Wade nodded but didn’t look convinced.
“It’ll be fine,”I assured him even if I didn’t know that, even if I didn’t really believe my own words.
“Right,” he said with the same lie I’d told. “This is what we came back for, right? Let’s do this.”
I nodded and set my gaze on the door. They hadn’t put me in a cell with a normal lock this time—probably because I’d proven that the electronics in those posed no issue for me. It meant they’d gone old school instead, with reinforced steel that could probably withstand an angry Brax.
I lifted my hands, ready to take the thing off its hinges when Wade wrapped his hands over mine and held me still. His eyes were soft but serious as he stared at me so hard, I wondered if he were trying to memorize my face or something…
Finally, he pulled me closer and kissed me so deeply, it felt like a goodbye. Then he pulled back and squeezed my hands. “That future I talked about doesn’t mean a damned thing without you in it, so make sure you come back.”
I found myself nodding, even when I didn’t mean to. I couldn’t make that promise—we didn’t live in a world where I could know that was possible, where I could ensure that—but I knew I wanted to.
That had to be enough.
He released me and stepped backward to give me room. I took a deep breath, then snapped and slammed the sound wave into the door. Just as I’d hoped, the thing went flying, the screeching of metal against the concrete floors impossibly loud.
Neither of us waited for the dust to clear, though. We didn’t have time for long goodbyes. Wade took off, headed for an elevator to make his way to the main tower while I surveyed the huge room I stood in, the high ceilings and glass windows that looked into labs on each wall.
This is as good a place as any for a last stand…
Chapter Seventeen
Kit
Moa made me exceedingly uncomfortable, though I wasn’t entirely sure why.
It wasn’t that she was human. Working as adjunct staff in Larkwood meant working closely with humans often enough. It wasn’t as if they made me nervous—with the exception of a few, such as the Warden, they posed little danger to me.
Yet somehow Moa made me question myself. She made me watch each word and hesitant to take my eyes off her.
It was as if she posed a risk that I felt but didn’t fully understand.
“Is this it?” Moa gestured at the closed door before us.
I nodded. “This entire floor is empty.”
“Won’t Larkwood notice people are here then?”
“Since there isn’t anything dangerous here, they don’t limit access to it. In addition, Deacon ensured the elevator sensors are in a testing loop for the next few hours, so it hasn’t been recording anyone.”
Moa pulled in a deep, slow breath.
“Nervous?”
She gave me a lopsided smile before nodding. “I’ve helped a lot of shades, but I haven’t been around this many before.”
“I can assure you that the ones you’ve already dealt with—by which I meanus—are the most intimidating. If you didn’t wilt under Brax’s glare, you can deal with the young, the old and the fragile here.”
Still, Moa didn’t move. She remained rooted in place, her gaze down. “How did Hera get so brave?”
“She had no other choice.”
Moa looked up at me, as if my words surprised her.
I shrugged, trying to ignore the way the sweatshirt rubbed against my skin. I wasn’t accustomed to the clothing Larkwood made shades wear since I’d been exempted from that requirement previously. It let us all blend in better, made us just another shade here, but that didn’t mean I cared for it.
“Hera had two choices when she arrived here—adapt or die. I suspect most people would adapt in such a situation. Besides, are you truly so different? You risked your freedom and your life to help shades, and you were not forced into that position.”