Unfortunately, instead of obliging her, he tilted his head and creased his brows. “You’re happy… so you’re crying?”
She placed her hand on his heart, silently reveling in the fact that he didn’t pull away.
“Yes. I can’t explain it, but I promise, I’m happy.”
It was more than that. Happiness was fleeting, but this feeling inside her was different. Permanent. Joy was latching onto Brynleigh’s bones, making a home inside her just as her shadows lived in her veins.
Ryker was back, and he’d forgiven her. Who knew second chances could feel so incredible?
His gaze swept over her. “I’m happy, too, but can you stop crying? I’m… not sure what to do about it. It makes me want to hurt someone for hurting you.”
Just when she thought Ryker couldn’t get any sweeter, he said things like that.
Laughing through her tears, Brynleigh rested her head against his chest and drew in several deep breaths. “Yes, I can.”
It took her a few minutes, but eventually, the tears dried up.
He tilted up her face and kissed her softly. “You’re beautiful even when you cry.”
It was difficult to remember they’d ever been broken when he said things like that. He made her feel whole despite the torture she’d endured.
They spent several minutes in each other’s arms before Brynleigh remembered Jelisette’s book.
Tugging Ryker over to where she’d been reading, she picked up the small tome and thumbed through the pages until she found the section from earlier. She showed it to him.
“What do you think about this?”
Ryker wrapped an arm around her and held her close as he read over her shoulder. “That’s interesting.”
“I think it’s a code,” she said. “But there’s no key.”
At least, not that she could find.
It would stand to reason that Jelisette would have a cipher for her coded book, but where was it? Brynleigh couldn’t exactly ask her Maker, and searching the safe house from top to bottom was out of the question. There was no way to do that without drawing the older vampire’s attention.
There had to be another way.
Ryker released her and raked a hand through his hair. Lines creased his forehead, and he rubbed his temples.
“If she has a key…” He cursed. “I have an idea, but I’m not sure it’s good.”
“What is it?”
“I think I might know someone who could help, but…” Groaning, Ryker shook his head. “It’s dangerous.”
Of course it was. That was the story of their lives. Nothing was easy or simple when it came to them. Still, it needed to be done.
Her stomach twisted into a knot. “Tell me.”
Between the attack at Jade Academy, her visit to Horizon, and meeting Dimitri, it was clear that the rebels were a far bigger problem than she had initially thought.
Brynleigh wasn’t a paragon of virtue, but the rebels had tried to killchildren. That was the line, and they’d crossed it. The Republic of Balance was broken, but the rebels weren’t a viable solution.
“The person we need to talk to is in prison,” Ryker said.
That knot turned leaden in Brynleigh’s stomach. Her mouth dried, and she trembled as memories of what had been done to her ran through her mind.
“In the…” She pushed past the growing lump in her throat. “In the Pit?”