Fan-flipping-tastic.
It was just like Harper to ruin the first perfect night I’d had in the Heights.
Dash leaned a shoulder on the door, pocketing a blade I hadn’t seen him grab. “What are you doing here? Is something wrong? Did your father send you?”
She shook her head, her chestnut braid swinging over her shoulder. She was dressed like a tribal slut. “News travels fast. I heard you were back. Should have figured you wouldn’t leave little miss precious alone.” Her eyes moved past Dash, pinning me with a glare of death. “I thought you would have ditched the baggage.”
“Change of plans,” he responded without batting an eye.
Her big blue eyes raked Dash’s chest, taking in his nearly naked appearance. It was obvious what she had interrupted, but I still wanted to bang her head into the nearest wall. Seeing her look at Dash engulfed me in bitter hot jealousy.
“I can see that,” she spat.
He folded his arms. “Harper, this isn’t a good time.”
“Too freaking bad. As much as I want to kick your ass out of Hurst, my father wants to speak with you at Odd Hill. Put some clothes on. Just you,” she said in disgust to Dash.
Oh yeah. Harper wanted to go a round with me out back. Truth be told, I wanted it too. Something about Cyan’s daughter made me go mental with possessiveness.
Dash’s lips thinned. “Give me five minutes.”
“I won’t give you the time of day, Dash Darhk.” Harper spun on her heels and stomped off. I was happy to see her go, until I realized Dash was leaving.
“What do you think he wants?” I asked.
Dash raked his fingers through his disheveled hair. “Maybe he’s found something out.”
My eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
“There is a network that reports any information gathered inside the Institute. This helps us keep one step ahead of the Institute if they are planning something.”
I slipped on my discarded pants from the floor. “I’m going with you.” If there was information about the workings of the Institute, I wanted to know.
“Charlotte, Cyan won’t talk to me with you there. The network’s secrecy is too important. If it gets out that there is a group working against the Institute, we have no advantage.”
“Are you implying I’m not trustworthy?” The entire world was suspicious of me.
“I know where your loyalties lie, but the rest of the network has only heard rumors about you, the latest being about your stint inside the Institute.”
“Then they at least owe me the opportunity to prove my worth. These are my parents. I know them better than anyone. Wouldn’t I be someone valuable to the network?”
He paused, pressing a hand to the wall. “Are you sure you could betray your parents if it came down to choosing?”
“I’m not sure of anything, except that I can’t sit around and wait for the next time the Institute tries to attack us.”
“I’m assuming if I tell you to stay put, you’ll only end up at Odd Hill anyway.”
I grinned. At least he understood me.
Dash exhaled roughly. “And no doubt trouble will find you. Maybe I should lock you in.”
I shot him a dark look. “That wouldn’t be a good idea.”
“Get dressed,” he growled.
I stood in the center of the room and lifted my arms up. “Already am.”
He shook his head, scooping his damp shirt off the floor. “I’ll do the talking. Got it?”
“Whatever you say, boss.”
Cyan sat at a table in the far corner of the room, the perfect nook for secret discussions. His eyes landed on me and then moved to Dash. Did his lips twitch? It was hard to tell in the dimly lit bar.
“Cyan, I tried to—”
He held up a hand. “No need to explain. Honestly, I expected Charlotte. Girls like her don’t take no for an answer, do you love?”
My lips curved. “Damn straight. I give you my word. Nothing I hear will be repeated.”
Dash sent me a glare. “What happened to me doing the talking?”
Cyan laughed. “You have much to learn about love, Slayer, and what battles are worth conceding. Sit, before the two of you draw unwanted attention. You attract enough by just walking into a room.”
We did?
I glanced around, curious if anyone cared about two Institute runaways, but Cyan was right. Dash and I had drawn more than one pair of eyes. Gunner, at the bar, winked as my gaze passed over him. For it being midnight, Odd Hill was a hopping little joint. Laughter reverberated around the room and glasses clinked together, and as we took a seat, I couldn’t help but notice a reduction in volume.
“Why?” I asked. “What’s so different about us?”
Cyan wrapped his hand around the cold drink in front of him. “Other than your value to the Institute? There are people who can see the future. Your future.”
“Charlotte has the ability of sight,” Dash revealed, surprising me.
“It isn’t something I’ve learned to control, and more than half the time it is unpredictable,” I added to be clear that the ability wasn’t always reliable.
Cyan’s eyes looked at me with curiosity. “You just keep getting more interesting. We have a seer here in Hurst. She has seen pieces of your destiny, and your future is linked to Dash’s, but I think you guys have figured that out.”
I’d never put much stock in destiny. I believed I made my own choices, and even after being given the gift of sight, I still believed nothing in the future was set in stone. Saving Star had been proof that the visions I saw could be altered. If we knew what was coming, then we could change it for the better. I leaned forward, my elbows resting on the table. “What has she seen?”
“There is a battle coming. We don’t know when or why, but it is coming. She can’t see everything, only that you and Dash have the means to win it.”
“Helpful,” I mumbled, sneaking back into my seat.
Dash stiffened beside me. “You didn’t ask me here to talk about prophecies. What has happened?”
Cyan lifted his glass, taking a pull from his drink. “Things have become strained in the Institute after Charlotte managed to escape. It hasn’t quieted down like it usually does. Their efforts to find you have only tripled, and you won’t be able to outrun them for long, not when they have eyes everywhere. Guards have been stationed around the clock at the holding houses, and they won’t let you slip through their fingers… not again, you can count on it.”
Dash’s jaw hardened. “I appreciate the warning. Is there anything else?”
Cyan’s eyes moved from Dash to me. He seemed to be deciding how much he could trust me. “They’ve started the trials on human subjects.”
Dash nodded. “Charlotte had a vision before she left of the Institute using Star as one of those subjects. It killed her.”
“You saved her life,” Cyan said, holding up his glass in salute.
“I did what any friend would do.”
He lifted a brow. “Maybe a hundred years ago, but here in the Heights, everyone is out for themselves. The two of you have something the Institute would kill to get their hands on.”
Dash’s eyes clashed with mine.