Viri shot him a glare. “I take back what I said about not fantasizing about your death.”
He winked. “Just add it to the other fantasies you have aboutme.”
For a moment, Viri genuinely considered letting Reeve get locked up again, bargain be damned. But then she came to her senses and remembered why she was helping him in the first place.
“Just keep your mouth shut and stay out of my way,” she ordered as the elevator doors began to open.
Reeve raised his bound wrists. “I can help you fight if you free me.”
“If you think for one second that I’d trust—”
She didn’t get to finish before the doors opened wide enough for a black-uniformed guard to rush through, nor did she react in time to stop Reeve from leaping between her and the threat, moving so fast he was a blur as he spun behind the Nox and enclosed his bound hands around the young man’s neck.
A very familiar young man.
“No—Reeve—stop!” Viri cried as Soren coughed and bucked against Reeve’s choking grip. “Let him go!”
She yanked on her fillium for good measure, but Reeve was already backing away.
“Elders, are you all right?” Viri asked, hurrying to her friend’s side as he sucked in heaving gulps of air. “What are you doing here?”
“What the hell do youthink?” Soren rasped, rubbing his reddened neck and glaring at Reeve before turning that glare on Viri.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” she said quickly. “I didn’t want—”
“You’renot supposed to be here,” Soren interrupted, his glare intensifying. “I just got back from patrol, ready to head home to my nice, warm bed, only to hear the reception guards mention how you must have been busy with ‘hunter paperwork’ since you’d arrived but never left.” He leaned in angrily. “Paperwork.You.It didn’t take a genius to figure out why you were really here.”
Viri bit her lip. “I—”
“How the hell did you even get past the elevator?” At the look on her face, his own darkened. “Wynter. Of course.”
“Sor—” Viri started, but he cut her off again.
“Do you realize how much trouble you’d be in if someone other than me had come down here?” Soren’s brown eyes were furious. “How much troubleI’dbe in, if they thought I helped you again? If anyone finds out—”
Viri spoke over him. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t an emergency.”
Soren shook his head. “That’s not good enough.” He jabbed a finger toward Reeve. “Explain to me why this scumbag is out of his cell. Right now.”
“This ‘scumbag’ has a name,” Reeve drawled.
Viri sent him a warning look, willing him to be silent.
“I know exactly who you are,” Soren said, drawing himself up to his full height. For most, that would be intimidating, but Reeve was equally tall, and all he did was roll his eyes and yawn in response. Viri wanted to kick him.
“There are things you don’t know, Sor,” she answered her friend. “Life-or-death things. Reeve has the answers I need to stop something terrible from happening.”
“Captain Farrow has briefed me about the missing kids,” Soren said, his face still hard. “The Nox are teaming up with the hunters on this—everyone’s getting orders in the morning. We’ll find them. We don’t need help from some reaper filth to do it.”
“First ‘scumbag,’ now ‘filth’?” Reeve sounded amused. “What’s next—you insult my mother? Go ahead, I’ll join you.”
“Shutup, Reeve,” Viri hissed. To Soren, she said, “Darik doesn’t know everything, not yet.”
Quickly, she summarized her conversation with Sarielle, watching Soren grow paler with each word she uttered.
“How long do we have until the sacrifice?” he asked, his expression no longer hard but instead pinched with worry.
“That’s one of the many things I intend to find out,” Viri said, gesturing to Reeve. “We made a bargain. If I help him escape, he’s promised to answer everything I want to know about the Priest and his plans.”
