Page 81 of Dead Wrong

“There’s still something here,” I said, finding it harder and harder to catch my breath this close to him. “I know things ended between us, and I still can’t remember how or why. But something remains. You can’t deny it. It’s why you kissed me before, isn’t it?”

Bastien nodded, his throat bobbing.

“Did you want to know? How things ended, I mean. I could tell you.”

“I’m scared to find out,” I admitted. “The more I discover about the life I led before you brought me back, the more I wish I could forget it all. I wasn’t a good person, Bast. And if things ended the way I assume they did, then I don’t need you to tell me. I know I fucked it up along the way.”

Bastien didn’t deny the claim. But when he did speak, he said, “You’re not a bad person, Tobias. I think sometimes you just need a little reminder.”

He reached for me, cupping the side of my face in his warm hand as he leaned in, pressing the lightest of kisses to my lips.

When he pulled away, he took with him all of the fear I’d been hoarding, allowing me to exhale for the first time in what felt like forever.

* * *

Bastien nodded off on my shoulder at some point, the tree overhead shielding us from the late morning sun. Azrael came back eventually, explaining the game plan.

“I’ll take the refugees with me, and Kaine will escort you and Bastien to the train station. You two can’t turn invisible, so there’s a different route you’ll need to take to the new ops site.”

“We’re splitting up?” I questioned, suddenly anxious at the thought of being separated from Azrael.

“Just for a little while,” he said, a small smile playing across his lips. “Bastien needs to rest. You do, too. It looks like you’re about to fall over.”

He was right. I was exhausted. My shoulder—not the one Bastien was snoring softly against—was still caked in dried blood, and it ached with each beat of my pulse. Bastien’s wound may have been healed over, but he was still worse for wear. Dark circles swelled under his eyes, and his wrists were covered in ligature burns from the restraints.

“Will Lynette be there?” I asked, a bit of shame burning in my cheeks that I hadn’t asked about her sooner.

“That’s the plan,” Azrael replied. “We’ve had sporadic communication with her since the raid, but she’s safe for now.”

For now. The words hung over me like a thunderhead.

“We need to get moving,” Azrael continued. “Word will have spread about what happened at the Chateau. There will be Adored forces crawling all over this place soon enough.”

I nodded, giving Bastien a gentle shake. He bolted upright, then swore under his breath, pressing the heel of his hand against his temple.

“Your transportation is already waiting,” Azrael told us. “You two stay safe, and I’ll see you both at the site.”

“Wha’s going on?” Bastien asked sleepily, blinking in rapid succession.

“Come on,” I told him, rising to my feet and offering a hand to help him up. “Our chariot awaits.”

Azrael gave a small wave before heading over to where the other Unseen waited. As they grouped together, listening to Azrael speak in a hushed voice, the group shimmered like a mirage, then disappeared completely from my sight.

“Where are we going?” Bastien asked, taking my hand and hoisting himself up.

“Azrael says that we’re going to a new site for the Rebellion.”

“You two seem chummy,” Bastien said, his brow furrowed. “I take it you know each other?”

I nodded. “Since we were kids. He and his father worked at Chateau Greene.”

“Oh, I guess that makes sense. I’m still not used to hearing folks call him by his first name. Everyone at the Rebellion base was just calling him Rudderkin.”

I stopped, turning to look at Bastien. “What did you say?”

Bastien gave me a confused look. “Rudderkin. That’s who we were just talking to. You know, the leader of the Rebellion.”

Azrael? The leader of the Rebellion? That couldn’t be possible. It started when we were merely children. His surname was Fritz, not Rudderkin. Bastien must be mistaken.

---