“Right.” He nods. “Valen.”
Valen. He’s still in my veins. Ever since I’ve been in this bunker, I can still feel him. Fainter now. But he’s there. Will he always be there? Is he safe? Did he find Coal?
“I’m just so fucking happy you’re here now.” He leans to me and pulls me into a hug. “God, I’ve missed you.”
I pat him on the back awkwardly until he lets me go.
“When I told General Lopez that you had created a poison that could take out the vampires—that you killed Theo with it—you became one of our top priorities. We knew we had to get you here, to supply you as best we can. You’re our only hope of wiping them out. You can create more of the poison, right?”
“I think so, yeah, but?—”
“Perfect.” He smiles and runs a hand through his red hair. “I knew you were a solid bet.”
“A bet?” I can’t keep the irritation from my tone.
“You know what I mean. Not a bet, just—well, I think you know I’ve always had a good feeling about you.” He hurries on, “I won’t pretend to know what you’ve been through, what thosethingsdid to you, but I can tell you how much you mean to me, to everyone here who’s been hoping I could free you.”
“Why?” Overstimulated, overwhelmed, I’m finding it hard to keep my emotions in check. I should’ve gone with Wyatt and Evie to the lab. That would’ve calmed my nerves for more than whatever this is.
He raises a brow. “What do you mean?”
“Why does everyone here care if I’m alive or dead?”
“Because you killed Theo.” He says it easily, like it’s a simple fact, not my own death sentence.
“Wait, you just said you told your general about the poison. Are you saying everyone here knows?”
He shrugs. “They know you were there, and maybe I let them believe that you had a hand in killing one of the most vicious monsters this world has ever seen. You. A human. They needed hope. You gave it to them.”
My heart sinks. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You’ve killed him.”
“What?”
“Valen. If word gets back to Gregor that I’m the one who killed Theo, he’ll kill Valen. He entrusted me to Valen and if he finds out … If Gregor realizes I did it, oh god! He’ll do so much worse and then—” My stomach turns, the food I’d just eaten threatening to come back up. Valen went through so much to hide me from Gregor, to hide what I did. All the while, Gage was flaunting it like a feather in his cap. Vertigo hits me, the worldinverting, monsters become heroes, heroes becoming what I fear most.
Gage puts a hand on my shoulder. “Valen is one ofthem, Georgia. The enemy.”
“I know what he is.” I swipe his hand away. “I know better than you ever will. We have to warn him. Send him a message or whatever it is you do to speak to him! He’s in danger. All of us are in danger.”
“We’re secure here. The people in this base aren’t?—”
“All it would take is for one accident, one of your soldiers to fall into Gregor’s hands! You know that! If they give me up, then Valen’s life is forfeit. We have to tell him.”
His brow wrinkles. “Valen was using you. Keeping you prisoner. Doing things to your mind. That’s what they do—they use their blood to control us. You’re still suffering from what he did. That’s why you?—”
“Shut up.” Aghast, I stare at him. “Just shut up. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I do. It’s a sort of Stockholm Syndrome made worse by the influence of his blood. I feared something like this might happen.” He frowns, his hands reaching for mine again. “I tried to get you out, but he wouldn’t let you go. He had his claws in you so deep, heneverwould’ve let you go.”
“I’m not under any influence.” I stand and back away from him. “Send him a message, Gage. Send it!” The hum in my veins, that low note that seems to pulse with my heartbeat, grows louder.
“Georgia, wait.” He follows me. “Listen, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way. Please, just sit down.”
“No. I think I’m done here.” If Gage won’t warn him, then I’ll have to think of some way to do it myself. Maybe the bond? Maybe I really can speak through it somehow? I hurry to the door, but it won’t open. “Let me out.”
He’s at my back. “Just stay. Please. I’m saying this all wrong.”
“No, you were perfectly clear. Open the fucking door, Gage.” I whirl and glare up at him. “Now.”
