He shakes his head, swinging his bag over his shoulder. “I don’t know what an Angel is, but I can tell you what’s in that little vial. Poison. And if you inject it into you, you’ll die.”

“Well, were did it come from?” I ask. “I mean, who gave it to her?”

“That’s the real mystery,” he says. “No one knows. Everyone who’s thrown out of The Gathering has them. In fact, some of them were even stupid enough to inject the medicine into them—that’s how we found out it was deadly.”

I drop the vial, but luckily it doesn’t shatter. “But Bernard took this.” I swipe the vial up. “He injected the medicine into him.”

The color drains from his face. “I’m sorry, Kayla … I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“So he died?” I choke.

“He made it here—and we tried to help him,” he says. “But he’s gone now.”

I chuck the vial across the room and watch it break into a hundred tiny pieces. Aiden flinches, but doesn’t say anything as I grab the bag and start filling it with food and water. Even on the outside there’s death.

“How high are our chances of actually finding this Xander guy? I mean, the city is huge. And dangerous.”

“Honestly?” Aiden asks and nod. “The chances seem low, but trust me—I’m excellent at tracking people down. I’ll find him. No matter what it takes. I swear to God we’ll find him.” His eyes are full of passion and determination and I like it.

Chapter 25

We wait until right before day breaks, right before we know Dominic we’ll come for me. Aiden rests while we sleep, snoring away in his bed. I remain awake, though, flipping through the pages, obsessed with what it could all mean—obsessed that I could turn into a Higher.

I have to find a way to stop it.

When Aiden wakes up, we immediately find Ryder. She’s downstairs in the room with the tables and chairs, sitting by herself. Her hair is even more matted and the black stuff around her eyes is gone. After Aiden finishes explaining what’s been going on and that we plan to leave, she narrows her eyes.

“I think that’s a stupid idea,” she says. “Going out into the city to look for Xander—who’s a little crazy I might add—all because she thinks he might know a cure.”

“I think he might know of a cure,” Aiden points out. “I’m the one who suggested we go.”

“Only because of her,” she says. “And if Dominic wants her dead, I’m sure he has a good reason.”

“Hey,” I say at the same time Aiden says, “Knock it off, Ryder.”