Chapter 10 · Tamer of the Ash Wilds - Chapter 10: Don't Take It In

Lin found Vira two blocks from the pit house, leaning against a sheet-metal wall with her arms crossed and her jaw set like she'd been waiting for him.

She didn't say anything. Just looked at him, then past him to where Crunch padded along at his heels, grey fur catching the dust and the late sun. Her eyes stayed on the cub a beat too long.

"I need your help," Lin said.

Vira's mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. "Yeah. I figured."

He stopped a few feet out. Close enough to talk without shouting, far enough that she didn't have to worry about Crunch getting within arm's reach. The cub sat, tail curled around its paws, watching her with those flat amber eyes that never blinked enough.

"You know what it is," Lin said. Not a question.

Vira pushed off the wall, dust sliding off her jacket. "I know what it smells like."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one you're getting until you tell me why you're still carrying it around." She tilted her head, and the light caught the scar along her jaw, pale and old. "You heard the tape. You know people are looking.