“Ridley, she doesn’t know the truth. The Cataclysm, the magic out in the wastelands … She’s as deluded as I was before I—”
“Fine. Whatever. I guess this could all be another elaborate ruse to get me to trust you and I’m not falling for that again. So you’re on your own now. And I’m taking this,” she added, crouching and lifting the gun. It was heavier than she’d expected. She wasn’t sure how to use it, but since her magic wouldn’t be much help getting her out of here, she hoped the oversized firearm at least made her look threatening.
Archer groaned. “Give me that before you hurt yourself.”
“Wow. No wonder Lilah gets so pissed off at you. What makes you think I don’t know how to use this?”
“Do you?”
She glared at him. “Do you?”
The lock of the door they’d been aiming for clicked. They both swung their heads toward it. Ridley had about half a moment to be furious with Archer because of all the time he’d wasted arguing with Lilah. Then the door flew open and two men barreled out.
Archer grabbed the shotgun from Ridley and swung it up to point at the newcomers. Apparently he did know what he was doing, and apparently he looked almost as badass as Lilah while doing it. Ridley found this immensely annoying, though she was relieved to see the men stop in their tracks at the sight of the firearm. “You probably don’t want to come any closer,” Archer told them.
The older one’s expression darkened. “Gotta be kidding me. Jude was right about you.”
Archer grinned. “Yep. You should have listened to him. Too late now.” He motioned sideways with the gun. “You know those rooms you guys like to lock people in? That’s where you’re going. Keep your hands up and don’t make any sudden moves. I might accidentally shoot you.”
15
Ridley and Archer descended Aura Tower in one of the lesser used elevators, then exited the building through a back entrance Ridley knew nothing about but Archer seemed comfortably familiar with. She pulled her hood over her head and wrapped her arms around herself as she looked up and around. Dark clouds gathered ominously above the glittering skyscrapers, and in the grayish light it was once again impossible to tell the time of day. The nausea was slowly subsiding, but Ridley’s heart still pattered out an anxious rhythm. She felt dangerously exposed in human form. She needed to find somewhere to hide until the arxium had worked its way through her system.
“This way,” Archer said, reaching for her arm as he gestured to the right. “There’s—”
“No.” Ridley stepped out of his reach, then began walking in the opposite direction, hugging herself a little tighter. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Ridley—”
“Seriously, Archer, can you blame me for not trusting you?” She tossed the words over her shoulder as Archer hurried after her. “I mean, sure, you just freed me from some weird residential interrogation center, but how do I know you won’t be crawling back there tomorrow to tell them it was all … I don’t know. Part of your plan to get close to me again so you can find out where everyone’s living now after the attack on the reserve.”
“That would make no sense,” Archer said as he caught up to her, “since I already know where everyone went. Well, I mean, I know roughly where the new location is, based on what Nathan told us. And no, I didn’t tell my father. Also no: I won’t ever be crawling back to the Shadow Society. As you accurately pointed out, I can’t lie my way out of things anymore. Look, Ridley, this—can you just stop?” He grabbed her arm and pulled her around, letting go as soon as she faced him. “Please just come with me. We need to get somewhere safe and then we can argue about this all you want.”
“I’ll find somewhere safe on my own,” Ridley retorted, pointing her gaze over his shoulder. “Without you.”
He sighed. “Ridley, please. You have no amulets, and you can’t currently shift into elemental form. You probably won’t make it a block before a drone detects you. I at least still have mine on me, even if one of them isn’t under my skin anymore.”
Ridley lowered her arms, then tightened them around herself again. The nausea was lessening, but she was beginning to feel dizzy. “No,” she said, with not nearly as much force as she would have liked.
“Plus you’re shaking. When last did you eat?”
“I’m not shaking,” she lied. “And stop acting like you care.”
“Oh, come on.” Archer threw his arms up in a frustrated gesture. “I know I kept things from you. I know. And the—the Cataclysm—your mom—”
“I don’t want to talk about that.” Ridley turned her back to him again, the pain of the reopened wound slicing through her once more. She stepped off the sidewalk, glancing briefly both ways down the street. Her brain registered belatedly that numerous vehicles were moving toward her. Stop, she told herself, but the street was tilting, and her body was reeling, and—
“Jeez, Ridley!” Archer tugged her back onto the sidewalk.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, blinking a few times. The dizziness wasn’t that bad. She’d just turned around a little too quickly, that was all.
“I know I lied about so many things,” Archer said again, a little quieter now. “But you can’t possibly believe I don’t care about you.”
Ridley’s hands clenched into fists. Her jaw tightened. She looked up, finally meeting Archer’s gaze. “Do you remember arguing with me? In Christa’s bunker, when we were locked up together. The first time we ever spoke about my magic. Do you remember defending the way your family responded after the Cataclysm? You told me that we needed protection, that our resources had to go into building the wall and adding more panels over the city. And all the while you knew it was never an accident! That you had actually played a role in the whole damn thing! And now you want me to believe the things you tell me? I’m sorry, but no. I can’t.”
Archer’s dark eyes were glistening now, full of pain, but he didn’t look away. “I do remember that,” he said quietly. “And it was …” He shook his head. “For so long, that was the only way I could stand to live with myself. I forced the truth of the Cataclysm into a dark corner in my mind and pretended I had nothing to do with it. Pretended I wasn’t to blame. So I argued with you because that’s what I’ve always done to keep the guilt from devouring me. It wasn’t right—I know it wasn’t right—and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Ridley let out a long breath and closed her eyes. She felt her body swaying. Maybe she was dizzier than she thought after all. “I still think,” she said faintly, “we should go our separate ways now.”
The buzz of a scanner drone reached her ears. She opened her eyes as Archer glanced up. “I’m not going to leave you to pass out on a sidewalk and end up in a police cell.” He put an arm around her, and it felt so familiar, so right, so comforting after the past few horrible days. A sob fought its way up Ridley’s throat. She hated her body for betraying her like this. Didn’t it know that Archer couldn’t be trusted anymore? “It’s heading the other way,” he said as he led Ridley down the street, “but there are always more drones. I think if we stick close together, they’ll detect us as a single person.”