It was. I managed to smile, and instead of using my arms, I practiced my control. By the time we finished the route, I was already tired, and we were running late. My two-hour break had shrunk to one.
Brit, Everly, and Cayden were all waiting for me as I stepped out of the darkness, covered in grease. Everly magicked me clean and led me to The Happy Rooster, where we took our usual booth. Cayden had his arm around my waist. Our talk was unusually quiet, probably because of me.
Rowan joined us just as I was finishing up, eyeing my overalls. “Why are you dressed for your work-study? We have training in ten minutes.”
“Because she’s working a seventeen-hour day.” Everly put her head in her hands. “I can’t leave. My family has confined me to the castle… they’ve taken my freedom and now my friends. I have no one.”
“Oie,” Brit said, putting her hand on Everly’s back. “I breathe yet.”
Everly leaned on Brit, and I managed a tired chuckle.
Cayden rubbed his wrist against the table’s edge, the rune smoldering again. My best friend was in pain, being hunted by what sounded more and more like a cult he wanted nothing to do with. His family might have something to do with my roommate, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt like bringing it up without proof would only cause more trouble. I shouldn’t be working the train; I should be searching my room for clues and supporting the friends who supported me.
But everyone did their part. And mine, apparently, was sex, and if I wasn’t putting out, I was just another trainee still on probation. I took a deep breath. Maybe this was Xan’s way of saying I still had a place, so long as I pulled my weight. But it still felt like punishment.
Rowan scowled. “All your work-study was suspended. To be blunt, Q-tip, you’re unstable; you’ve learned just enough to blow something up, and the train would be a big boom.”
I sighed. “I just load the books… or I guess it’s picking up bits to unload and then reload supplies or something. I’ve never done an afternoon shift.”
Rowan’s face only got darker. “Are you sure you’re supposed to be working?”
“No, Rowan.” I lobbed my TB at him. “But the Architect sure is. And he’s not so subtly showing me exactly how little control I have over my future.”
Rowan spun my TB around until he could see my new schedule. “It’s Hope’s magic, so it came from her office,” he mumbled, his gaze darkening as he read.
Cayden leaned close to me. “Is this because of the other morning?”
Everly popped up beside me. “What happened the other morning?”
Heat filled my face.
And Everly’s jaw dropped. “No. You didn’t, Quinn. A Lawson?”
“And a Tate,” Rowan added, still studying my TB.
Everly looked between Cayden and Rowan until Brit gently pushed Everly’s jaw shut with a finger.
“I see it, but I don’t believe it.” Rowan handed me my TB back. “The Architect’s a lot of things, but he wouldn’t put the safety of his castle on the line.” He grimaced. “And he’s not petty. Making you work isn’t a smart strategy for the family, regardless of your personal choices. Romance aside, he should be showing you how good life could be in his ranks, so you’d want to stay with us.”
“Because I’m so important,” I said bitterly.
“Yes. You are.” Cayden bumped the table with his fists.
“Exactly, Q-tip.” Rowan ruffled my hair. “I’m glad you’re getting the point. If you or his castle gets hurt, he’d be beside himself.”
I rolled my eyes, not bothering to point out the obvious. Xan never treated me like the rest of his family. A bit of guilt crept into my gut. I’d made a lot of negative assumptions, but I also still had the second half of a seventeen-hour shift to work.
My heart hurt.
Rowan pulled me in for a bear hug. “Don’t go. I think it’s a mistake.”
I squeezed him back. “It’s fine, really. It ended up being a lot of magic practice. Maybe he had this planned, and it’s just bad timing, and I’m acting like a princess when I don’t need to.”
“I mean,” Everly bit her bottom lip. “You kinda are royalty, Quinn. Genetically speaking. Every other family is literally offering you the world, while the Architect’s making you toil in the tunnels under his castle.” She raised an eyebrow. “Not going is a power move. It shows he can’t control you.”
I looked at Cayden, who wouldn’t meet my gaze. “It’s gotten complicated. My family wants you. If we get kicked out, I don’t have a plan B.”
My heart skipped a beat. I hadn’t thought of that. The memory of body snatchers swarming The Mile flashed through my mind, tightening my throat. I rubbed my neck, suddenly aware of how exposed I was. If I wanted to leave, I couldn’t just walk out the gates. People were watching. Hunting. I’d need time, and a real plan.
