Oren shot him a look that would’ve roasted a lesser man. “You talking to her mid-mission is exactly how people end up dead.”
“Boys,”Reverie’s voice cut through, warm yet tired and sharp all at once. “Maybe save the arguing until after you aren’t surrounded by danger from all sides.”
Jet chuckled quietly, his tone calm even as his eyes flickered from place to place.“She has a point.”
I noticed he only smiled like that for our Nexus.
Zeke crouched beside him, drawing a map of the tunnels Damien had described to him from memory. Frost hissed from his fingertips.“The main tunnel is beneath the east barracks.”
“Meaning?”I asked.
“Meaning we don’t charge the front gate like idiots,”Zeke looked at me in exasperation.
Nathan elbowed me. “Your brother thinks you’re an idiot.”
“Yeah,” I said, grinning.“But my dick’s bigger.”
“Less than a quarter inch, fuckface!”Zeke growled.
Oren sighed, a sound that said he was reconsidering every life choice that led to this moment.“We move at dusk. No mistakes. No noise. Reverie, you stay where you are until we reach the coliseum wall.”
“You’re assuming I’m not going to try to get out of here and meet y’all before you get yourselves killed.”
Sassy girl. I smiled at her defiance of Oren.
Zeke muttered under his breath, “Of course, she wants to do it on her own.”
Frynn stirred inside me, scales rippling beneath my skin. The Draxon’s voice slipped through my thoughts like smoke. “She burns brighter today. The bond grows stronger.”
I straightened, glancing toward the coliseum’s towering form.“We’re coming for you, Nexus. Be ready.”
We moved in shadows—Oren leading, Jet watching our backs, Nathan and me doing our usual brand of subtle chaos.
Nathan sent Dale away for now. He would've been helpful, but we had grown fond of him and didn’t want him injured unnecessarily. Besides, my twin and I had the most superior animals of all inside us.
“I am far from an animal, boy,”Frynn growled, not pleased with the comparison.
“Feels too quiet,” Nathan muttered.
“Quiet’s good.” I checked the knife at my belt. “Means nobody is trying to fuck with us yet.”
Oren shot me a look. “Yetbeing the keyword.”
Then I froze.
A flicker of movement at the edge of an alley—too deliberate to be a rat, too cautious to be a drunk. Frynn stirred beneath my skin, scales itching with instinct.
Oren motioned for silence, and we fanned out.
That’s when a voice whispered, “If you’re planning to attack me, then I’m telling Mom when we get back.”
I’d know that voice anywhere. “Chloe?”
She stepped out of the shadows like a ghost. Mud-streaked, exhausted, but alive. Her red hair was pulled back in a rough braid, and two men flanked her—one broad-shouldered with a blade still dripping something that wasn’t water (Oliver, clearly), the other leaner and cool-eyed, scanning the rooftops (Deshawn, protective and calm).
Zeke moved before I could. He had her wrapped in a crushing hug in a blink. “You absolute menace,” he muttered into her hair. “Do you have any idea?—”
Chloe’s smile wobbled, equal parts relief and irritation. “Nice to see you too, brother.”
