Tobias #2
Rivan’s fingertips brushed Quinn’s as he took the dagger from her. That corrosive jealousy heated my veins. He held it up, examining the details carved into the hilt…but Quinn’s eyes were on me.
A heated flush darkened her cheeks. She opened her mouth as if trying to figure out what to say, then closed it again.
Rivan handed the dagger back to her, hilt first. But Quinn held my eyes a second longer, then let out a nervous laugh when she realized Rivan was waiting, releasing me from her gaze.
Pari snorted softly. I forced myself to look away from Quinn, then grumbled, “Something to say, Pari?”
“You’re, um…sparking,” she muttered under her breath.
I blinked, then glanced down to where my hands rested on my lap.
Sparks flared at my fingertips, dropping to the ground like fallen stars before sizzling out on the stone.
I clenched my hands into fists, blowing out a breath as I attempted to force that emotion into the cage I was failing to keep closed.
“Be careful the next time you’re on carpet,” Pari said with a loud laugh.
“You’re not helping,” I muttered sullenly as the embers died against my palm. The redness would be gone by morning, the pain a fleeting distraction from my apparently noticeable jealousy. Here I thought my biggest challenge during this meal would be my agoraphobia.
Though I had been doing just fine, for a moment.
Quinn looked over at us, glancing between the two of us with a frown. But it was Rivan’s reaction that piqued my interest. The usually lackadaisical warrior stared me down with a challenge in his eyes, his jaw so tight it could cut glass.
I leaned closer to Pari, whispering just loud enough for her to hear, “Looks like I’m not the only one who’s jealous.”
She looked at Rivan, whose lavender gaze dropped to his plate. He aggressively cut into a grilled asparagus.
Pari rolled her eyes. “He’s not…”
“Keep telling yourself that,” I drawled.
She scowled, but her immediate flush only confirmed my suspicions.
I speared another bite of fish, then raised my voice to include the rest of the table. “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”
“We stop searching the same spots we’ve already covered and go down the lists of Silvius’s potential conspirators,” Pari said, fixing Rivan with a glare.
His jaw flexed as he reached for the bread, ripping a chunk from the rest of the loaf with more force than necessary. “Silvius had just as much of a chance of being there—”
“I told you it didn’t match his pattern,” Pari interrupted, her eyes flashing.
“He must be hiding in one of the homes of those who supported the False King or were at least suspected of it. We have a list of those spotted either at the last demonstration or who have vocally supported Aviel in the past.”
“All of whom both Queen Sariyah’s guard and our rangers have already visited and searched. Silvius was spotted—”
“Weeks ago,” Pari gritted out. “And by starting there, we risk leading him straight to Quinn and her research to stop him.”
Quinn raised a hand, as if asking a question in school. “Spotted where?”
“At the Enclave,” Rivan muttered mutinously.
“We spent most of yesterday interviewing staff for any leads. A healer saw someone matching Silvius’s description sneaking into a lower level not long before Eva fell ill, though she lost him soon after.
It’s safe to assume he has someone helping him within the Enclave’s ranks, maybe even someone who helped him create or transport the virus.
And we can’t risk him creating more supply, if he hasn’t already. ”
My eyes snapped to Quinn. I hadn’t let her out of my sight today, but my sister’s blood, as well as my own, was behind that iron door in the research wing. If Silvius still had a way in…
“Don’t worry,” Quinn said, though she twisted her cloth napkin around in her hands. “Dolion assured me our research is well warded.”
It was an effort not to bristle at his name on her lips.
“Well, if Dolion said so.” I turned to Pari.
“If we’re looking to find a mole, then perhaps what’s needed is a trap.
Too many people already know we’re here to keep our research quiet, and it doesn’t take a genius to guess what Quinn’s working on.
What better way to flush Silvius out than, I don’t know, loudly discussing how close she is to finding a cure the next time we’re walking into the Enclave? ”
Rivan tipped his head to the side. “A good plan, though I hope our targets tomorrow yield results. Though maybe a few of our rangers should join you two to make sure you’re safe.”
For once, I consciously let my magic flicker at my fingertips, feeling that familiar heat behind my eyes as my power reflected there.
As much as I hated that part of my power—the searing heat that had been used to hurt me and so many others—the thought of Silvius anywhere near Quinn made it ignite with unexpected fervor.
Quinn shook her head. “Catching Silvius is also a priority here. Not only to answer for what he’s done to Eva, but before he infects anyone else.
I don’t want anyone potentially contaminating the lab, and there’s no point having guards wait in the hallway when no one can get inside besides Dolion, Tobias, and me. ”
I nodded in agreement, albeit begrudgingly. “Quinn can take care of herself. But I’ll be there to help and make sure there isn’t any chance she’s caught off guard.”
Quinn gave me look so full of gratitude that it made my heart skip a beat.
“We’ll stick to our teams then,” Pari said decidedly. “Remember, you can ask for help if you need it. This won’t work if we don’t work together.”
The words were pointed—and obviously directly at me.
“I will,” I promised.
If we were going to save my sister, I needed to step up and face my fears and my feelings, whether I was ready or not.
I couldn’t hide from the world anymore, no matter how much I wanted to.
I couldn’t pretend that silence was safer than speaking up or that distance was easier than connection.
And I couldn’t let the echoes of my past keep me locked in the cell that once held me, not anymore.
To do so was a disservice to all my friends and family who had risked their lives to bring me back, and an insult to my parents’ sacrifice, the last gift they gave to me.
Maybe true strength wasn’t the absence of fear but the choice to keep moving despite it. Maybe survival meant learning to live alongside the cracks and broken shards instead of trying to seal them.
I might not ever be the person I had once been, as much as I grieved who that boy could have become. But maybe that mattered less than becoming the person I was meant to be now.
Either way, it was time to try—not just for Eva, but for myself and the fractured future I was finally ready to piece back together.