“Yeah, all buildings on the surface have chutes that lead to the Underworld so Majors can take care of the trash. Sometimes we use them for other reasons.” Hal rubbed a hand down his tired face. “I’m going to stay for a while,” Hal told me, exhaling deeply.
“Stay.” I didn’t want to be alone. “Who cleaned the office? Did you get in trouble for missing your shift?”
“A friend took it, but that’s not important.” Hal rotated my chair toward him, looking up at me. “Did they hurt you? Did he bring you before all of the Illum for breaking their rules?”
“No, Collin was the only Illum there and he wasn’t angry.”
“Did he question you?” Hal asked, leaning toward me.
“No. They had a picture of me running, though.” Now that I was beneath the ground, I couldn’t silence the questions of how he had done it. “How did you follow me unseen?”
“Their surveillance system is outdated. The surface is motion-based technology; you set it off. All I had to do was run outside the capture window. It’s not hard to do.”
My brows pulled in. “Why do you know so much about them?”
“Who do you think provides maintenance for their cameras?” Hal retorted, running his hand through his hair. “They have forced those they deem beneath them to run their city. They don’t even realize the power they have given the Majors. They are complacent. It’ll be their undoing.”
Another question escaped my lips. “Hal, do you know the Reaper?”
“Did they discuss him with you?” Hal asked, surprised.
I nodded. “He’s responsible for all the trouble, right?”
His starburst eyes gleamed. “More settling the score.”
“They seem worried. They said the Illum will eliminate him when the truth comes out.”
Hal smirked. “I’d like to see them try. Is that why you’re upset? The Reaper?”
“What? I’m not upset.”
“Yes, you are. You have been since you walked in. You wear your feelings for everyone to see. If your Mate didn’t reprimand you, then what is it?”
“It’s nothing,” I told him. I didn’t want to discuss the thing that was bothering me as those two words slithered to the front of my mind again.
“Come on, Moonlight—we’ve slept together.” His knee knocked into mine, and my stomach somersaulted. I didn’t want to think about how close we had come to crossing some unseen line.
“We sleptnextto each other,” I clarified, biting back a smile at the nickname.
“That’s what I said.” Hal smirked, his dimple appearing. “I assume that remains our secret?”
“It does. Even though I don’t understand how. They have cameras and yet you weren’t captured.”
“I know how to become invisible when I need to be,” Hal assured me. Was he referring to the cuff he had worn? I glanced down to see his wrist bare beneath his sleeve. “Now, quit avoiding my question. What’s wrong?”
“It’s the Press,” I muttered, my hands fidgeting with the sleeve of my dress.
“What lies is it throwing at the Elite now?” Hal asked, rolling his eyes.
“Collin kissed me at the Sphere and there was a photo of it,” I blurted.
Hal went still, watching me. I counted his breaths in his silence. “Did you want the kiss?” Hal finally asked.
“There are rules I have to follow in a contract,” I muttered. I glanced to the painting that waited to be sorted.
It was a striking image of a woman standing naked on a rock jutting from the ocean. She was seemingly in chains, her hands hidden behind her. On the other side of the rock was a tall man in black armor, looking at her. In the background was a city that met water. Was he freeing her, or did he put her there?The Rock of Doomwas the title. My chest felt heavy. The painting was being destroyed.
“Right,” Hal said. “I know their rules. I asked if you wanted the kiss.”
