“I agree.” I nod. “And it will. Soon. We must be patient. We aren’t finished with data collection, and if we skip over this period, we’ll never?—”
A knock sounds on the door, turning all of our heads. The Keepers know better than to interrupt us.
“Who is it?” Father asks.
“Sawyer,” the increasingly familiar voice calls, trapping air inside my lungs. “I have an update I think you might want.”
I turn to my sister as her eyes widen and her jaw drops. I can read her mind without her saying a word.
Did he hear us?
Even if he didn’t, she’s going to wind up giving us away. With a snap of my fingers, I point to the corpse. I mouth three words that she hurries to obey.
Hide her. Now.
CHAPTER 16
SAWYER
Muffled voices silence as I knock on the door to Aurelius’s library. My ear angles toward the wood, but my head is too busy to listen. Insults scream through my head, so loud the quiet feels wrong.
Two weeks…
Twofuckingweeks, and I still haven’t found the mines.
“Who is it?” Aurelius’s voice.
“Sawyer.” I wait a moment for him to reply, but all I get is silence. “I have an update I think you might want.”
Nothing. A second passes, then another before a small commotion sounds in the room, hushed voices, a light thump. I don’t even want tothinkabout what they’re hiding from me.
My hands tuck into my pockets, lips curving into a smile as Aurelius opens the door. He doesn’t look nearly as friendly, which is at least consistent. I hardly ever see the man. It’s Raven who takes my daily ‘reports’, her nose wrinkled as she detailsevery tiny thing in a notebook, asking question after question. My throat is sore by the time we’re finished going over each video, half of what I say complete bullshit—partly for my own amusement, partly because it couldn’t be clearer that they’re learning my methods with the intention of replacing me.
And then, later in the day, I get to do it all over again with Zephyr’s persistent curiosity about what goes on between me and Luna. Always with a friendly tone, never judgmental, but relentless.
I’ve got one more week in me before I snap. Guarantee it.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Aurelius steps aside so I can enter, revealing Zephyr’s quizzical eyes—speak of the devil. My head dips as a greeting. She doesn’t nod back.
Facing Aurelius, I search for signs of sex. A wrinkled shirt, missed belt loop, messy hair. He’s perfectly put together.
“Thorne told me I might find you here.”
Aurelius’s lips lift into a bitter, tight smile. Not even trying to hide his disapproval. “Of course he did.”
“I could come back.”
“What do you want, Sawyer Hansley?”
Sawyer Hansley.
I’ve never known my own name—fake or not—to sound so creepy.
“To chat…” I nod toward Zephyr. “In private, if you don’t mind.”
Aurelius’s eyes roll. Dramatic. “We aren’tsexisthere, Mr. Hansley. If you have something to say, say it. My daughter’s ears aren’t nearly as delicate as you believe.”
Daughter?
