Who the hell are you?
I allowed myself the faintest curl of a smile. Direct. Suspicious. Sharp. Exactly what I expected from someone who might be the next Chief Intelligence Officer.I keyed my reply into the encrypted channel, every word layered with shadows of code.
Me:
The one who will get you into more trouble than you can survive if you keep asking questions.
Seconds later, her response snapped back.
Sloane:
Cute. But I don’t meet with ghosts. Try again.
My jaw tightened.Ghosts? That was what they thought of us now? Perhaps fitting, given how we lingered on the edges of existence. Still, I let the sting bleed into mywords.
Me:
Not a ghost. I'm an Arkhevari.
The pause before her answer was longer this time, as if she was deciding whether to laugh in my face or sound the alarm. When it came, her reply was dry, cutting.
Sloane:
Right. And I’m the Queen of the Void. If you want something from me, start making sense.
I leaned back in the pilot’s chair, my aura rippling with irritation. She sounded a lot like Ella, making me wonder if this was a human female trait. She didn’t believe me—of course, she didn’t. The Pandraxians thought my kind were myths. To mortals like her, we were bedtime stories turned nightmares.
Me:
You don’t need to believe me. You just need to do your job. Facilitate a meeting. Daryus and I have business.
Her ping returned almost instantly.
Sloane:
And why would I stick my neck out for you?
I hesitated, then let the truth strike like a blade.
Me:
Because if you don’t, the Abyss will eat your emperor alive. And you with him. Or just ask him.
This time, she didn’t respond right away. I sat in the silence, watching the stars streak past, knowing I’d caught her attention. Finally.
Sloane:
Give me a location.
I smiled, all teeth. She was already playing the game. I keyed in the coordinates of a neutral outpost. I wanted to see how she would handleit, whether she would come alone or with an army. Whether she would try to kill me on sight.
The confirmation came, curt and clean.
Sloane:
I’ll be there. Don’t waste my time.
I closed the channel and erased all traces of our comm, then I leaned back into the pilot’s seat and let the thrill of the hunt fill me. For the first time in centuries, I felt alive. Not just as a weapon, not just as a curse, but something else. Something more.
