Settling for the obvious, I raised my hand and spread my fingers, showing where my Raven was tattooed in reality. “I’m a Shadow Raven. Lady Eva recruited me when I was seventeen and I’ve been working with her for the past seven years.”

Quanta’s digital shoulders relaxed just a little. “Did she send you?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then why are you here? You’re screwing with my system.” She squinted, the expression twisting her radiant elvish features. “And you’re going to get yourself killed.”

A needle of doubt lodged between my lungs. “You’ve seen me fail?”

“No. I can’t even figure out what you’re trying to do.” Quanta folded her arms. “Whatever it is, you’d better get what you need, and then get out before it ends bloody.”

“Is getting out an option?”

“Doubt it.” Her words rang with dark certainty and a chill ran across my skin.

I’d known this was the most dangerous place I could possibly go. Failure was possible and so was death. Still, I wasn’t giving up. Not yet. “If we’re both locked in, we may as well be allies. I could use your help.”

“Want to know how you die?” Quanta arched a brow, daring me to ask.

“That doesn’t seem helpful.” I almost smiled. She’d probably hooked a few dozen staff members with that question, but I wouldn’t bite.

“Probably isn’t. What then?”

We wouldn’t get anywhere as long as she was so bent on trying to antagonize me. She had a decade of experience dealing with prying, underhanded research assistants who lived or died by the information they squeezed out of her. Doing anything that felt like attempted manipulation would only make her think I was like all the others before and she’d never trust me.

That left tipping my cards—letting her control the game. It wasn’t a move I’d use with anyone else, but whatever I did, Quanta would have the upper hand. No reason to pretend otherwise.

“There’s a list of surviving Reds going through the Seligo power structure and Eva wants to know if it came from you. If it did…” I let my voice trail, assuming she’d be able to fill in the blank.

“Never.” The word came out breathy and her voice heated. “I’d never give that to Nagi.”

“Then do you know where it came from?”

Quanta blinked and her gaze darted around my shoulders. Seeing… What?

Finally, she shook her head. “Do you know where it came from?”

“That’s what I want to find out.” I moved to sit on the other side of her log. “I’ve been studying with Eva and trying to help Reds from the inside. If you’d cooperate with m—”

Quanta jumped up and paced away, giving me her back as she kicked through fallen leaves. I stayed where I was, leaving her space. For now.