Page 150 of Neon Flux

She started to shiver, and I saw the gel pads glowing softly. She let out a soft sigh, and her breathing evened out as she slipped into sleep.

I gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Get some rest, Taos.”

As I watched her sleep, I wondered how much of her revolution was genuinely about changing the system…and how much of it was about transcending the limitations she resented so deeply—limitations no amount of privilege could overcome.

CHAPTER 52

EON

Iwalked back out into Cy’s living room. He leaned against the back of his couch, waiting for me.

“She’s stable. That gel works wonders, trust me.” He flashed his hand at me—the one that had been stabbed in the Den. Not even a scar. “She’ll be out cold until morning, then good as new.”

I nodded, not meeting his eyes. Why had I come here? Why had I trusted him? I could say it was because it was closer or his med gear, but I’d always been terrible at lying to myself.

I knew he would help me.

I knew I would let him.

He wandered over to his kitchen, the refrigerator light casting him in harsh relief as he grabbed two beers. A metallic glint flashed as he tossed one of the cans to me, and my mind snapped to it instantly. My body was slower to respond, the Vector comedown already leaving me shaky and dysregulated. I barely managed to catch the can, the cold metal slick in my hand.

“So,” he said, popping open his own, “you gonna tell me what the hell that was?”

“Plausible deniability isn’t possible if I do.”

He gave a very Maddox-like grunt and took a sip of his beer. I wondered if the conversation was over.

“She the one who hired you to distract me?”

The question caught me off guard, and he must’ve seen the answer on my face. What surprised me more was the disapproval in his expression.

“What? Like you’ve never hired a whore before?”

“I’ve hired plenty. Enjoyed plenty. But who would ever look at you and think that’s where your value lay?”

“I thought you said I was worthless, just like the rest?”

“You know I’m a liar.”

Stop looking at me like that.

I turned away from him. “Taos means well.”

He gave a harsh laugh. “The worst people always do.”

He stepped closer—so close I could see the tiny arcs of electricity snaking around his pupils. He put his hand on my shoulder, and I didn't pull away.

“You take Vector?” he asked.

No point lying now. Not like he was one to judge. “How can you tell?”

“Your Flux is all over the place.”

Nothing was visible, but I could still feel the power pulsing through my blood. My heart was beating erratically, like it was trying to stop and explode all at once. Every inch of my skin was hypersensitive, and where his hand touched, it burned like a brand. The comedown was always the worst part—when the power faded, but the craving remained.

Like it was searching for relief, my Flux rose up, and immediately I felt his do the same. Our fields merged, melting into one another with no resistance. Like our Flux knew the truth we kept denying. That we fit together, two halves of a broken whole. But when our Flux threaded between all those shattered fragments, something beautiful and new remained.My craving for Vector faded as my gaze lingers on his full lips, and a new craving took its place.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he said, his voice low. “You don’t need it.”