Chapter 11 · Dangerous Ally

"Stop lying to me, Tess. Just for once, stop it."

Vivian didn’t just step forward; she lunged. Before I could even blink, her hand slammed against the wall right next to my ear, the sound echoing like a gunshot in the narrow hallway. She pinned me there, her body inches from mine, cutting off every exit. I could feel the heat radiating off her, the scent of ozone and something like expensive vanilla clinging to her skin.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I snapped, though my voice sounded thin even to me. I tried to shrink back, but the wall was cold against my spine and Vivian was a living wall of muscle and stubbornness.

"Liar," she whispered. Her eyes weren't the friendly, sparkling gold they usually were. They were hard. Searching. She leaned in closer, her gaze dropping to my neck, right where the collar was hidden under my high collar. "You were there. At the warehouse. I saw the way the gravity shifted. That wasn't a random surge, Tess. That was controlled."

I let out a sharp, jagged laugh. "And I'm sure you're a certified expert in gravity surges now?