Page 38 of Only Hard Problems

She snorted again. She dropped her arms, then turned around in a slow circle, studying the library. “Your lair is very cluttered.”

“Lair? That’s a bit harsh.”

“All villains have lairs.”

“You consider me to be a villain? That stings almost as much as this did.” I gestured at the black hole in my coat.

Vesper rolled her eyes. “And yet you’re still alive.” She frowned and studied my coat a little more closely. “That scorch mark is from a hand cannon. I recognize the burn pattern.”

“Not just any hand cannon.” I gestured over at Silas’s weapon, which was lying on a stack of books on a nearby table, along with his tablet. “Thatcannon.”

Recognition flickered across her face, and her frown deepened. “How did you survive a blast from one of the new Techwave hand cannons? They’re designed to cut right through psionic shields and kill Arrows like you.”

I grinned at her. “Trade secret. Or perhaps I’m just a little tougher, stronger, and smarter than your boy Kyrion.”

She rolled her eyes again. “Kyrion is notmy boy.”

“Ah, but you didn’t hear him waxing poetic about your many virtues before the midnight ball. He’s quite mad for you.”

A smile softened Vesper’s lips, and her eyes sparkled with warmth. She was as mad about Kyrion as he was about her, which meant I wasn’t going to be able to shove my stormsword into the broody bastard’s chest after all. Damn. I had been looking forward to that.

Vesper turned around in a slow circle again, her gaze going from one pile of books and weapons to another. “So much clutter.”

“Is that a problem?”

“No, it just reminds me . . .”

“Of what?”

She grimaced. “My own workshop at Quill Corp. And my apartment. They’re both very cluttered.”

I knew they were. After Vesper and Kyrion had escaped from Corios, I’d gone to Quill Corp and her apartment on Temperate 42 to see if she might have left any clues behind, and the clutter had felt strangely, eerily familiar.

“You should see the mess in my father’s workshop. Perhaps clutter runs in our family,” I drawled.

Vesper jerked, and her eyes locked with mine again. “So you know that I’m your . . . sister.”

The word escaped her lips with a hiss, as though it was a bitter poison she was trying to spit out.

I arched an eyebrow. “I might not be the strongest or most skilled telepath, but I can hear the thoughts of others when I want to. Besides, Kyrion was quite clear in the elevator before the midnight ball. He was very smug and dramatic about it, flicking his fingers, showing me the eye carved into his palm, and whispering the wordsVesper Quill is your sister.Why, he was so bloody smug and dramatic that I wanted to shove my stormsword into his chest. I still do.”

Kyrion had been smug because he’d known—he’d known—how the information would impact me. Kyrion knew that family meant everything to me and that I would do anything to protect my father and my grandmother . . . and my sister too. The rogue Arrow had beencountingon it, and his gamble had paid off, since I’d done exactly what he thought I would.

I’d played right into his hands, something that still irked me.

Oh, Kyrion might not realize all the things I’d done to help him and Vesper escape. How I’d used my telekinesis to knock the Imperium soldiers away so he and Vesper could finally reach each other and trigger their truebond. How I’d let him cut me with his stormsword to hobble me. How I’d deliberately confused and slowed the soldiers’ pursuit to give him and Vesper enough time to reach the docking bay where his ship was located.

No, Kyrion might not have put all those pieces together, but he would have his suspicions about my actions that night. I wondered if he’d shared his suspicions with Vesper. Probably not, given the anger and disgust pinching her face.

“Why do you want to kill Kyrion so badly?” Vesper asked. “Because we escaped from Crownpoint? Because you haven’t found us and dragged us back to Holloway yet?”

“That’s one of many reasons. Kyrion and I despised each other long before you came along. Let’s talk about something more interesting. How did you get here?” I asked, genuinely curious. “Why now?”

She chewed on her lower lip. “I’m not sure. I was tinkering with a few projects when I got an alert about the Techwave attack. I started watching the gossipcasts. Great press conference, by the way. Very reassuring.”

I uncrossed my arms and held my hands out wide. “What can I say? Command looks good on me. Especially being head of the Arrows. Much better than it ever looked on Kyrion.”

She ignored my insults. “Anyway, I watched the gossipcasts for a while. I must have fallen asleep, because I started dreaming about my mindscape. Suddenly, a door appeared, showing me your library. I went over to the door in my mindscape and sort of . . . walked through it. And now here I am, talking to you, whether I want to be or not.” She muttered the last few words.

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