Christian nodded, lifting his head and wiping his palms down his face. He moved to stand when Hawk stepped inside.
“Blast,” Hawk said, shutting the door behind him. “What happened?”
Christian stood to grab his things, turning his back to his friend. He couldn’t let Hawk—or anyone, for that matter—see him fall apart. “Just not a good day for Gemma.”
An uncomfortable quiet filled the air as Christian knelt to lace his boots.
“This is what I mean, man, about not telling me stuff. If there’s something going on, I wanna know about it. You’re probably notused to it, but you don’t have to shut people out. Especially your friends.”
Christian’s head dropped. He was right. Being vulnerable was not his forte. Only Gemma seemed to make it easy. But he’d screwed up big time when he hadn’t shared about his past with the Falaichte. And Gemma was Hawk’s friend too. He deserved to know what was going on.
“She’s not coming back from this. Not all the way,” Christian answered at last.
Hawk let loose a long breath. “Fuck, man. Did Doctor Manae say if they’ve found a cure yet?”
“No cure. It’s not even a maybe anymore.”
Silence stretched. Christian stood and paced the other side of the room, fingers running through his hair. “I thought we had more time. I thought we could fix this. But now, it’s too late. And I can’t even get to her.”
Hawk stayed quiet while Christian continued to work a hole into the floor.
“She told me she doesn’t know if she’ll still be herself the next time I see her.” Christian faced his friend, his voice raw.
“You told her she would be?”
“I told her I’d love her either way.”
Hawk’s eyes softened. “Because you will.”
Christian looked away, blinking hard. “Fuck, Hawk, I can’t lose her. Not like this. Not after everything she’s survived. I want to go to that temple and rip the whole science team apart and drag her out of that place myself. The only reason I haven’t is because I know that’d make it worse.”
Hawk crossed the room and set a hand on his shoulder. “You’re doing exactly what she needs. You’re finding her sister. You told her she’s not alone.”
Christian scoffed. “That’s not enough.”
“It’s everything.”
They stood in silence for a beat longer as Christian’s breathing evened.
Hawk gave his shoulder a small shake. “Now, come on. Ahna said Cho left a message in Imara’s stash locker, and a meet’s been set. Let’s get one step closer to finding Nadine so you can get back to your girl.”
Christian nodded, slow and tight, before grabbing his gear and following Hawk from the room.
The six of them moved quickly through Perileos, avoiding the main streets to keep their presence as much of a secret as possible. Almost an hour later, they reached the threshold of the Underground, heading to meet the Falaichte’s fixer.
The descent into the hidden district beneath the city was nerve-racking. Every junction smelled like rust and blood, and with only the ultralights on their vests to illuminate the way, the darkness was overwhelming. Christian should’ve been used to moving through this part of Perileos—in a strange, messed up sort of way, the Underground did feel like home—but the ghosts of his past stirred at the corners of his mind with every step they took.
Finally, Ahna signaled a halt. The path veered into a forgotten alcove, barely wide enough for three to stand side-by-side, when a battery lamp slowly came alive.
A voice came from the alcove. “To bleed is to belong.”
“Only the proven are remembered,” Ahna answered.
Christian flinched, a biting chill running down his spine. It was the motto of the Falaichte.
A man stepped out of the alcove to within the light of the ultralights on their vests—
Christian’s legs almost buckled. It was Vex, the orchestrator of all the matches in the fighting ring.
