Forsaken

  "There's no pants in there?" He tears his eyes off me and turns to Blaise. "Her legs are going to fry."

  Blaise shakes his head, zipping up his bag. "No. Only a couple bottles of water and some canned food."

  "I'll be fine without pants." My hand trembles in Ryder's. "Even if the sunlight burns me ... I won't ..." I can't bring myself to say the words aloud.

  "Promise you'll tell me if the heat starts to bother you," Ryder says, tracing the folds between my fingers.

  "Why?" Blaise cocks a brow at him as he slips the strap of the bag onto his shoulder. "What are you going to do? Take your pants off and give them to her?"

  Ryder shrugs, amusement playing at the corners of his lips. "Maybe."

  Blaise rolls his eyes. "Whatever." Then he stomps off down the trail, barking at us to hurry up.

  We jog after him, Blaise takes the lead, Reece the middle, and Ryder and I stay at the back. Blaise keeps ordering everyone to hurry up, and I get the strangest sense of deja vu.

  An abrupt laugh bursts from my lips, and I slap my hand over my mouth, shaking my head at myself. What a completely inappropriate time to laugh, Allura.

  Ryder nudges me with his elbow. "What's so funny?"

  "It's nothing." I lower my hand from my mouth and sigh. "It's just that you guys are acting so ... like you were before."

  His blue eyes sparkle in the sunlight. "Are we supposed to act differently?"

  I fiddle with the rusty zipper on the front of the frayed jacket. "I don't know ... I mean ... Doesn't it bother you?" I fix my eyes on the ground.

  "Does what bother me?" He seems genuinely perplexed.

  "What happened back in that tent." I shrug, gazing up at the top of the cliffs. "I thought you guys would be afraid of me."

  He tugs his hand from mine, and I think he's pulling away, but instead, he drapes his arm around my shoulder. "How could we be afraid of you?" he asks. "You've done absolutely nothing except help fight to keep us alive. You jumped on that guy's back when he was going to kill me. And you even saved Calla, which is the only reason we have a bag of supplies right now."

  "I know, but ..." I duck my head, letting my hair veil my shame. "What if I'm one of these hybrids?"

  "Then you're a hybrid." He cups my cheek in his hand and angles my head up, forcing me to meet his gaze. Only kindness shines in his eyes. "But I don't really think you are."

  I frown. "Zinnia seemed pretty certain I was."

  "Sweetheart, you're too good and kind to be like those hybrids Zinnia talked about. You're different from them. I know you are." He smiles warmly at me. "Now, let's hurry up before Blaise bites our heads off for walking too slowly."

  And just like that, he accepts me for what I am.

  I just hope he isn't making a mistake, that I'm everything they think I am. That I'm not like Lex and the rest of the Grim, that I'm not like the hybrids the Forsaken spoke of. That I'm not a monster. That I don't end up hurting anyone.

  Coming Soon

  Oblivion (Broken City, #3)

  About the Author

  Jessica Sorensen is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who lives in the snowy mountains of Wyoming. When she's not writing, she spends her time reading and hanging out with her family.

  Other books by Jessica Sorensen: Broken City Series:

  Nameless

  Forsaken

  Oblivion (coming soon)

  Entranced Series:

  Entranced

  Entangled (coming soon)

  Rebels & Misfits Series:

  Confessions of a Kleptomaniac

  Honeyton Series:

  The Illusion of Annabella

  Sunnyvale Series:

  The Year I Became Isabella Anders The Year of Falling in Love The Year of Second Chances (coming soon)

  The Coincidence Series:

  The Coincidence of Callie and Kayden The Redemption of Callie and Kayden The Destiny of Violet and Luke The Probability of Violet and Luke The Certainty of Violet and Luke The Resolution of Callie and Kayden Seth & Greyson

  The Secret Series:

  The Prelude of Ella and Micha The Secret of Ella and Micha The Forever of Ella and Micha The Temptation of Lila and Ethan The Ever After of Ella and Micha Lila and Ethan: Forever and Always Ella and Micha: Infinitely and Always

  The Shattered Promises Series:

  Shattered Promises

  Fractured Souls

  Unbroken

  Broken Visions

  Scattered Ashes

  Breaking Nova Series:

  Breaking Nova

  Saving Quinton

  Delilah: The Making of Red Nova and Quinton: No Regrets Tristan: Finding Hope

  Wreck Me

  Ruin Me

  The Fallen Star Series (YA):

  The Fallen Star

  The Underworld

  The Vision

  The Promise

  The Fallen Souls Series (spin-off from The Fallen Star):

  The Lost Soul

  The Evanescence

  The Darkness Falls Series:

  Darkness Falls

  Darkness Breaks

  Darkness Fades

  The Death Collectors Series (NA and YA):

  Ember X and Ember

  Cinder X and Cinder

  Spark X and Cinder

  Unbeautiful Series:

  Unbeautiful

  Untamed

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  About the Author

 

 

  Jessica Sorensen, Forsaken

  (Series: Broken City # 2)

 

 

 

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