Why are you protecting me? I wondered, but then I realized. No, he’s trying to protect his underground. He doesn’t think I can take this, that I might talk.

Mist walked around to observe me with appraising blue eyes. I met her stare, careful to give nothing away. To not let on that my eyelids were growing heavy, and the room was starting to ripple at the edges. “Or perhaps the opposite is true,” she said, watching my face intently. “Perhaps, against all your better judgment, you have let a soldier of St. George into your inner sanctum, and now he knows far too much. About you, and your underground, and all of Talon.” Her eyes narrowed, shrewd and calculating. “There are rumors that the Patriarch, the leader of the Order, is deceased. And that a single soldier was able to defeat him.” My gut knotted, but I kept my expression vacant. Mist raised an eyebrow and smiled. “I think there is more to this human than you’re letting on, Cobalt. And you are trying to protect both him and what he knows.”

“Hey.” The sneer in Riley’s voice sounded completely legitimate. “If you want to browbeat the kid until he wets himself and confesses that he still sucks his thumb at night, you go right ahead. I’ll be happy to share the attention.”

“No matter. You will both talk soon enough.” The faint smile lingered on the girl’s face as she walked back to the table. “Leave us,” she told the two men, who straightened quickly. “You’re not needed. I’ll take it from here.”

They nodded, but before they could go, the door swung open again, and a figure walked into the room. This time, it was Mist who straightened quickly. “Mr. Hill,” she exclaimed as Dante walked across the floor to stand before us. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

Chapter 21: DANTE

DANTE

“Do we need to stop the procedure?” Mist asked as I walked into the room. A few feet from her, Cobalt and the soldier of St. George sat back-to-back, hands cuffed behind them, a spotlight shining into their faces. I would admit, I felt a flicker of both relief and vindictive satisfaction to see Cobalt like that; Talon’s most infamous criminal would finally be brought to justice. And I was the one who had captured him.

“No, Miss Anderson,” I said. “I apologize for the interruption, but there is something I need you to do for me.”

“Come to finally take your shots, Dante?” the rogue asked, his expression twisted into a smirk. “It’s a lot easier to be brave when the guy can’t hit you back.”

“I am not here for you, traitor,” I said calmly, refusing to glance at him. “You are no longer of any consequence. Miss Anderson, if you would please come with me. I need to speak to you in private.”