PARADISE PARADOX (#1 PARADISE ISLAND duology)

-- twenty --

As she watched Mr. Reynolds' tall figure fade into nothing, Kera continued to pound her fists to the ground. Her palms were numb, her fingers trembling, bouts of pain flaring up her wrists and shooting up her arms. She'd swallowed a few bits of earthy dirt, too, but it tasted better than the sourness that had been dwelling in her mouth when speaking to Mr. Reynolds.

She wouldn't stop wailing, begging for attention; not until someone listened to her, understood her agony. Not until one of the adults came to their senses; Milla couldn't have been the only one thinking clearly.

Kera wouldn't cease until someone heard her, saw her, saved her. The gods, the ruler, another professor with more of a heart—

But there were no other professors who'd come to her rescue. Mr. Reynolds had been right—they'd all signed papers, they'd all agreed to this. The only one who might have prevailed in finding a solution was dead, nailed to a tree, her blood splattering across the forest floor, melting into its dirt, feeding its crops.

This place thirsted for blood, for betrayal, for impurity; and poor Milla Moreno had contributed to it without wanting to. She'd been Kera's only hope, and now she was gone.

Only when she sensed a presence behind her did Kera stop battering the ground, thinking her prayers had been answered, somehow. Then she remembered she was surrounded by clawed monsters, and anyone who might have been able to save her would have showed up on the other side of the barrier, not behind her.

Holding her breath, she spun around to confront her attacker. She braced for claws, for teeth digging into her flesh, for the growls she'd been hearing to be before her, deafening and dreadful.

And though she'd expected a glowing yellow gaze, she hadn't prepared for this one. Not that of a human man with a hoodie over his shaved scalp, and brown skin flushed with droplets of perspiration. These yellow eyes were like floating amber jewels, seeking to guide her home; but this wasn't home, it would never be.

He lowered his hood and reached his hand out. "Kera, get up." Miles' voice was soft, but laced with something Kera couldn't quite decipher; a flickering fear, a hint of anger, a spot of confusion, most likely.

Kera accepted his hand and wiped her face off. She'd usually be embarrassed by displaying such unpleasant, exaggerated emotions, but she and Miles shared an unusual bond, after all they'd done together, despite not remembering most of it.

"What are you doing here?" Though reassured to see him, she feared how much he'd heard and seen of the conversation with Mr. Reynolds.

Did he listen to the part about his parents?

Miles ensured she was stable on her feet, then retracted his hand and angled away from her. "I'd ask you the same thing, but I listened to everything, saw everything that happened, so I don't need to."

Kera gestured towards Milla. "That, too?"

"I've been following you since you snuck out, so yeah." He frowned; they were close enough to the barrier and the torches that there was no mistaking the shadows dancing across his face for anything other than disappointment. "Honestly, her death is on you. If you hadn't crept over here and cried for attention and hounded her with questions, she wouldn't have died! She'd have been able to finish her exposé and maybe get us out of here."

Kera returned his frown. "Okay, but if you heard the entire conversation, then you know Mr. Reynolds planned to have her killed, anyway! Or these weird-ass gods would have gotten a hold of her, regardless! She was doomed the second she signed on to do this."

"We're all doomed, Kera. So why must you keep fighting this?" Miles massaged his temples. "I wish I could leave, too, but I saw what happened to those who tried. You saw it, too, and you even heard it when the ruler spoke in your mind. It's fucked up, and I'm still having trouble believing it, but this is how it is. How many times do I, do the others have to tell you that there's no way out? Do you have to be so stubborn? Now she," he motioned at Milla, "has been brutally murdered, when she might have died in a more peaceful manner, away from the gods and their ruthlessness."