happened yesterday. Why had Lissa obscured it from me? Wouldn't it have been better for me to have a heads-up on the plan?
    We scurried through the people, heading toward the garage on the very farthest side. There, sitting just outside of it and seemingly ready to go, was a drab gray Honda Civic. A man stood near it, arms crossed as he examined the windshield. Hearing our approach, he turned around.
    "Abe!" I exclaimed.
    My illustrious father turned and gave me one of those charming smiles that could lure the unwary to their doom.
    "What are you doing here?" demanded Dimitri. "You'll be on the list of suspects too! You were supposed to stay back with the others."
    Abe shrugged. He looked remarkably unconcerned at Dimitri's angry expression. I wouldn't have wanted that fury directed at me. "Vasilisa will make sure a few people at the palace swear they saw me there during suspicious times." He turned his dark eyes toward me. "Besides, I couldn't leave without telling you goodbye, could I?"
    I shook my head in exasperation. "Was this all part of your plan as my lawyer? I don't recall explosive escapes being part of legal training."
    "Well, I'm sure it wasn't part of Damon Tarus's legal training." Abe's smile never wavered. "I told you, Rose. You will never face execution—or even a trial, if I can help it." He paused. "Which, of course, I can."
    I hesitated, glancing toward the car. Dimitri stood by it with a set of keys, looking impatient. Adrian's words echoed in my memory.
    "If I run, it's just going to make me seem that much more guilty."
    "They already think you're guilty," said Abe. "You wasting away in that cell won't change that. This just ensures we now have more time to do what we need to without your execution looming over us."
    "And what are you going to do exactly?"
    "Prove you're innocent," said Adrian. "Or, well, that you didn't kill my aunt. I've known for a while you aren't all that innocent."
    "What, are you guys going to destroy the evidence?" I asked, ignoring the dig.
    "No," said Eddie. "We have to find who really did kill her."
    "You guys shouldn't be involved with that, now that I'm free. It's my problem. Isn't that why you got me out?"
    "It's a problem you can't solve while you're at Court," said Abe. "We need you gone and safe."
    "Yeah, but I—"
    "We're wasting time arguing," said Dimitri. His gaze fell on the other garages. The crowds were