Page 91 of Angel Lost

“If I ignore it, I’m just as guilty as the ones pulling the strings.” I thumb my dagger. “I just don’t know whatitis yet. And I have to.”

Reye chews her lip, eyes darting around, before yanking a pen and paper from her pajama pocket. She sketches something fast, then shoves it into my hands, curling my fingers over the crumpled page.

“You might not like what you find, Aether Lorelei.”

Before I can respond, she’s gone, bare feet slapping against the ground as she disappears toward the dorms. With my damn hoodie.Shit.

I hesitate, my fingers tightening around the paper, balling it. When I’m sure she’s out of sight, I slowly open my fist, smoothing the creases with my thumb.

A map. A map of the facilities.

There really is something to find.

A prickle of unease creeps up my spine. Then I hear it—steady footsteps, the rhythmic beat of a heart. I turn as a familiar figure strides toward me, his brow still marked by my attack. He scowls.

It was a misunderstanding.

I shove down my anxiety and plaster on a sickly smile. His scowl deepens. As we pass, I lean in, reaching up to brush his hair from his forehead, away from the scar. He flinches before regaining composure.

“I am so terribly sorry about that,” I whisper, fluttering my eyelashes. “Please let me know if I can do anything to make up for it. Anything at all.”

His beady little eyes roam up and down me, lingering just a little too long.Right. No robe. Just tight black leggings and a fitted top.For once, I actually miss the stupid Gifted uniform.

He smiles, teeth too white, and leans in. “I’ll keep that in mind, aether,” he says, sauntering off with a sleazy glance over his shoulder.

I wave coyly, wiggling my fingers. The slimeball winks.

Behind my back, I clench my other fist around his access card.Gotcha. Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

The nearest door is only yards away. A quick look won’t hurt, right? I swipe the professor’s card. A mechanical beep, then the door swings open. There’s no intricate modern design this end of the building. It’s all gray steel and functionality. Feels institutional. A hospital or a prison. The floor is hard-wearing vinyl, sweeping up the wall by a few inches on either side.The wall’s a dull beige, with no artwork, and the air stinks of chlorine. None of the doors I try open into anything exciting, and a few don’t open at all, not even to the professor’s badge. I turn Reye’s map this way and that, trying to orient myself. Slowly, the corridors become more elegant, more refined.Am I going the wrong way?

The dull walls give way to mosaics, art scattered across them. The floor shifts to plain black stone. This end of the building still feels like part of the academy, just one that hasn’t woken up yet. But it will soon.

Gotta keep moving.

I halt. This corridor…I know it. This is where I found Reye undergoing her treatment. What a warren of hallways.

A purple flash catches my eye. Tattoos, olive skin.Kai!I scuttle after him, my pulse kicking up. He rounds a corner, and by the time I catch up, he’s slipping into a corrections room.

Same setup as before—a sterile room, a dentist-style chair, and a big glass window to the adjacent viewing area. I slip inside.

An angel in a lab coat punches digits into a hulking machine while Kai leans casually against the wall, chatting with him. Moments later, Kai sits on the vinyl examination couch and straps himself in.

I cringe. I do not want to watch this again. Their voices drift through to me.

“I need a coffee. When you’re done, let yourself out?” the researcher asks, and Kai nods.

The angel yawns, stretches, and hits a button on the wall on his way out of the room. A faint whirring starts, and Kai’s fists bunch, his jaw clenches, and his eyes roll back. I press my hands to the glass, my chest constricting. I won’t stop his treatment. I know better now. But Hecate, watching is torture.

After what feels like forever, Kai fights his straps off and stands on wobbly legs. I charge back into the corridor, through the door, and into histreatment room, without regard for who might see. I wrap an arm under his shoulders.

“What are you doing here?” Kai asks, his tired gaze boring into me.

“I could ask you the same. Do you really need aether this much?”

Kai sighs, pulling back from me, standing on his own feet, arm braced against the wall. “It’s not that simple.”

I wait.

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