Page 17 of Aviatrix

I laugh, strained and humorless. “Of course it’s not my fault. It’s yours.”

He extends his hand again. “I still need you to come with me.”

I stare at it. Then shake my head. “Not a chance.”

“He’s right, Quay.”

The voice hits me like a bullet. And it guts me.

I turn slowly. Eli stands there with arms folded across his chest and eyes hard as stone.

“You’re taking his side now?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “No. But you’ll be safest wherever he is. He has protection the rest of us don’t.”

I glance toward Gary, Scooter, and Thea. They’re my center of gravity

“What did the General say?” I ask.

“Special mission,” Eli says flatly. “Top secret. Classified.” Always with the riddles.

“Well,” I suck in a harsh breath, “I’ve got a mission of my own. So, I guess this is where we part ways.” I look between the two men who’ve broken my heart in different ways. “Have fun figuring out where I’ll be safest.” Then, I push through the cluster of survivors, heading straight for my team.

“You okay?” Gary asks when I reach him.

I swallow hard. “Yeah. What’s the plan?”

He exhales. “They’re transferring most of us to a base in Colorado. But he’s heading somewhere else.”

My stomach drops. “Lark?”

“We need to know what he knows, Nova. We need you to go with him.”

I recoil at the suggestion. “Are you serious?”

Gary leans in, lowering his voice. “My intel was good. You know it was. If this leads back to command—if leadership’s compromised—we need someone close to it.”

I rub my temples. “Why not send Fox? Or Glitch?”

I glance over my shoulder. Lark’s deep in conversation with two officers. Eli’s still watching me from across the room. Always watching.

“You know why,” Gary says quietly.

I do. I just wish I didn’t.

“I can’t,” I murmur. “He cheated on me.” It tastes like rust and ash. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

If Gary’s right—and I think he is—then staying close to Lark is our best shot at the truth.

I don’t want to. But I will if it’s the only way to find out why we were attacked and—more importantly—what the Legion is.

“Okay.” I let out a shaky breath. “I’ll go.”

Gary meets my eyes. “I’ll message you when it’s safe.”

He motions to Scooter and Thea. All three of them shuffle out, leaving me in the hum of the bunker alone. But not for long.

Eli brushes past me, his arm ghosting mine, then pauses just ahead. He doesn’t speak. Doesn’t need to.