"It would be unstable," Vael agrees. “My smart female.”
"Hell yeah," I say, pointing at the fridge. "Smash the panel for Option A."
Vael drives his fist straight through the blue icon for Option A.
The demolition sequence terminates as the sledgehammer freezes mid-air and slowly retracts into the ceiling while the deadbolt on the kitchen cabinet slides open to reveal a hidden passageway.
“Hell yeah. We made that kitchen our bitch,” I say, doing a fist pump. Then I remember we’re on camera and slowly lower my hand.
Vael lets out a rumble of laughter, and wraps his tail around my ankle to guide me toward the exit.
"Come on," he says, nodding toward the corridor. "Let us find the next challenge, bitch."
I blink. "Okay, we are definitely having a lesson on slang soon."
CHAPTER 29
POPPY
The exit doesn't openinto another challenge, thank fuck.
Instead, the tunnel opens into a room that looks like a nightclub designed by someone who had no concept of taste or what people want.
For a second, I wonder if we’re going to have to do a nightclub version of the HGTV challenge or Bar Rescue or something and do a fully body cringe.
The walls are wrapped in plush pink velvet, the floor a glowing neon turquoise, and a buffet table sits in the center, stacked high with platters of bioluminescent fruit and a frosted pitcher filled with a bright yellow liquid.
"Congratulations on surviving," Ken’s hologram appears, making me flinch, accompanied by a canned track of polite golf applause.
Talk about a fucking jump scare.
Vael grabs my hand.
"To celebrate, I’ve authorized a mandatory after-party. Enjoy the amenities while I compile the viewer feedback."
I don't care about the food; I don't care about the slushies.
My eyes dart instantly to the far side of the room.
Sitting on a circular sectional couch are four figures. Pol is there, aggressively feeding a moon-shaped fruit to Selene, who looks exhausted. And sitting right next to them, covered in a thick layer of grey soot, is Lucy, holding the thigh of her peachy dragon.
She’s safe. She’s alive.
"Lucy,” I whisper, relief and disbelief warring inside me.
I dart away from Vael, my feet flying across the neon floor.
Lucy leaps off the couch, her tech suit ripped at the knee, and meets me halfway. We collide in a bone-crushing hug, both of us crying like idiots.
"You're a-a-a-alive," I choke out. "Your locator thingie went grey. I thought—I thought Ken killed you. I’m so so sorry, Lucy. This is all my fault.”
"He tried to," Lucy tells me, holding me tightly. Her skin is burning underneath my hands. "We got attacked. Ty-Rok literally ripped a mechanical panel out of the ground and managed to jam our biometrics or whatever they’re called. We tried to lose them."
I look past her shoulder to her partner. Ty-Rok’s scales are a light peach, fading into creamy stripes along his chest and darker orange along his spine. He gives me a slow nod, his eyes flicking to Vael, stepping up behind me, one possessive hand on my hip.
“Where are Ell and Lily?” I ask. “Have you seen them? Lily and her partner were with us, but?—”
“Enough.” Selene cuts me off with the abrasive word. “They’re luckier than we are.”
