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Which is odd, since I’m not alone at all.
“I know you’re there,” I say over my shoulder, into the darkness. It’s only a moment later that Corvus steps out of the shadows, his eyes flashing silver in the moonlight. He looks almost as shitty as I feel, his hair more tousled than usual, his stare dull. I can smell a familiar scent on him, too—that drug that Keon loves so much,flora.
Corvus slumps to a seat beside me, resting his elbow on his raised knee and letting his other foot join mine over the cliff. He doesn’t look at me; just sits there for a moment, enjoying our brief moment of freedom.
“You went to see Keon,” I finally say, glancing at him.
“I did.”
“And how was it?”
He groans. “I didn’t get off, if that’s what you’re asking,” he says. “I swear, it’s like all I ever get to do since we met is go right to the edge before being ripped back.”
I frown. “What happened?”
“Your husband swung by and demanded Keon’s counsel,” he says. “I presume that has something to do with you?”
“You would be correct,” I mutter.
Silence falls over us again. The wind picks up, carrying with it the briny scent of the sea.
“You’re losing your nerve,” Corvus says. “I can tell.”
“Not losing my nerve,” I say. “I just have questions.”
“Questions like what?”
I look him in the eye, pulling my right knee up to face him directly. He mirrors me, bringing him just a few inches closer—and I sense right away that just because we’ve both gotten some action tonight doesn’t mean either of us are sated.
“Do you know where Layla is?” I ask.
He frowns—but I see that hint of recognition in his eyes first, a flare of color, and it confirms everything I need to know. “Who?”
“Don’t lie to me, Corvus,” I snap. “You should be better at it than that. I’m starting to recognize the color in your eyes, and I just saw you recognize the name.”
He scowls at me, but then a smirk curls his lips. “You’ve been looking into my eyes,” he says.
“Don’t change the subject, either,” I say. “Your employers have her, don’t they? Her disappearance has nothing to do with the Ganivets.”
The smirk falls from his face. “That’s above my paygrade.”
“Another lie,” I say. I’m not certain, of course—but I want him to think I am. I want him to believe that there’s no use in keeping any more secrets from me. “You’ve known more than you’ve let on from the beginning. So tell me right now—where is Layla?”
Corvus’s fingers clench into a fist, then unclench. He looks out at the lights of Joya, then back at me.
“You’re playing a dangerous game, Penn,” he murmurs.
“It’s my job.”
“Is it?” he says. “Because to me, it sounds like you’re considering switching sides. What did Keon tell you that you haven’t shared?”
I lick my lips. “You’re not the only one who’s allowed to keep secrets.”
“But if you turn out to be a liability, I could kill you and disappear into the night.”
His words chill me at the same time that they put me on alert. I don’t have any weapons on me—I haven’t been allowed any since I landed on Aelydon—but my muscles tense in preparation for a fight.
It would be tough, but I could take him.
