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When I look back, he’s still watching me, as if I’m going to grow an extra set of legs at any second and run away. Or run right at him.
“They took her,” he finally says.
“What?” My brow furrows in confusion.
“I just found her phone. She was assigned to watch the children as punishment for siding with you. They fucking took her.”
The blood in my veins goes cold, and my temper snaps before I realize it. My fist flies into the nearest tree, and splinters splash all around me. Shock rattles through me when I realize I just slammed a hole in its center.
As I pull my hand back out, I look up to see Slade has moved to be in front of me, still gauging me.
“You care for Kya.”
It’s a statement, not a question. “She’s the only good thing you have in your shithole group. Yes, I care about her. She’s real. Unlike you.”
I turn to walk away, ignoring his growling and snarling. I’ll call Marilyn. She might ask questions, but she’ll know how to fucking track someone. She can walk me—
“The hell is that supposed to mean?” he snaps.
“It means you’re a fucking fake,” I snap back. Uncaring or stupid? I’m not sure which one is me.
“There isn’t a thing about me that’s fake, little girl.”
“Other than your actions. You want everyone to think you’re cold and unstoppable, but you’re not. You’re just as emotionally invested in this world as the rest of us. You just pretend not to give a damn. Like about Kya. Someone has to go after her, but you won’t, even if she is your friend. Possibly your only friend.”
He grabs my arm and spins me around, but before he can speak or hit me, I continue.
“At least the rest of us know who we are or we’re trying to figure it out. You’re too busy trying to forget.”
I jerk away from him, and pull out my phone. It snaps in half in my hand, and I look up as Slade narrows his eyes.
Somehow, he did that.
“I’ve been tracking them. If you’d shut up for five fucking seconds, you would have heard me trying to tell you that. Kya is three miles north of here. They have them in a heavily barred area with impressive seals. I can’t break past the barrier, and I can break past anything.”
A cold smile graces my lips. “Then I guess you need bait.”
He tilts his head, probably expecting me to do something to trick him still. His history with my kind replays in my head, so I decide to show something I’m not supposed to.
My eyes light up blue, and I watch as his jaw tenses.
“I’ve chosen my side, Slade. I’m his. He’s mine. I’m about to risk my life so that no one else dies. There’s nothing for me to gain out of this. I think you know the anointed will kill me if they learn what I am. And if I was a part of them, I wouldn’t need help finding them.”
I can see the indecision in his eyes, but he apparently decides the children and Kya are worth the effort. My eyes shift back, and he curses while walking faster. We’re practically a blur as we move in silence, becoming the most unlikely pair of heroes in the history of the world.
Not too long ago, this sick freak was trying to kill me. But our issues don’t matter right now. At least he seems to agree.
“Why are you alone?” I finally whisper, deciding to attempt to plan something.
“Because this is a suicide mission. The last thing I need to do is risk people. There’s a much bigger—”
“Bigger threat. I got it. You can only be sidetracked to take out revenge on someone who was never actually a part of what you want revenge for.”
A growl emanates low in his throat, but we don’t have time to reconcile or share a heart-to-heart. Or fight to the death again.
We stop on a hillside, and stare down at a heavily guarded, rundown building. Slade leans against a tree, staying engulfed by the shadows as his eyes remain dull instead of glowing.
He looks like a nightmare waiting to strike, and for once, I’m not in the line of fire.
