Stealth didn’t press the question, standing calmly with her hands at her sides, still gripping the dagger. “Are you going to shoot me, Agent Cobalt?”

“Not unless I have to.”

Her jaw tightened. “If you don’t,” she warned, “I’m only going to come after you again. You know that, right? We were colleagues at one point, and I respected you, Cobalt. I still do, so consider this your only warning. Next time, there will be no words.”

I nodded tiredly. “I know.” This was a courtesy call. A formality between two agents who had fought on the same team. Once I left the room, that civility ended. The next time I saw Stealth, one of us had to die.

The Viper’s lips thinned and, for the first time, a hint of anger crossed her cool face. “Why did you do it, Cobalt?” she asked in a harsh whisper. “You had just succeeded Blackscale. You were on your way up. There were even rumors that the Chief Basilisk wanted to make you his second. Why did you throw all that away?”

“You wouldn’t understand,” I told her, and she wouldn’t. The Vipers were trained for ruthlessness, to take lives without question. I knew Stealth; if Talon told her to slit the throat of a seven-year-old human girl, she wouldn’t even blink. “And it doesn’t matter now, does it?”

Stealth shook her head. “No,” she whispered, and I heard the resolve in her voice, the knowledge that when we did meet again, she was going to kill me. “I guess it doesn’t.”

I swallowed hard and gestured at her with the gun. “The knife,” I ordered, my voice firm. “Toss it to me, now.” This might be a courtesy call, but there was no way I was letting an armed assassin follow me out of the room. I might not make it to the parking lot.

Without argument, Stealth flipped the blade in her hand and arced it toward me over the bed. It hit the edge of the mattress right in front of me, hilt up, and I grabbed the blade without taking my eyes from her.

“You’ll never escape us.” The Viper’s voice was quiet, matter-of-fact. “Even if you kill me, someone else will take my place. Talon will never let you go, and sooner or later, we’re going to catch up. You’re living on borrowed time, Cobalt.”

Ice settled in my gut, but I sheathed the knife at my belt and gave her a half smile. “You don’t have to parrot the monologue at me, Stealth,” I said. “I was part of Talon just as long as you. You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.”

“Go, then.” The Viper eased a few steps aside, away from the door. “Run, traitor. I won’t be far behind.”