The heat of an explosion sent Bo stumbling as she and Khan spilled from the building and into the courtyard. She gripped her gun close and shot at a group of militia who turned their attention on the small group of three, now the only ones left of the Forlorn still on the ground.

"Did the ship leave?" Bo shouted, pushing Khan and the girl behind a row of barrels for cover.

"No," Khan said. "Look!" He pointed to the wall surrounding the compound, where the ship hovered on just the other side. They were out of reach of the militia on the ground, but it seemed as if Adam couldn't quite leave without Khan and Bo. Bo wanted to curse him out and tell him how much danger he put himself and the others in, but she also was awash in relief that he hadn't left them behind.

"We need to let them know we're out," Bo said. She looked at the girl. "Think you can do some running?"

The girl inhaled slowly, bolstering herself. "If you can help, I can try."

Khan wrapped his arm around the girl's side. "I'll carry her. You cover us," he said, nodding to Bo's gun. Bo nodded and glanced out from behind the barrels.

Thankfully, most of the militia seemed to have already abandoned the compound. The fire from the exchange of gunfire and explosions had spread to many of the buildings which now blazed with flames. Smoke clogged the air so that it was hard to see and breathe, and with the Forlorn inside the airship there wasn't much need for militia on the ground. Only a few remained, waiting for their superiors to give the order to retreat completely. Most likely that would come as soon as the Forlorn were out of sight. Which meant getting to the ship quickly was essential if Bo, Khan, and the girl wanted to end this nightmare.

Bo stood shakily, sending off a few shots at the remaining militia who only halfheartedly tried to stop the small band of three as they began to dart into the open.

As they ran, Bo threw one arm into the air and waved it. She could only hope someone was looking from the airship, and would spot them as they raced across the abandoned battlefield. If they reached the wall and the airship still hovered above their heads... Bo knew the militia would have no problem picking them off before the Forlorn could save them.

Just as Bo was nearing the wall, the airship burst into action. Its engines roared and it dipped from the sky down to hover above the ground. It couldn't land, but it was low enough that they could jump aboard as one of the doors was opened.

Helga appeared in the doorway, waving at them to hurry up. Her blonde hair whipped in the air, and though her mouth moved her words were drowned by the engine and the gunshots that the militia now rained down on them. Bo didn't care what she said, though. She only cared that the door was open and the airship was there.

Turning, she grabbed the girl from Khan and flung her forward and up. Helga caught her arm, bracing as the girl's dead weight pulled down. Helga struggled, pulling the girl's arm until she was halfway through the door and could use what little of her own strength was left.

As soon as she was through, Khan grabbed Bo's waist and hoisted her up to catch Helga's arm. Bo was easier to get inside, and she turned to help Helga haul in Khan. Together they clutched his arms as the airship lifted away from the ground. He dangled for a moment, half in the ship and half in the air, but was able to pull himself in just as they sped away from the compound.

The three collapsed onto the airship floor, breathing heavily and taking a moment to realize they were still alive. Bo only had a few seconds to catch her breath before a hand locked around her arm and hauled her to her feet. Then Adam pulled her to his chest and buried his face in her shoulder while she blinked in surprise at his embrace.

"You're an idiot," he muttered, pulling back to caress her cheeks and stare at her face as if he was seeing it for the first time in centuries. Bo smiled and popped onto her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek.

"A brave idiot, though. Don't forget that brave part. Very important," she said.

"I don't know about that. Seems you just chased after Khan," Adam said, narrowing his eyes at Khan.

"I can't be responsible for what your girlfriend does," Khan responded, pushing himself to his feet and offering a hand to help the girl they had rescued. She was still weak, and Helga had to come help her up.

"Take her down to where the others are," Adam said. "We're patching them up as best as we can."

Khan nodded, taking the girl gently by the waist and leading her through the crowd of Forlorn.

"I should go with them and see how the rest of the girls are doing," Bo said, but Adam caught her arm before she could follow Khan and the girl out of the main room.

"You're staying with me," he said. "Running off into a death trap is exactly the sort of behavior that makes it so that I worry about you."

"I had Khan with me," Bo protested.

"He's just as much an idiot as you," Adam said. "So I want you to stay by my side for now. At least until we reach the city."

Bo rolled her eyes, but secretly she was relieved that Adam wanted her to stay with him. She was so exhausted. Taking care of the group of girls was going to be a tough job, and she would have to work with Adam to find them suitable accommodations and transportation back to their families if they knew where they were. It would be a long and hard job, and right now she just felt like falling down and sleeping for days and days and forgetting that she had any responsibilities at all. And Adam offered her that, at least for the ride back to the city. She could pretend that she was just an ordinary woman.

The ship was too packed for Adam and Bo to go anywhere private, but Adam managed to carve out a small corner on the top deck for them to sit. He hung his jacket up to block a little bit of the stares coming from the Forlorn, and then sat with his back against the metal railing of the top deck. Bo sat between his legs, her back against his chest, and laced her fingers with his. For once she felt safe and secure, hidden in this corner behind Adam's jacket and leaning against him. It was almost as if she was back in time, when she was a teenager in his mansion. She closed her eyes and imagined the green grass and pure air, and the way it had been only him and her in the world.

She started to fall asleep against his chest, feeling his thumb running over the back of her hand and his breath stirring her hair. Neither of them had to say anything, though they wanted to say everything. Right now, they just needed to be there. Be together, be alive. Because Bo had a feeling, even as she was drifting into sleep, that this peace wouldn't last long. There would be repercussions for their attack on the compound. They had just taken out one of the biggest supporters of the militia, and it wouldn't be allowed to stand. There would be a battle coming, one that would decide the fate of the Forlorn. 

But right now, she just wanted to sleep in Adam's arms and pretend that everything was fine. 

--

A/N: Thank you, everyone, for your wishes for my recovery! I am feeling stronger everyday! I am so happy to have such amazing readers, and I really do appreciate your well wishes! I am trying to catch up on replying to comments, so if you posted any questions rest assured that I will be getting to them as soon as I can!

In other news, Bo and the Beast was unfortunately not picked for publication on Swoon Reads. :'( Thank you so, so, so much to all of you that went over to Swoon Reads to support Bo. We did everything we could to give it its best chance, but it just wasn't to be. I'm not going to fall off the horse, though. I am going to keep pursuing publication, whether it is with Bo or with another one of my stories. I want to one day be able to thank all of you in the back of my book, so I have to keep chasing my dreams for that to become a reality!