{Book Two} 118 | Unstable

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The Tethered Ones

Chapter 48

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Luna

Luna pushed herself up to her knees, glass slicing her palms, and lunged toward Lily, who was throwing electric charges with her fingers.

A bolt of energy slammed into Davenport's bookcase, ripping a hole through the majority of the books. It fizzled before it could touch Luna's skin, but the bookcase casualty confirmed what she already suspected.

She was out for blood.

Her blood.

That flash of electricity was not a warning.

As Lily lunged at her, Luna darted to the right. Davenport's beer bottles sloshed all over the kitchen floor, covering it.

Luna charged at Lily, doing the only thing she could think of at the time. She slashed her skin by throwing bottles at her. As she stumbled back, raising her hands to her eyes, the glass shattered. A foul-smelling liquid ran down her cheeks, mixing with flecks of blood.

Luna hoped it felt excruciating.

"Lily," she said, stepping back. "I have no idea why you're attacking me, but I'm your friend—I can help you!"

She wiped her eyes, splattering water on the walls. Her gaze met Luna's with no recognition. Her eyes were terrifyingly wide and empty. Luna had become nothing to her after months of being washed away. There was nothing behind those eyes.

Luna's eyes had to be playing tricks on her, or she was dreaming because she was Defective. Her sweet friend in St. Matthew's who had helped them in getting to this estate was now violent and ready for war.

She was undercover for their resistance.

Oh, dear baby koalas . . . Lily had been activated.

She was a Trojan.

Her head cocked to the side, eyes narrowing.

"Please, Lily, it's me. Luna. You know me," she begged. Her back hit the desk as she looked behind her at the open door. "We're friends. Remember?"

Lily stalked toward Luna, like Jason going after his victims.

And she was so her victim.

She took a deep breath in, but it became stuck. "Our hospital rooms were next to each other—we ate lunch sometimes. You wear black square glasses." She didn't know what to say, but she kept babbling in the hopes of reaching her friend; the last thing she wanted to do was hurt her. "Lily, please . . ."

But Lily seemed to have no qualms about causing her some harm.

The air became static-charged once more. As Lily let go of her electricity once more, Luna lurched to the side. It burned the back of Luna's shirt. When she spun toward the desk, the smell of burned lint and charred meat wafted into the air. A low whine came from the desk, and smoke billowed from a closed laptop.

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