Chapter 39
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Vesper
When the doors closed softly behind them, Vesper set down their bags and grabbed Bellamy’s arm before she could storm off, pulling her in and holding her there until she gave in and wrapped her arms around Vesper.
“We good, Bel?” Vesper asked, kissing the top of her head.
Bellamy wriggled in her arms and mumbled into Vesper’s chest. “Fine.”
Good. They couldn’t afford petty squabbles right now, even though hiding the fact that Bellamy had a fucking sister seemed like more than a petty squabble. It had to wait. They had to focus on getting to safety.
“Anything in the box?”
“An assignment,” Bellamy mumbled, her face still pressed against Vesper.
“What? When were you gonna tell me?” Vesper released her, frustration growing then she shook her head. “Never mind, is it legit?”
Bellamy shrugged and dug the paper out of her pocket, handing it to Vesper. “Looks like it.”
Vesper flipped the paper over—not that she expected to see additional information. They were often this sparse and withholding. When she held it up to the light, she could see the faint watermark of the Embunuh logo inlaid.
“I don’t trust this,” she hedged, handing the paper back to Bellamy. She hated the magickless district to begin with, but now… Being sent there right after such a big failure—sent to the one place rumored to house Dampeners—this wasn’t good.
“Yeah no shit,” Bellamy snapped. “It’s a setup, right? I mean, we failed,” she whispered, darting her gaze around the fairly empty lobby.
“You think they found out that fast?”
“I think they don’t want us to run. I think they have a fucking Dampener on their payroll and they’re luring us to them,” Bellamy grumbled, rolling the paper up and shoving it in her pocket. “What’re you thinking?”
“You really think a Dampener would survive long enough for the Embunuh to find use for them?” Vesper asked tentatively.
Bellamy shrugged. She’d always been more willing to believe their employers harbored Dampeners than Vesper had been. It wasn’t impossible for them to survive into adulthood, but… She shook her head, focusing on the real, tangible threat.
“They only gave us the paper?” Vesper asked, trying to force more confidence into her voice and looking suspiciously at Bellamy. She rolled her eyes and pulled out a small stack of notes and handed it over.
“Should’ve thrown this to Mazz while we were in there,” Vesper said, counting the money. It was enough to get them a trolley to the district and that’s it. So, that must mean their employers expected them to stay in the area… “They gave us more shit they can track.”