Chapter 32
Lirael
I took his hand because what choice did I have. My legs felt shaky but I forced myself to walk steadily.
The elevator ride was silent except for machinery humming. Sebastian kept his hand on my back, watching me from the corner of his eye.
When the doors opened to the greenhouse level, he spoke. "I have business to attend to. You'll stay here. Don't wander too far." His voice dropped. "And Lirael—don't try anything stupid. Not today. I'm not in the mood for another chase."
He left me in the atrium. I waited until his footsteps faded before breathing properly.
Okay. What do I know?
He knew my name. Knew I'd been playing dumb. But he didn't know about Moonlit Fish. Didn't know about Nocturne.
That's leverage, if I can use it.
I moved deeper into the greenhouse, fingers trailing across leaves. The plants welcomed me with drowsy affection.
The phone. I need the phone.
I slipped my hand into my dress pocket and nearly collapsed with relief when I felt glass and metal.
Thank god. I must have grabbed it on autopilot.
I ducked behind climbing jasmine where cameras couldn't see. The plants shifted to give me cover. I checked my messages.
Most were routine. But one name made my breath catch.
Ethan Kane.
Urgent. Moonlit Fish, need to talk ASAP. Something's happened at the research facility—break-in, theft, major damage to the lunar protein samples. The board wants to meet tomorrow, noon. You and the other major investor are both requested to attend. Can you make it?
The other major investor.
My stomach dropped.
Sebastian. Of course. Of course our investments overlap.
Someone had broken into the facility and stolen research on lunar proteins—research dangerously close to actual lunar elf biology.
Who? The Genesis Foundation's backers? Or Sebastian himself, testing me?
I typed: Can attend. What time and where?
Noon tomorrow at the facility. Main conference room.
This is either the worst timing or the best opportunity I'll get.
If I showed up as Moonlit Fish, I could be in the same room with him and he wouldn't connect the dots. I could gather intel, figure out what he knew, maybe access the stolen data.
And if he realizes Moonlit Fish is his pet Lirael?
Then I was fucked.
But what choice did I have? If someone stole research that could expose my species, I needed to know who and why. Even if it meant risking everything.
I deleted the conversation, cleared history, and was tucking the phone away when I heard footsteps approaching.
Shit.
I barely had time to smooth my expression before Sebastian appeared around the corner, amber eyes finding me immediately despite the jasmine's concealing embrace.
"There you are," he said, moving closer with predatory grace. "Hiding again?"
Did he see the phone?
His expression was unreadable. I tilted my head, gave him that innocent look, and watched him study me with unnerving intensity.
He reached out, fingers brushing a strand of hair from my face. "I smelled something on you earlier," he said softly. "jasmine. "
Sebastian studied my face, reading my panic with obvious satisfaction, then straightened. He turned toward the door. "Get some rest, little moon. Tomorrow I have a business meeting to attend. You'll stay here, of course. Behave yourself while I'm gone."
He paused in the doorway, glancing back with an expression I couldn't quite read. "Oh, and Lirael? The meeting tomorrow? It's at a biomedical research facility. They do interesting work with rare species, endangered genetics." His lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "There was a break-in recently. Someone stole research on lunar proteins and other... exotic materials. I'm very curious to see what we'll discover."
The door clicked shut behind him, and I stood there, frozen, as the implications crashed over me like a tidal wave.
He's going to the facility. Tomorrow. Noon. The same meeting I'm supposed to attend as Moonlit Fish.
And he's leaving me here. Not taking me with him. Not even suggesting it.
My mind raced, connecting dots, seeing patterns I'd been too panicked to notice before.
He knows. He fucking knows about Moonlit Fish. He knows I was the one at the masquerade ball, the one who danced with him.
That's why he's leaving me here. Not because he trusts me to behave. Because he's setting a trap. He wants to see if I'll try to leave, if I'll try to attend that meeting. He's testing me, watching to see if Lirael and Moonlit Fish are the same person.
The realization hit me like a physical blow. This whole thing—the cartoons, the warnings about Little Red Riding Hood, the pointed comments about the research facility—it was all bait. Cheese in a mousetrap.
If I stay here tomorrow, I'm admitting defeat. Admitting I'm just his pet, nothing more. I lose access to the stolen research, lose any chance of finding out who's hunting my species.
But if I go—if I show up as Moonlit Fish—I'm walking straight into his trap. Proving that I'm not just Lirael, that I'm something more, something dangerous. And then he'll have all the confirmation he needs.
I sank down onto a stone bench, legs suddenly too weak to hold me. The jasmine rustled sympathetically above me, but I barely noticed.
Either way, I lose. Either way, he wins.
Unless...
An idea began to form, desperate and dangerous and probably insane. But it was the only chance I had.
But what other choice do I have?