Getting to her was all that mattered. I concentrated on her image as I stepped over the bodies.

I’d end anyone that stood in my way.

Weapons ready, I headed for the private lift to the underground facilities. Cipher’s program would only work so long before the Greens weeded it from the Citadel’s systems. These next minutes were precious.

I needed to confirm Quanta’s location and get there as fast as possible.

Wherever she was, I’d bet my Helix that Darren would be close. I gritted my teeth so hard my jaw cracked.

So much the better.

He and I had unfinished business.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Chapter Thirty-Five

QUANTA

Darren paced at the side of my table. He looked weird in body armor instead of his lab coat, but he’d left off his helmet so he could keep running his fingers through his hair. The greasy blond pieces stuck in place when he wasn’t messing with them, but he always was. He crackled with stress as alarms squealed through the halls.

Someone must’ve taken the buzzy wavelet thing off my head because timeghosts flickered everywhere, but with all the jazzed-up nerves humming through my body, I was mostly in the present for once.

Tair was on his way.

“Why are you grinning?” Darren’s voice dripped ice and he hovered over me like he’d been standing there a few minutes.

Maybe I wasn’t paying as good attention to reality as I thought? I smoothed my face before answering. “I’m not.”

“You were.” He tapped into one of the million screens in the white lab room, looking at my vitals or waves or whatever. “Are you going to tell me why, or am I dragging you to the holo room?”

This time, I definitely smirked. “I’m not telling.”

His eyes narrowed, bright green with suspicion. “You have no reason to be smiling.”

And yet I did.

I shrugged as best I could. “Just picturing your death.”

“I’ve heard that one before.” Darren shook his head, writing me off.

I should stop bating him. I didn’t want him to get antsy and call extra security, but at least keeping him talking kept him distracted.

Tair would be here soon.

I tried to focus on helping him, but too many possibilities fluttered, glowing and blue and white and distressingly possible.

Tair slashes Darren with a hooked sword; Tair falls, bleeding; I jump in the way and get caught in the crossfire; both of them grapple for long minutes until a security team rushes in, taking Tair down; me still bound to the table, watching them fight, helpless—

I wasn’t smiling now. The next few minutes really could go either way.