Chapter 396 Ava: Cell Towers

I don't trust her, Selene says, coming out from me to stare suspiciously at the door Ivy closes behind her.

The walk back feels longer, my boots crunching through snow as my mind churns. Something about Ivy's story nags at me, like a splinter under my skin. It leaves me uneasy and uncomfortable, but I can't pinpoint why.

"Selene, could you ask around about the attack?"

She trots beside me, staring at me with her sharp blue eyes. Why do you want to know about that?

"I can't put my finger on it. It's just strange. Maybe I'm being paranoid." Lord knows I've got serious issues with the woman. Paranoia feels far too natural around her. Of course, she encourages it with her strange behavior and passive-aggressive nature, but… I don't know.

There's something about this. I just know it.

You think she's lying?

"No, no. Not that."

She was too nice?

"No." Frustrated by my own inability to understand what's bothering me, I kick at the snow compacted to the side of the trail. "It's probably nothing. I'm just—"

Her presence felt strange to me, too, Grimoire offers, sounding thoughtful. I paid little attention, but it was strange. I don't know why, either.

Maybe that was it. "Think she was affected by some taint she passed by?"

It could be. We haven't had much experience with the early stages of exposure. We can keep an eye on her.

if

different every time. It can manifest

that could possibly be it. It doesn't seem right, but what

snowbank. I hop and skip a few steps to regain my balance. "A little

prick forward. Twenty? Thirty? And yet we've only found five of our

My steps slow.

her patrols, Grimoire says. The corruption near Wolf's Landing has been contained. The

out further? The ones who hunt, or

What if they're like Ivy—something's off but we can't quite place what? If Ava

tension. I wave them back, not wanting to alarm anyone unnecessarily. "Grimoire, is there a way to scan everyone? To see if others

do isn't that in depth. I'm not sure if I can search for

spent is far greater, and the control is much tighter, to search for that specific resonance. In order

need to

Yes.

* * *

in the debriefing tent again, with Kellan. Ryder and Vester are gone on whatever missions they've

a quick kiss to Lucas's cheek, catching the tail end of their

about

tightens.

"Since when?"

carries a weight that makes my earlier worries about

me. The video

news anchor's face fills the screen, her usual professional demeanor cracking around the edges

OF EMERGENCY" in bold red letters. The president is dead. Not just dead—assassinated. The words blur together as the anchor continues her report, but

attack on the White House... Vice President Matthew Collins has assumed

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