Page 52 of Of Daggers and Deceit

He glanced around us, checking again for observers, though we both knew there was none. He was clearly unable to step away from his role as a guard. Gratefully, he never allowed me to forget it either, something my body didn’t want to understand.

“Not here. In there.” He pointed towards one of the tube carts. The transport system itself was hop off and hop on to enable the Outer Ring residents to jump on for a few minutes at a time to get to their destination, increasing their productivity. The sight of it made me bitter.

Sly ducked into the dark cart and grabbed my hand to guide me. His rough hands gently caressed my skin, and terrible thoughts of all the other ways these hands could be touching me bloomed in my mind.

He guided me down to a seat, the leather cushion squeaking when he took his seat beside me. The air was stuffy and smelly, like sweat clung to every surface and had penetrated the interiors of the cart.

I waited patiently until he sighed, resigned.

“I am half-Omega and half-Gifted. My ability is that I can become invisible at will. I found out the day I turned twenty. I’d presented late as an Omega, and then my skin began to become transparent at night. I had to take a whole two weeks off work to try and get it under control. It took me even longer to master.”

“You would be sent to the Outer Ring if he found out.” I was blunt, but I was honest. He would lose his position and be cast to the Outer Ring to either work beneath the Benefactors or in our defence.

“Yes, and I don’t want to live in the Outer Ring.” His voice was firm and matter of fact. I turned towards the heat of his body, irritated by his disregard for where I’d grown up.

“There is freedom beyond the hedge, joy to be found in community.”

“Maybe, but I have a purpose now within the Inner Ring.”

“And what is your purpose?” I asked curiously as I lazily fumbled around with the few rings on my fingers.

“To help take care of you, Riley.”

I scoffed. I could have cringed, even moreso when I waited for him to tell me he wasn’t serious. But the silence seemed to stretch on. The sandy dunes on the opposite side of the darkened carriage snagged my attention, warning me that time was running out.

“How noble of you, Sly. Do I look like I need taking care of?”

Distance was needed between us. No matter how much I thought I wanted someone to hold me, I knew, inherently, that I would push it away.

He pulled my fumbling hand over to rest on his knees, holding it within his own, his thumb rubbing soothing motions over my skin. It was a small, strange comfort I hadn’t been given much of in my life. “You are clearly independent, Riley, but I quite enjoy spending time with you. I haven’t experienced that joy in a very long time.”

I closed my eyes at his omission and focused on the soothing back and forth of his skin touching my own as roars echoed from the expanse. His words served as a reminder that very few of us in the Haven were untouched by loss and heartache. Sometimes, the only thing keeping us moving forward was focusing on a reason, no matter how singular or small.

“I want to help you,” he reassured me, and I breathed in his confidence, allowing it to bolster me. I’d never truly had anybody, too mistrustful to allow anyone in.

But maybe, for once, I could try.

“Fine.” The words were gritted out, but they were an approval for him to carry on as he wished. I didn’t need him to protect me at all, but maybe he did. I turned back to stare towards him in the darkness. “I suppose it’s my turn to share why I’ve come out here tonight,” I said as my mind began to transform my plan. “But first, I want to know whether you could make me invisible alongside you. Your skill may come in handy.”

Yes, I would try to allow someone in, but at the very least, I would ensure I benefitted from it.

Brilliant white teeth gleamed back at me in the dark.

RAYA

My heart thundered loudly, my nerves like a wrecking ball inside me as I crouched low on the western point of the expanse, my eyes locked onto the soon-to-be entry point in our shield.

Hayden and I were partnered tonight, with a change in strategy to continue the defence’s goal of protecting and blocking another Omega abduction for the night through the element of surprise. His serpentine tongue flicked in and out nervously, impatient for the thinning to begin as I fought and failed to settle my own nerves.

Tonight, Bohdi had positioned us further back from the barrier, wanting to avoid the shit show of last week, when everyone in the team was wiped out by the infiltrating male fittingly named Silver. Even his name rolled off the tongue as fluidly as he moved.

I was eager to find out what he truly was: Shifter or Gifted.

Beside me, Hayden shifted fully into his serpentine form, his head swaying to and fro, causing a nervous shudder to run up my spine in response.

I had to remind myself over and over that it was okay. He wouldn’t strike. Though the adjustment to shifted forms was slow for me, so I avoided looking over at him when I felt him bunker down in the sand, covering himself with it.

On the other side of the field, I watched in the distance as Apple mimicked his movements. Good. The first team was in position.

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