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“They routed something through here,” Vandor called.

“Then let’s check it out.”

They crossed the road. Wind dragged leaves across the pavement. Thunder rolled somewhere above the city.

Rain soaked through Daven’s jacket, but he didn’t care.

He turned slowly in the middle of the street, scanning the dark buildings, the abandoned parking lot, the broken ambulance bay.

A loose sign creaked somewhere on the side of the hospital.

Vandor swept his flashlight slowly across the rooftops but said nothing.

Passing the building, they headed toward the open ground where Daven and Ryneth had seen the Concordant craft descend earlier.

The clearing was empty.

“Where the fuck are you?” he muttered, sweeping the beam across the shifting shadows.

His multi-slate dinged, and Daven glanced down. Even through the rain and cold, something in his chest tightened the second he saw the name on the screen.

Ryneth.

The message was brief.

Please tell me where you are.

Daven stared at the words, still able to taste him, still feeling that desperate kiss like it hadn’t ended. The bond pulled hard under his ribs. For one stupid second, he wanted to turn around, get back in the vehicle, and go straight home.

But the wrongness in the district hadn’t eased. If anything, it had sharpened. Like whatever had pulled him here was still waiting.

He thought of what to reply when he heard Vandor approach behind him.

“You chose a good night to be a hero.”

“Shut up.” Kicking a loose piece of concrete across the pavement, he watched it skid into the curb. “The others might keep up their ‘patient’ act, but not me. And what about you, huh?” He turned over his shoulder and took in the other guy, who stood like a fucking statue as usual. “Why did you let him walk out there alone?”

“Kylix is not by himself,” Vandor corrected.

“Yes, he is. Guards are nothing in comparison to how his own family can protect him.”

Rain came harder, running down his hair into his eyes.

“Kylix standing out there like a statue while they hide in their tower,” Daven continued, pacing now, restless. “My uncle letting them sit on Helion like honored guests while Attica runs through the streets.”

Vandor’s gaze moved slowly along the hospital roofline.

Thunder cracked again as the storm rolled closer.

Daven paced toward the edge of the lot, then turned back again. “They’re playing with us. Hiding their tracks, promising us bullshit. So what’s their game, then? What the fuck are we missing?”

Next to him, Vandor shrugged. “When you believe you are superior, you make other people wait.”

“When you believe you are superior,” Daven spat. “Then why are we not showing them we’re not?”

“Kylix knows all this,” was all Vandor said. “You know he does.”

Daven inhaled through his nose in an attempt to get himself back under control. Think. “Where do you think Attica has been hiding?”