The Girl Who Dared to Stand (The Girl Who Dared #2)(11)

I was, but that was only because I was trying to focus on what I could handle right then and there. To stop would be to invite the bad thoughts in. And they would be there as soon as I ran out of things to do.

Luckily, though, there was a lot to do, so I had a while before I was left alone with the memories of what I had seen.

“I’m not,” I admitted, knowing that it was true. “But I’m doing everything I can to try to make up for what I did. And that helps.”

Grey pulled away, but his hands remained on my shoulders, holding me in place while he withdrew, until he was far enough away to look me in the eyes. I met his warm brown eyes, my stomach twisting and turning nervously.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” he said gently.

“Yes, I did,” I said automatically. He opened his mouth to object, but I shook my head, cutting him off before he could even begin, my words pouring out before I could stop them. “Maybe I didn’t know about the trace element or whatever Devon put on his lash ends, but I knew that going after Zoe carried risks, and I did it anyway. I thought I was clever enough to keep anything from happening, and my arrogance cost Maddox, Quess, and Tian a member of their family. And you a member of your family. I have to own up to that… and I have to do everything I can to keep everyone safe.”

Grey stared at me, and then smiled. “You’re family, too.”

I made a face at him, and he cringed. “I didn’t mean it like that… It’s just... Roark and Cali both liked you—they thought highly of you! And we care about you… I care about you. It’s not your fault what happened with Roark, and I’m not blaming you at all. Devon Alexander chose to kill him. He could’ve tried to arrest us or anything else, but he greeted us with violence, and that makes this his fault. So… go easy on yourself, okay?”

I nodded, unable to formulate a positive response that wouldn’t scream “I have no intention of doing that” to his face, and looked over at Quess. He was standing, his pad cradled between his hands, and I took that as our cue to leave.

Sliding into the vent, I began to retrace my path back, moving more quickly now that I was unencumbered by the bag I had been pushing before. It took a little bit of getting used to, but I was now comfortable with how I had to move in the vent.

I slid back around the corner and down the shaft, taking a moment to recall how many junctions I had passed on my way up earlier. It came back to me quickly, and I moved down to the third one and took a right, following it.

I heard Grey and Quess grunt as the tunnel tightened slightly, and slowed so they could keep up.

“We’re almost there, guys,” I called. I rounded the final turn and was rewarded with a clear view of the office through the still-open panel. As I dragged myself forward, my arms and legs beginning to ache with the unfamiliar, repetitive movement, I saw beams of light coming together to start to form the ghostly outline of Scipio. I wasn’t surprised—we weren’t exactly stealthy, with all the rattling the walls were making as we moved.

I pushed out, and the outline—now starting to fill in—took a few steps back to avoid making contact with me. “You came back,” he said, sounding both delighted and relieved.

I was surprised. I hadn’t told him that I wasn’t coming back, so his reaction was a bit confusing.

Until I remembered that he’d been alone for almost three hundred years.

“Liana! Who’s that?!” Grey shouted, and I turned to see him pulling himself out of the vent. I stepped to one side to give him room, and had a chance to see his eyes grow wide as he took in Scipio.

“Oh, you’ve brought your—”

Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by Grey’s body flying through Scipio’s now solid-looking form … and right into the shelf behind him.

“Grey!” I cried, as a few books and a painting dislodged from the wall at the force of the hit. I rushed over to him, moving around Scipio, only to find him climbing back to his feet, his hand on his shoulder. I knew I should’ve given them some sort of warning in the vents, but the more I’d thought about how to present it, the more and more insane it had sounded in my head. “Are you okay?”

He didn’t say anything as he stared at the glowing figure. “What…”

Scipio made an act of brushing off his lapels, his blue eyes filled with disdain. “I was going to say that you’ve brought your friends, but I have to say, if that one is your friend, then I have some deep concerns about who you are as an individual.”

“You’re a hologram,” Quess said, and I stepped around Scipio’s glowing form to see him standing in front of the vent, his eyes wide and moving up and down the image. “But you’re… unrefined. Older. Liana, what is this?”

I nodded, my heartbeat increasing. Quess had said “older,” confirming some of what this version of Scipio had said. I remembered what Scipio had said about not being in contact with the Core, and Quess was the only person I knew who had any experience with the Core. If there was a way, he could find it, I was certain.

“Yes. He says that he is Scipio, but when I—”

“Did you just say ‘Scipio?’” Quess asked, alarm radiating out of his voice.

“Scipio’s here?” Grey said in alarm, taking a step back and hitting the shelf behind him. “He’ll call the Knights and tell them where we are!”