Chapter 26 · Little Brother

"Little brother."

The white-haired woman in the cage says it again.

Not Eli. Not Cross.

Little brother.

I stop breathing.

Rachel's hand clamps down on my arm hard enough to bruise. "Don't."

I don't hear her. All I see is the woman pressed against the bars, her face half-lit by the dying glow stick someone tossed into the corner. Her hair's white. Not gray, not blonde—white, like someone drained all the color out. Her skin's got that same ashen look the half-turned have, cracks running up her neck that pulse faint red when she moves.

But her eyes.

Green. Sharp. Alive.

"Maya?"

The word comes out broken.

She smiles. It's wrong—her teeth are too sharp, her lips cracked and bleeding—but it's hers. "Took you long enough."

"Eli." Rachel's yanking me back now, voice low and urgent. "We need to move. Now."

"That's my sister."

"That's a kill order with my signature on it."

I round on her. "What?"

Rachel's face is locked down tight, but her hand's shaking on my arm. "Three weeks ago. Council sent the file. Lightborn corruption, stage four, extreme threat. I was supposed to confirm termination."

"You knew.