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“I don’t like being threatened,” I say.
“And I don’t like being betrayed,” he shoots back.
“In that case, I was hoping you would clarify something,” I say. “Are you just a contract killer, or do you work directly with the Diavolos?”
Corvus chuckles. “That’s aboveyourpay grade.”
“And I’m tired of being lied to,” I say, “so I really don’t care. I need to know who you are, Corvus.”
His eyes narrow, and he looks back out at the lights of the city. With his face averted, I can just barely see the colors in his eyes—but they’re flashing wildly, telling me that he’s trying to hide his emotions.
“You don’t know this,” he says, “but I have a mother.”
I frown. It feels like a complete sidetrack; I don’t know why we’re talking about this. But I know I should listen, so I stay silent, watching him closely.
“Most Aelyds are tank-born; that’s what we call it,” he says. “And being tank-born means you will amount to nothing in life. There’s no chance that you have the Gift. You’ll be a peon at best, and at worst, you’ll find yourself on the streets.”
Right. Because this is a dystopia. Because the Aelyds aren’t so different from humanity.
“I think I understand,” I say, even though I’m still lost.
“Before this week, I’d never been to the Ganivet Valley,” he says. “And I didn’t know the Ganivets treasured their women like this. When you came to Aelydon, I thought I was throwing you to the wolves. Now…I’m not so sure.”
“Sounds like I’m not the only one with doubts,” I say, knowing full well that he could be playing me. All the men around me have an agenda; Corvus is no different.
“Hard not to have doubts when the woman who gave birth to you is a prisoner,” he mutters.
My breath catches in my throat. My first impulse is to try to comfort him—I don’t think I’ve seen him this raw. But then my mind jumps to Layla, and I bite my lip so hard that I cut right through the flesh, making myself bleed.
“You’re afraid the same thing is going to happen to Layla,” I whisper. “Youknowthe same thing is happening to Layla.”
He frowns, absently fiddling with a rock at his side. “I can neither confirm nor deny the location or safety of your friend,” he says. “But she’s been a useful bargaining chip. The Diavolos won’t hurt her.”
“‘Hurt’ is a subjective term,” I hiss. “If you did anything to her—”
“I haven’t done anything to her,” he says. “I haven’t even met her.”
“But you know who has her.”
“I do,” he says.
I raise my eyebrows. “And what do you want me to do about it?”
He covers his face with his hands, dragging his fingers down his cheeks. He looks fucking awful—worse than he did when he sat down next to me. I don’t give a damn if I’ve made him feel like shit, he’s been lying to me this whole goddamn time.
“I’ve been thinking,” he says, “about Solis, and Joya, and the Ganivets and the Diavolos…and I want out.”
I do a double take. “Excuse me?”
“I’ll help you,” he says. “But in exchange, I want you to negotiate a place for me in the Ganivet Family.”
“In order to do that, I have to know who you are,” I say.
He goes quiet, then tosses the rock as far as it can go. It disappears into the night, but I hear an echoing impact somewhere down the way—hopefully not into someone’s head. I’m not sure Corvus would care either way.
“If I tell you, it could get me killed,” he says. “Once this secret is out, there’s no going back. We’re in this together, whether you like it or not.”
“I’m all ears,” I say. “All I want is Layla. If you can help me get to her, I don’t care how we do that. But I will have you know that I’m starting to think Keon and Atlas are more reliable allies than you are…and if youdon’ttell me, we’re done.”
