Viri tugged on the fillium, making the cord tighten around his wrists. “The only person who should be scared is you.”
A soft laugh. “No one has ever scared me more than you,Viri.”
She almost scoffed before remembering that he couldn’t lie while touching the fillium. “When have I—”
“Uh-uh,” hetsked. “No personal questions, remember?”
“You said I could earn them.”
“And you said you weren’t interested.”
“I—” Viri snapped her mouth shut, if only to keep from putting her foot in it. She hated the amusement lighting his eyes—it was even more devastating up close—and spun on her heel, yanking him after her. “Come on. We need to hurry.”
His long legs kept pace easily with hers as they headed in the direction of the elevator. “I take it you have a plan?”
She tried not to think about the fact that she was walking side by side with a reaper—one she’d willfully broken out of a prison cell—just as she tried not to think about the fact that the reaper was Reeve. She honestly wasn’t sure which was worse.
“Of course I have a plan,” Viri lied as they moved quickly through the tunnels, thankful yet again that the fillium didn’t work on her. “You just have to tell me where we’re heading once I get us out of here.”
Reeve’s surprise was clear in his voice. “You’re letting me choose?”
“The bargain is for your freedom, isn’t it?” Viri didn’t intend to let him go for real, but a false sense of security never hurt anyone. As long as her weapon remained around his wrists, he wasn’t going anywhere without her, nor could he siphon any magic to help him flee. At the end of this night, he would be right back where he started—locked in a cell.
“In that case, there are so many options,” Reeve mused.
“Just figure it out before we reach the wayportal,” Viri told him, not caring where they went as long as she got the information he’d promised. “If you want to cut some questions from my list, feel free to take me straight to the Reaper Priest or the missing children. Preferably both.” She knew there was no chance of him doing that, but still, it was worth asking, if only for what he said next.
“So you know about the kids.” An unreadable look flashed across his face. “You’ve been busy.”
Viri’s jaw clenched. Some small, secret part of her had hoped he might be ignorant of the abductions, but that had been foolish. Reeve was the Priest’s most loyal follower. As disgusted as shewas by the role he must have played in the kidnappings, at least that meant he would be able to answer her questions about the approaching sacrifice.
“How long do the kids have left?” she asked, figuring she might as well get a head start on her interrogation.
Reeve, however, disagreed. “No cheating, Little Shadow. I’m not free yet.”
“You’re no longer in a cell.”
“But still in prison.”
“Some say life is a prison,” Viri returned. “That’s not something I can free you from.”
“I’m sure you could think of a way.” He sent her a sideways look as they rounded the final bend in the tunnel, the elevator in sight up ahead. “Don’t tell me it hasn’t crossed your mind.”
Viri bristled at his implication. “Unlike you, I don’t fantasize about killing people. And even if I did, I wouldn’t waste the mental space on you.”
“Just the Reaper Priest, then?”
Tension flooded Viri, but she forced her limbs to keep moving, the elevator now only steps away. “He deserves what’s coming to him.”
Another sideways look from Reeve. “Are you sure aboutthat?”
Before Viri could respond, the elevator arrived with a softding—but it hadn’t come at her request.
Panicking, she looked around for somewhere to hide, a shadowy corner,anything, but it was no use. The tunnel was dim but not dark enough to conceal her and Reeve.
She cursed under her breath. “Get ready. We’re about to be ambushed.”
“All part of your plan, right?” Reeve said dryly.
