Page 90 of Lock

“You good?” she asked.

“No,” I said. “But I’ll live.”

She nodded. “Come on.”

On our way to Ember’s suite, I felt it before I saw him.

Lock was walking with Wraith, mid-conversation, his posture tight and controlled. He didn’t slow when he saw us. Didn’t stop.

For half a second, his eyes met mine.

I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t nothing.

Something in my chest twisted.

He nodded once at Ember. Said something low to Wraith I couldn’t hear. And they kept moving, their boots echoing down the hall like nothing had happened.

No pause.

No explanation.

I stood there a beat too long.

“That,” Ember said quietly beside me, “is him trying not to make it worse.”

“By pretending I’m not here?” I asked.

“By keeping distance,” she said. “It’s how he stays in control.”

I watched Lock disappear around the corner and felt something settle in me.

I wasn’t going to stay quiet.

I didn’t plan on making a scene, but damn it, I wasn’t going to be moved through this place like cargo either.

If I was leverage, I was going to understand how I was being used.

And if I mattered…

I wasn’t going to let him decide that alone.

I adjusted the cut on my shoulders and followed Ember down the hall, my steps steadier than they’d been when I woke up.

I wasn’t safe.

But I wasn’t helpless either.

And that was new.

12

LOCK

The yard was already awakewhen I stepped outside.

Everyone was gone about their business, but something felt off.

Wraith fell into step beside me without asking. He didn’t look relaxed, which meant there was something happening.