Page 106 of Queen of Volts

Sophia snorted. “Do you even know how? She has dozens of talents—maybe hundreds.”

“But we think she’s sick,” Poppy said. “Sick like Rebecca.”

“That doesn’t change anything,” Harrison said. “You remember what it was like to shoot at Bryce at St. Morse? How the bullet passed right through him?”

“That’s only because he’s the Gamemaster,” Harvey said. “He’s protected. You can think of killing him like cheating. It doesn’t work. It isn’t because he’s a malison. It’s because he’s the malison who created this.”

“That’s a shame,” Grace muttered, “because I’d like to kill him, too.”

“Wait, wait,” Delaney cut in, slamming her hands on the table and making Roy’s glass spill all over his pants. “Oh—sorry. But Bryce couldn’t have cast the shade on the Bargainer unless he owned something of hers. Or if he was connected to her in some way.”

“That would’ve been easy, as they were once both connected to the House of Shadows,” Harrison said. “Same as you.”

Delaney flushed at his comment, and Enne realized that fact was a secret she hadn’t wished shared. Saving her from embarrassment, Enne quickly interjected, “So are we saying this is possible?”

“We’re saying she’s someone who could be as fast as Chez Phillips, as strong as Jac, as smart as Grace—and who can make shades like Bryce and Rebecca. And who knows what other talents she has,” Levi breathed. “That’s what we’re saying.”

“It’s eleven against one,” Roy said.

“And I still wouldn’t bet on those odds,” Levi muttered.

Enne squeezed Levi’s hand harder. “We don’t have a choice,” she said. Her words might’ve been bleak, but she didn’t feel defeated—far from it. Whether or not Enne was close with every person in this room, they were capable and clever, and they were her allies. And if they were destined to lose this game, then they would all go down fighting.

“Do we even know how to find the Bargainer?” Harrison asked.

“I do,” Tock murmured.

Tock had been silent for most of their conversation, and so the eyes in the room turned to her in surprise. She leaned back in her chair, her arms crossed.

“Would you care to elaborate?” Harrison asked flatly.

Tock gave him the snide look she reserved for all authority figures. “Lola. Lola was the last to see her.”

Enne froze, and it was her turn to feel the burn of the spotlight. Everyone’s faces shared the same pitying look, as though Enne were the victim of betrayal. When really, Enne was the one who’d betrayed Lola. It didn’t matter that Enne had not felt herself, or that she’d been struggling to bear the responsibility for so many lives. What mattered was that Enne had hurt Lola, and Lola would likely never forgive her.

But the idea of Lola making a bargain? Lola had never wanted to be a player.

“How do you know that?” Enne asked weakly.

“She doesn’t remember who I am,” Tock answered.

“But she was just...” Grace frowned. “She was going through something. She—”

“You think I can’t tell the difference between my girlfriend leaving me and forgetting me?” Tock snapped with the kind of fierceness that made even Grace back down. Or, at least, made Roy put his hand on Grace’s shoulder toholdher down. “She sold it. She sold us.”

“She wasourfriend, too—” Grace hissed at the same time Roy asked, “But sold forwhat?”

“No. No, it makes sense now. Why didn’t I see it before?” Levi rapsed. He white-knuckled the edge of the table. “Last I saw her, she told me all this stuff about Enne that I don’t know how she could’ve found out. So many records were destroyed. But she knew...”

Enne kicked him under the table, and Levi trailed off, seeming to remember himself.

“What did she know?” Harrison pressed.

Levi swallowed and glanced at Enne warily. “It’s that... Well...”

Enne examined each of the faces around them. Even if these were her allies, and even if Harvey was bound under the power of Harrison’s omerta, Enne didn’t want to tell them the truth about her father, not until she determined what it meant for herself.

When Enne shook her head, Levi squeezed her hand again supportively, as if to remind her they were in this together.