“You good?” she asked.
“No,” I said. “But I’ll live.”
She nodded. “Come on.”
On our way to Ember’s suite, I felt it before I saw him.
Lock was walking with Wraith, mid-conversation, his posture tight and controlled. He didn’t slow when he saw us. Didn’t stop.
For half a second, his eyes met mine.
I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t nothing.
Something in my chest twisted.
He nodded once at Ember. Said something low to Wraith I couldn’t hear. And they kept moving, their boots echoing down the hall like nothing had happened.
No pause.
No explanation.
I stood there a beat too long.
“That,” Ember said quietly beside me, “is him trying not to make it worse.”
“By pretending I’m not here?” I asked.
“By keeping distance,” she said. “It’s how he stays in control.”
I watched Lock disappear around the corner and felt something settle in me.
I wasn’t going to stay quiet.
I didn’t plan on making a scene, but damn it, I wasn’t going to be moved through this place like cargo either.
If I was leverage, I was going to understand how I was being used.
And if I mattered…
I wasn’t going to let him decide that alone.
I adjusted the cut on my shoulders and followed Ember down the hall, my steps steadier than they’d been when I woke up.
I wasn’t safe.
But I wasn’t helpless either.
And that was new.
12
LOCK
The yard was already awakewhen I stepped outside.
Everyone was gone about their business, but something felt off.
Wraith fell into step beside me without asking. He didn’t look relaxed, which meant there was something happening.
