“No,” Leo said softly, shaking his head. “Not after everything we’ve been through. Not after what happened between us.”
Thorne’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t tell me you’ve actuallyfallenfor her.”
Leo stood. Slow. Deliberate. His whole body was coiled, fists trembling.
“Maybe I have,” he said. “What are you going to do about it?”
Then—he shoved him. Hard.
Thorne stumbled back a step, caught off guard.
“Leo—”
“You never tried to understand her,” Leo said, voice like a blade. “You judged her from the moment she arrived. If you’d paid attention, you’d know she’dneverbetray us.”
Slade stepped in beside him. Calm. Steady. But unmovable.
“She wouldn’t betrayanyof us,” he said quietly. “That’s not who she is.”
Thorne’s gaze swept across us—dark, unreadable.
“You’re all fools,” he muttered. “Drunk on her pretty blue eyes. She used you. She drugged you. And you’re still standing here defending her.”
“Elira is the best thing that’s happened to this team in years,” I said evenly. “And youknowit, even if you’re too proud to admit it.”
Thorne scoffed, ugly and sharp. “So what? You’re all fucking her now? Is that what this is? Does that sound like something that ends well?”
“Watch your fucking mouth,”Leo snarled.
Thorne didn’t flinch. “Or what?” he snapped, eyes glinting. “You want to hit me, Leo? Go ahead. Do it. Nothing you throw at me could be worse than what’s coming next.”
“What’s happened?” I asked. “What did the king say?”
He let out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck. I didn’t miss the slight tremor of his hands as he rubbed his face. “The sentinels have been tasked to go out and find her. He wants her back. Alive - and immediately.”
“And then?”
He hesitated, then dropped his hand from his face. “Then Vasquez takes over. Effective immediately.”
I stepped back. My skin went cold. “No.”
Leo’s voice cracked with fury. “Did you even try to fight that?”
“Of course I did!” Thorne snapped. “But she’s a deserter. What was I supposed to do?”
I looked him dead in the eye. “What’s Vasquez going to do?”
Thorne hesitated. “He plans to put her in the Mirror Room.”
Silence. Then—
“Oh fuck,” I breathed.
“She won’t survive that,” Slade said. His voice was pure frost. “It’ll break her.”
Leo didn’t move for a long moment. Then he spoke—calm and lethal.
“So, we find her first. That’s the only answer.”
