Page 50 of Aviatrix

TWELVE

DUTY OR LOVE

I pace the corridor for what feels like the millionth time, my head and heart at war.

Lark should have already landed. But no word. I’m not sure why I’m surprised.

Should I get into VAL and fly to D.C.? Should I be there for Lark? Should I stay here and find answers?

I don’t know what the hell to do.

He cheated on me. That image—him and Gina on his desk—is seared into me.

But he’s also someone I loved. Love? I don’t know anymore.

Do I go to him? He’d come for me.

Duty or love. I guess now’s my chance to find out which one I’d choose.

“You make a decision yet?” Eli asks, leaning against the doorway of our shared room like he hasn’t been eavesdropping on my emotional spiral. I don’t even bother asking how he worked the optics of bunking with me.

“No,” I snap.

He raises his brows like the answer’s obvious. Like it’s written all over my face.

“Just say it,” I groan, finally stopping in place.

“This is war, Quay,” he says, shrugging one shoulder. “People are going to die.”

“Was that supposed to comfort me?” I narrow my eyes.

“No.”

“Oh, good.” I sigh. “For a second, I was worried.”

Eli doesn’t smile. “He’d want you to finish what you came here to do. He knew the risks. If he needed you there, he would’ve taken you with him.”

My head throbs.

“So, you’re saying I should track down this old acquaintance of his,” I glance over my shoulder, voice low, “and figure out who the Legion is? While he finds out his dad was killed?”

Eli shrugs again, maddeningly casual. “It’s your call.”

Technically, there’s no reason for me to fly to D.C. right now.

There’s nothing I can do. Not yet. But I can find information here. I can start putting pieces together. And then… and then…

My head spins.

“Well,” Eli clicks his tongue and pushes off the doorframe, “I’m heading to bed.”

I rub my temples, frustration tightening every muscle in my face.

I’m tired. Bone-deep tired. And bed… doesn’t sound terrible. Could I even sleep?

“Just a friendly reminder,” Eli says over his shoulder, cutting through the haze in my head. “I still sleep naked.”

Of course he does.