Marcus breathed deeply in the dark, Isi by his side. Her steady breathing was his only comfort.

  They waited in the hall, eyes on the elevator at the top floor of the tower. Her hand drifted to his wing jacket, straightening one of the straps. He rolled his eyes at her before turning his attention back to the door.

  Marcus figured the roof would be the rendezvous. It gave Teorin an escape route, made him harder to follow if things got dangerous.

  The elevator dinged. Footsteps. A familiar silhouette. Funny how that worked after all this time.

  They watched as Teorin passed through the burst door, heading for the roof. Isi let out a slow breath. “The professor isn’t with him. Looks like you might not have to face your brother after all.”

  Marcus frowned. Wait, where did she go?

  “She wouldn’t have just left,” Marcus muttered. “Not now.” If she was still in the building, what was she doing? And why wasn’t she with Teorin?

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Isi shook her head. “I have someone watching the entrance. Monitoring for the Ribeiros. She’s still here.”

  Marcus exhaled. “We wait, then. Take Dr. Tanel, disappear into the night.” He winced. “Sasha goes after Teorin and the pages.”

  Isi shifted beside him, then warmth hit as she nestled into his side. “You can stay,” Isi said quietly. “I’ll take the girl. Please don’t interfere unless you have to, but… I know you hate this. I’m not going to rip you apart, Marcus. Stay. Watch out for him. Until Sasha leaves.”

  Marcus exhaled. He shouldn’t. He should go. But…

  He glanced toward the burst door.

  “Help me stun Dr. Tanel. We wrap things up. Then you let Sasha off her leash. I’ll handle it. You stay, just hidden.”

  “Fine.”

  Isi hummed in confirmation.

  “And… thanks.”

  She chuckled. “Not sure ‘thanks’ is the right word here, but I appreciate the sentiment.” She nestled in further, his arm now wrapped around her. “I appreciate you.”

  That.

  That was why he couldn’t walk away from all this. From her. This easiness with her. Knowing he mattered, even with his life about to go to hell.

  So, just for a moment, he let himself be. Let himself feel Isi there. Let himself ignore the storm coming. Just breathe.

  Isi chuckled, low and warm. “Wow. You just significantly lowered your heart rate. Impressive.”

  Then she pulled away. “I have to go. Better to have two vantage points, right? But try not to stress yourself to death while waiting, no?”

  Marcus snorted. “No promises.”