But I shouldn’t. I’d kill my cover and any chance I had at helping the other Reds.

More importantly, I couldn’t. Not after the half-dozen security checks I’d passed to get here. The anti-intrusion panels. The surveillance cameras perched in every corner.

Still, the instinct held. I couldn’t see her struggling without being struck with compassion and the urge to spare her.

“No.” Charcoal-streaked, eyes and hair wild, she looked fierce instead of broken. Like a fighter in war paint. “Get out.”

I’d taken a step back before I could think. Quanta was half my size, and frail—at least five kilos underweight. The girl had more dark hair and eyelashes than muscles.

But by the set of her jaw and the fire in that gaze…

She’d take me on with everything she had.

It was…

Admirable? A testament to her spirit? I couldn’t put it into words, but I braced myself in case she charged.

Part of me wanted her to try. I needed to whisper in her ear or slip her a message, but the contact would be noticed. There was no way to share secrets in a bug house.

“Is there a problem with Mr. Orpheus?” Doctor Nagi’s hand shifted to his hip, ready to fire off a tranquilizer.

Quanta’s gaze still flamed as she turned to Doctor Nagi. “I don’t want him near me.”

“Why?” The weight of the question numbed the air.

I stilled while she held my fate in her hands.

“He…” Quanta’s fists bunched at her sides and her gaze flicked back and forth, as if she were looking for inspiration. Or answers. I could use a few of those myself.

I tried to catch her eye, willing her to understand. I’m not here to hurt you.

Finally, she focused on me. Her wide, gray eyes softened, pleading for something.

That look hit like a barb to my chest. I couldn’t read what she wanted, but I’d give it to her if it were in my power.

My good intentions clearly weren’t enough. Her fleeting expression of vulnerability twisted into a scowl. She turned to Doctor Nagi. “He’s the most annoying, idiotic person you’ve ever put in front of me.”

Idiotic? My jaw dropped open.

I’d been insulted up and down the spectrum—spoiled, arrogant, cocky, cold, and difficult, and a few less flattering names—but no one had ever taken a shot at my intelligence before.

“Is he?” The corner of Doctor Nagi’s mouth quirked in the worst kind of smile. He was enjoying this back and forth.

Quanta wrinkled her nose at him. It was the tiniest motion, but it cemented my read on her.