“Mira,” I said.
“Yeah, I need to show you something.” He gestured to the laptop he’d already set up on the table.
I stepped forward, my gaze on his screen. “It must be important if you couldn’t wait until we disembarked.”
“I thought you might want a moment to review what I’ve found before Luka arrives. Which will be any minute now,” he replied as he returned to his seat. “I hacked into Mira’s phone. I’ve been translating her encrypted messages for the last hour. You need to see these.”
Calina and I stepped up behind him, our interest mutually piqued.
“She’s definitely not who we thought she was,” Damien said, his screen displaying evidence of such. “But she’s not in charge.”
He brought up a message that just said,Report your status.
“This is from someone at Bunker 7, which I’ve gathered is code for their home base.” He glanced at me. “Seems Lilith was a fan of the number seven.”
I’d already determined that after hearing all the bunker names. “Did she reply?”
“Not until five minutes ago. I’m still decrypting it. But that’s not what I wanted you to see.” He started rearranging the windows on his screen, displaying a message from the day Lilith died.
“Who sent that?” I asked, reading the note about Lilith’s death.
“Mira did,” he replied, his voice holding a note of irritation. “It’s what activated the protocols. And this one”—he clicked on another message—“includes instructions on how to frame another pack member as the mole in Majestic Clan.”
I read the evidence on the screen, my jaw clenching. “I hope Luka hasn’t doled out punishment yet.”
Damien’s expression hardened. “Mira volunteered to do it.”
“Of course she did.” Which meant the poor male was likely very dead. “Is Luka bringing Mira here to meet us? That’s something he would typically do.”
“I don’t know,” Damien admitted. “I’ve been too busy trying to—”
His computer beeped, distracting him.
“She just sent another message,” he said, his mouse dragging the gibberish into some sort of application.
Decryption app,Calina told me.Really quite fascinating, as he created it himself.
Do I need to worry about just how fascinating you find that?I asked, arching a brow at her.
Her blue eyes twinkled back at me.Just keep me high on your Jace prowess, and we’ll be fine.
Noted,I replied, amused by her teasing.
But the growl from Damien had me immediately focusing on the screen and the message unraveling before us.
My heart stopped.
Oh, fuck…
44
The Liege
Well,that’s disappointing, I thought, sipping my wine. It was a bit too sweet for my liking, my palate craving something a little more decadent. I’d indulge that hunger soon. I just had a few more logs to sort through first.
Waking up after a century of sleep had fucked with my mind, stealing all my memories along the way. According to the files, it was a notorious side effect of the procedure, something I’d obviously accepted before deciding to rest.
Fortunately, Lilith had left me with logs of everything I needed to know.
