Renegades (Hotbloods #3)

For a moment, there was nothing but white noise.

“Your parents are safe, Riley. For now,” Orion spoke, at last. “I am a man of my word, and I will not touch a hair on their heads so long as you continue to send intel.”

My heart sank at his words. I had known Orion would do this. He had a way to squeeze information out of us. He wouldn’t release his hold until he had every morsel of intel he wanted. Or maybe it would never be enough, and we’d be forced to work for him until we died—or until he did.

“I expect more information in a month’s time,” Orion continued. “Now, you may tell me the information you already have,” he prompted, followed by a beep. He was recording the conversation.

Sighing, Navan relayed the intel we had received from Yorrek regarding the way the elixir was made, and most of the ingredients required. I noticed that he left one or two out, but I didn’t know if it was deliberate or not. He also left out the part about the notebook, and the device that Brisha had, which sped up the alchemy and synthesis processes. I was glad of that, knowing what the rebels would do with that kind of information. Then again, there were no assurances that Pandora didn’t already know about that machine. If she had already told Orion about it, and they got the elixir to work, then the entire universe was in trouble.

“Interesting,” Orion mused. “You may deliver your next batch of intel to Pandora, who will ensure I receive it. Do not take risks, and do not betray me. You know the consequences if you do,” he warned. “Until tomorrow, my warrior queen,” he added softly, just for Pandora, and I cringed.

“Until tomorrow, my supernova,” Pandora whispered in response, her eyes twinkling in a way I never thought I’d see. With that, he was gone, the line going dead.

“Cute nicknames,” I muttered.

She whirled around, casting me a withering look. “You might be daring now, but you cannot begin to understand the bond that binds true lovers together. This is a falsehood,” she said, gesturing between Navan and me. “It is a thing of fantasy that can never be. Your worlds are on opposite sides of the universe; you aren’t meant to be together. I doubt you could even begin to know what true love is,” she spat, her words somehow piercing my heart.

Navan squeezed my waist, as if to say, Don’t listen, she’s wrong, and I slowly relaxed.

Pandora’s gaze turned ice cold. “Going forward, remember that I will be watching you. If you decide to do anything foolish—perhaps you’ll feel bold one morning and think about telling the queen about my true allegiance—I will inform Orion, and he will see to it that your nearest and dearest die the most painful deaths imaginable.” She grinned, and whatever respect I had once had for her vaporized. “Now, run along to bed. The queen has some exciting news in the pipeline for you, and you will need your strength when you hear it. Believe me, it is simply to die for.”

With her soft laughter dying on the breeze, she disappeared from the tumbledown garden, leaving us with the looming shadow of whatever lay ahead.





Chapter Seventeen





Feeling despondent, we returned to our apartment to find Angie, Lauren, and Bashrik sitting in the hallway outside. They looked up as the elevator doors pinged open, immediately getting to their feet. They were still wearing the clothes from the party and looked surprised to see us in black military fatigues, with my gown draped over my arm.

“Where have you been?” Lauren asked, her tone concerned.

I shared a guilty look with Navan. “With everyone distracted by the party, we took the opportunity to go down to the control room, to see if we could get the intel to Orion,” I explained, feeling bad about having kept them out of the loop.

“Let’s head inside, and we can fill you guys in on the rest,” Navan said, unlocking the door to the apartment.

As my friends made their way to the lounge area, I noticed that Bashrik sat as far away from Angie as possible, their eyes refusing to meet under any circumstance. The sight made me smirk. I knew there was still some tension lingering between the pair of them. Now, if only they’d just look up and confront it.

“So, that was almost a colossal disaster,” Angie remarked, readjusting the neckline of her dress, shifting uncomfortably beneath the tight fabric.

I gave a small smile. “Almost, but not quite. We got the Elysium into Yorrek, and nobody is any the wiser, right?” I asked, understanding the stern look in her eyes. Navan and I hadn’t been there to check that the serum had worked on Yorrek, since Orion had taken precedence. Even so, the three of them were capable of handling a single unruly alchemist without Navan and me.

“He was out cold in the hedges when I left him, but that doesn’t always mean it worked. Did you see him again after we left?” Navan pressed.

Bashrik nodded, clearing his throat. “He reappeared a few minutes after you’d gone, but he was pretty disoriented. I’d say the Elysium worked, though it’s hard to tell. He didn’t go around blabbing to anyone, at least,” he replied with a shrug.

Lauren raised a polite hand. “After the debacle with the guards and the queen, and you two leaving, Yorrek ended up wandering out of the bushes toward Brisha’s table. I stayed close, in case he decided to spill any beans, but all I overheard was her asking if he was feeling well, as he seemed a little woozy. He just muttered something about needing to head home,” she explained, a grim expression on her face. “He left shortly after that.”

“So, that’s a good thing, then? His memory got wiped, and he went home. No harm, no foul,” I said, relieved.

Lauren shook her head. “The only problem is, I’d say he looked more perplexed than disoriented, as if he was trying to figure out what was wrong with him. It was like he was trying to find the missing piece of a puzzle, but he couldn’t remember where he left it. Being an alchemist, I wouldn’t be surprised if he sensed something unusual had happened. We just need to hope he doesn’t figure out what.” She sighed anxiously.

“Can Elysium be traced in the blood?” I asked, turning to Bashrik and Navan.

They looked at each other uncertainly. “It depends how quickly a sample is taken. Usually, no, unless the person is very quick. It disintegrates in the bloodstream within a quarter of an hour, give or take,” Navan replied. I prayed Yorrek hadn’t somehow managed to take a sample of blood from himself. Sure, he was strange, but I doubted he’d have brought an extraction kit with him. If he had, and found the Elysium in his system, we’d be in a lot of trouble.

“But you’d say the Elysium worked?” I repeated, looking to the others. I just wanted confirmation; otherwise, I knew I’d never sleep again, with the worry that we were going to get found out.