Squinting, I forced my gaze to stay locked on Nagi and the present. “Should you be here right now?”

“Why wouldn’t I be here?” Nagi’s eyes narrowed, suspicious, because he could probably use two fingers to count all the times I’d ever asked him a question.

“I just thought you’d want to get in your bunker before the explosions start,” I said, somehow managing not to smirk.

“Explo—” Nagi froze and so did the other med people. Only tech beeps filled the silence. The expression on his face almost put me over the edge. The grand Doctor Nagi looked like he’d just sucked a pickle. “Explain.”

I shrugged against my bindings. “Someone’s attacking wherever you were going this afternoon. If you get in your bunker, then you survive.” Too bad about that, but making way for Tair was more important right now. Nagi would have to get his some other day.

“And I should believe this story?” Nagi sounded suspicious, but he was already tapping something into his tablet.

Bingo.

“If you die, I die. As long as you’re alive, I’ve got a chance.” It was almost a total lie, but it sounded pretty reasonable. I always had been pretty big on the self-preservation stuff. Still was, actually.

“And the source of these attacks?”

“Shadow Ravens.” Duh. “Something about revenge for the ones killed in helicopters. That happened, right?” I remembered seeing that bit go down in Cipher’s escape sequence not too long ago, and I was pretty sure he’d bite on it as a legit reason Eva would counter.

“It did.”

“There you go. Shoot me up with some more truth serum if you don’t believe me.” I closed my eyes, not really faking sleepiness. If I pushed too hard, he’d figure out my lie in a second. Plus, eyes closed kept me from looking too smug.

The Ravens were attacking for me.

“When?” Nagi asked, voice clipped. I couldn’t tell if he was buying it yet. He’d better.

I tried to keep my muscles loose and relaxed. “The afternoon. That’s all I know.”

“So you said.”

My breath roared in my ears, the only sound except for beeping and the shuffling of Nagi’s assistants. Please listen to me. For once, just believe.

“One remaining question.”

Nerves jittered in my chest. I opened my eyes to find him standing over me, but thanks to the drowsy drugs, I didn’t jump out of my skin. “One?”

“What do you want from this life, Quanta?”

I blinked, thrown off. What do I want? Where did I even start with that?

“If you’d cooperate, anything you could dream would be yours.”

“I am cooperating.” That was why his life was getting saved here.

But the things I could dream? Nagi couldn’t touch those.