Cassian’s face doesn’t change, but I can feel the battle behind his eyes. Instinct screaming to lock me away somewhere safe and burn everything around us. Part of me would welcome it. But I’m not just a part of myself anymore.
“I don’t like it,” he says finally.
“I know.” I keep my voice low. “But this is my choice.”
His nostrils flare. “Fine.”
Relief hits so hard my knees threaten to go soft. I don’t let it show. If I wobble, he’ll grab me and we’ll be right back at square one.
“Okay,” I say. “We need to find her before she does something that forces our hand.”
“You said you can feel her.”
“I can. But it’s slippery. Like she’s actively throwing me off.”
“Then we split up,” Cassian says. “Divide the floors. Each take a quarter.”
My stomach twists at the idea but I nod.
“If she tries to harm any of you, I’ll know,” I say. “I’ll feel it through the bond.”
“Cute,” Talon says. “Let’s do this.”
We scatter through the hospital. I ghost through the ceiling and ride the building up to the highest floor since I can get there the fastest.
The psych ward comes back clean. Not even a lingering trace.
I drift lower and Rhea’s presence flickers at the edge of my awareness. That pressure in my sinuses again, like she’s toying with me.
One of the rooms below is darker than the others. The shadows sit heavier there. I pause at the threshold and reach with my core instead of my senses.
Nothing.
I check the stairwell. The elevator shaft.
Nothing.
My pulse is steady but my instincts are not. Something is wrong, but I just can’t pinpoint what. The absence of her feels intentional. Like she’s not hiding from me so much as pulling my attention upward while she moves somewhere else entirely.
Then a scream rips up from downstairs.
My blood turns to ice.
Hailey.
Fuck.
I launch myself toward the floor.
Attacking my guys is one thing. Going after the girls we saved is something else.
I fall.
It’s faster than flying. I go metaphysical at every floor and let gravity do the rest, dropping through concrete and steel one layer at a time, air splitting past my ears.
I hit the ICU level. The three of them are already running for Hailey and Lila’s room. I land between them in a blink.
“What happened?”
