Page 82 of Blue Embers
Now everyone was on edge. Persephone began scanning the room as well, searching for cameras while Everly’s gaze went toward the deck and the open balcony doors.
“Everyone calm down,” the stranger said with a bit of a chuckle. “Now, back to the boring stuff. To answer Draven’s question, yes, I went inside the facility. And let me tell you, Phyre Glass isn’t the only thing they’re cooking up.”
“Care to elaborate?” I asked.
“I mean they’ve got people hooked up to weird equipment and charts and...well you’ll just have to look at the files I sent over. Some of it really isn’t pretty and I don’t think they’re just doing it for fun.”
“Could explain the Pike woman,” Lukan said softly as if for Draven only.
“Pike woman?” the stranger asked, his voice turning into something deeper and more engaged.
“We’re not a hundred percent sure what she is,” I said. “But she’s not human. Our enemies were using her as a vessel to house the consciousness of another.”
“Tall? Two different colored eyes?”
“No,” Persephone said. “Her eyes are black.”
“Right,” the stranger sighed.
I glanced at Draven, who was one of the only ones to see the woman after Haera abandoned her. He narrowed his eyes as if reluctant to speak.
“Haera left her body,” he finally said. “The vessel now has two different colored eyes. One yellow, one silver.”
The room stilled again.
“I can’t believe you found her,” the stranger cut me off, his tone even heavier now.
Draven tilted his head “You know her.”
There was another stretch of silence before the man on the other end of the call spoke again.
“Yeah, I know her,” he said. “She’s my sister.”
35
Killian
. . .
The tension in the room felt like a string on the verge of snapping. Draven’s eyes were fixed on the phone, unblinking. He was taking long, controlled breaths, which was a sure sign he was fighting a more severe reaction to the stranger’s statement.
“Wasn’t expecting that, huh?” the stranger continued. “I guess everyone’s full of surprises.”
“What’s your name?” I asked, certain I wouldn’t get an answer.
“Aethyn,” the man said, making me raise my brows with surprise. “But don’t bother looking me up, my friend. I walked right through your security. What makes you think I didn’t erase my entire identity?” He let out a small chuckle. “Alright, I probably would have, but I’m not in any records. Never have been.”
“Everyone has a trail, digital or not,” I said.
“Not me. And not my sister. Trust me. You won’t find us. The only way you’re gonna get to know me is if I tell you and I’m kind of secretive. That and I love games.”
“So? Whatwillyou tell us?”
“Nah, I want something first.”
“And what’s that?”
“My sister. I thought that would be obvious.”
