Free Saven Defiance (The Saven Series Book 4) by Siobhan Davis Page A

deliberate ploy to distract me. I love him for it.
    “ When you kissed me for the first time in the cave. I’d never been kissed like that before. It was everything I’d ever dreamed of and more.” I don’t even need to think about it. That’s always been top of my list. “What’s yours?”
    “Holding you in my arms once we fled Amara. I never thought I’d get to experience that with you again. In that moment I knew, without a shadow of doubt, that I could never be apart from you again.”
    “ I love you, Logan.”
    “I love you, too.”
    My chest heaves with the depth of the love in my heart. I cling onto it, blanking everything else out. We slam to a halt and I bite back my scream as the cross I’m hooked up to sways precariously. The wind is strong at this height, matching my fear.
    “Keep looking at me. Only me,” Logan coaches.
    A steady hum gains in velocity, and my entire body trembles as I shudder at the sound.
    “Look at me. I love you.”
    My lip wobbles as I stare at my boyfriend for what may be the last time. His steely demeanor calms me, and I just about hold it together.
    A succession of massive explosions rocks the ground below, and we sway dangerously from the aftershock. Screams and shouts filter through the air like background music in a movie. I can vaguely detect the sound of traded gunfire. My heart does a hopeful little jump, which is probably idiotic, because we are still suspended miles above the ground waiting to be incinerated.
    The panel at my back lurches dangerously, and my stomach drops to my toes. It’s just as well that I hurled earlier and I’ve nothing left to expel. The panel judders again, bringing new meaning to the phrase scared to death. I can’t contain my scream. My lungs let loose as we begin moving, descending lower and lower, faster and faster. My hair whips all around me, masking my vision, and I can’t see Logan’s face. My panic reaches life-threatening proportions. This is it, the moment where I have a coronary at age eighteen. I’ll be dead before we even crash into the ground.
    “Keep calm, Angel. It’ll be okay.”
    I’d snort if my body would cooperate, but it’s on lockdown mode. Shock has rendered me mute and devoid of response.
    I hum under my breath as we hurtle toward the ground. I’m not sure which is worse: being incinerated to a crisp or splatting the ground like a puddle of goo. At what feels like the very last second, we lurch to a halt.
    My breathing spews out in edgy bursts. I wiggle my feet, confirming that I’m still somewhat perched above the ground. “Oh my God.”
    “The others haven’t let us down.”
    “We’re not out of this yet.” My hair still covers my face, and it’s frustrating not knowing what’s going on. As my eardrums recalibrate, I listen to the sounds around me.
    It’s obvious that fighting, on a mass scale, is in full swing. Jumpy pops mingle with lurid explosions as guns, grenades, and God-knows-what sort of high-tech alien weaponry zings around the auditorium.
    It would be just my luck to get hit by a stray shot.
    The crowd still screams in shrill tones, and the frantic pounding of harried footsteps resonates clearly. The thump of many footsteps dancing a merry dance surrounds me followed by grunts and groans and the slap of bodies slamming to the floor.
    “You hanging in there?” Logan asks.
    “Funny! Ha! Just about. You?”
    “ I’m okay, Angel. Stay calm. Help is on its way.”
    I shriek as I slowly start lowering again. The panel hits the stage with a quavering screech, and my heart tries to beat its way out of my body. Fingers brush my ankles and I flinch. “It’s okay, Sadie,” Ax says, “I’ve got you.”
    “What about—”
    “I’ve got him,” Haydn cuts in. “As soon as Axton releases you, you get the hell out of here. No waiting around for Logan. We will exit on different sides of the auditorium to divert attention and make it harder for Dante to recapture you both. The others will