Page 94 of Elas

“Obviously!” Elas bellows, thumping his palm against the table as I bite the inside of my cheek. I’m failing miserably in my attempt not to laugh along with him.

Reyes sighs, his eyes rolled up into his skull. “Cameron talked him out of doing anything about it because I had information they needed. Ronandidtie me up to a chair—” Another howling round of laughter leaves Elas as my lips twitch. “—but once they figured out I wasn’t a threat,they let me go. If I had realized Cameron was there voluntarily, I would never have come out of here. I would’ve just waited for them to leave.”

Elas has calmed down enough to handle a serious conversation, though he still appears extraordinarily amused. “Speaking of leaving… do you know where they went?”

Reyes shifts uncomfortably, uncertain if he should share this new information with us. It’s sweet that he’s trying to protect them, even after their rocky start. “Ronan and Elas are best friends,” I say. “They’ve known each other forever.”

“Best friends,” Elas snorts. “Monsters don’t have best friends.”

“No?” I challenge, turning to him with a hiked brow. “Whose barracks did you skip to anytime you had news to share? Who did you hunt down daily in order to pester? Gossip to about all your juicy little secrets?” Elas grimaces and grunts something I can’t decipher, and I turn back to Reyes with a satisfied smirk.

He glances between me and Elas again before he nods. “They didn’t tell me exactly where they’re going, no. Ronan mentioned searching for a village to the northeast of here… somewhere his platoon raided several years back?”

All signs of levity vanish as Elas sits forward, his unblinking attention focused on Reyes. “He said that? What else did he say?”

“Not much, aside from the fact that it was well hidden. Deep in the woods somewhere.” Reyes shrugs. “He didn’t exactly trust me.”

“Wonder why,” Elas snorts, but turns to me with fresh excitement in his eyes. “I know where he’s going. Honestly, I should’ve thought about it sooner. Years ago, Bravis sent us to raid a quiet little village in a dense forest. That attack stood out to us both, because from the beginning it just felt wrong. We’d always known the military was crossing plenty of ethical lines, but we’d never done anything about it until then.”

“What did you do?” I ask carefully, and his eyes dart to the ground.

“We tried to warn some of the people there, but I don’t think any of them actually got away. Commander Bravis wanted to kill them simply because they were living outside our reach. He was arrogant enough that he was convinced they were purposefully refuting his authority by remaining hidden. They had no idea who he was. No fucking idea, but he was too power hungry to see it. The attack was sport to him.”

“I’m sorry,” I murmur, rubbing at his tense biceps, and he offers me a sad smile.

“It’s in the past, August. There’s no point in dwelling on things that already happened.”

“No, but you’re still allowed to grieve them.”

Elas remains deep in thought before giving a resolute dip of his chin. “Well, that answers that, then.” He slaps his thighs and stands, like some grand decision has been made. Reyes and I both stare in confusion, and I stop him with a grip on his wrist. He glances down at me in surprise.

“Something tells me a lot of things just happened in that head of yours, but could you perhaps bring the rest of the class up to speed?” A momentary flicker ofimpatience crosses his face, but he obediently drops back into his chair. He scoots closer and slings a heavy arm over my shoulders.

“That’s where we have to go. That village was one of the most secure places I’ve ever seen. It took us weeks of tracking to find it, and even then, it came down to a stroke of luck. It makes sense he would go there.”

“How far is it from here? We have some fuel, but we have to be mindful of it.”

“There’s some gas here,” Reyes says. “I don’t drive anywhere, but it felt like a waste to let it go bad, so I’ve always routinely added stabilizer. Ronan took a lot of it,” he adds with a scowl that makes me grin, “but there’s quite a bit left in the garage.”

Elas nods, and I notice he’s quickly warming up to Reyes the longer we sit here and talk. I don’t think Elas really has it in him to dislike anyone, unless they’ve done something to deserve it. “It wouldn’t hurt to have extra,” Elas says. “They only sent me with enough to make the trip between Glaston and Ljómur. They intended on me refueling at the base.” He turns to me then, absently pressing his lips to my temple. “It’s another day’s drive from here, three or four hundred miles, and the terrain is rougher the closer you get to the forest. The extra fuel would definitely ease my mind.”

Reyes nods back, and I fight my smile as I burrow my face into Elas’s chest, listening to them talk. Fast friends, even after Reyes pulled a knife on him. “There are lots of supplies we should bring, and the rest will stay tucked away in case we need to come back for more. The stuff in the cellars I haven’t touched in years, but it’s a good distractionwhen people stumble upon it. Makes it look like there isn’t anything here worth stealing.”

“Yeah, that was more science experiment gone wrong than exciting hidden treasure,” I say, and Reyes grins back.

“You gotta remember, those cans are a decade old at this point. We’ll leave them, but anything you want protected can be hidden down here for when we go.”

It hits me then. “We?” I ask, and a bittersweet grin spreads over his face as he glances around the basement apartment.

“All these years, I’ve been hiding down here, watching as the world moves without me. At first, it was just the occasional passerby. Then the military started coming, and their visits are getting more frequent. When the team was here searching for Ronan, they almost found me. One of them kneeled right outside the little window over there, and if I had been closer, they would’ve seen me. It’s too dangerous to be here alone anymore, and it’s time I stopped standing still.” He gives another quick one-shouldered shrug. “I’m coming with you guys.”

Elas

Ameretwohourslater, we stand beside the loaded SUV. Everything has been worked in like a puzzle, and there isn’t an inch of wasted space. Spare fuel takes up the entire trunk, with a corner dedicated to our boxes of files. Dry goods fill the rest of the vehicle. Mostly food, with some extra clothing, blankets, and towels, and a large medical kit that made August’s eyes go wide.

There’s also a box of books that Reyes insisted on bringing, claiming they’re for Cameron. Knowledge is important, and I agreed that any material we can rescue from being lost to time is a good use of our space.

Then I saw the covers.

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