Page 117 of Scavenger's Oath

She smiles faintly, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Okay,” she says softly. “Hurry back.”

Ivy needs me. Wants me. Trusts me. Everything in me should be feeling victorious. But there’s a truth tugging on myeuphoria that weighs down any high I could achieve.

The leader of that cult is still alive and he’s not finished yet.

Pulling the door shut gently, after giving her a fresh shirt, I find Phoenix pacing in the hallway, mask hanging from his hand.

“They split their team,” Phoenix mutters, still pacing. “Zane and I walked straight into an ambush. They’d been watching—they know the safe routes through our traps. They’ve been waiting for us to leave her alone.”

“They’ve been one step ahead,” I growl, blood rushing to my head.

Phoenix gives a slow nod and lowers his voice before Ivy hears. “They weren’t just trying to get to her, Myles. This was a probe. They wanted to see if we’d fight for her. Two of them got away from us. They’ll send the message that she’s well protected.”

I drag a hand down my face, a growl rumbling out of my throat. They’ll come harder next time.There can’t be a ‘next time’.

“We find the leader,” I declare. “Find every last one of them and annihilate them.”

Phoenix studies me for a beat, unreadable. Then, a slight tip of his head. “That’s the plan,” he confirms, voice unwavering. “But not tonight.”

“That’s not good enough,” I snarl.

“It’s reality,” he snaps back. “You’ve already painted the floors red. You’ll get your shot. But we need to fortify. Make sure she’s safe and healing. We do this strategically, not kamikaze style.”

My knuckles crack as I clench my fists but I nod. I don’t trust myself to speak without promising to slaughter someone before sunrise.

Phoenix steps in closer, voice like steel. “Get your head straight, Myles. Don’t let Zane see you losing it, or he’ll be pickingyou out of his teeth,” Phoenix orders sternly before gripping his mask with two hands, as if he needs it’s strength before the next move.

“What’s going on with him? He’s never treated Ivy like this,” I grumble, remembering the way Zane had looked at her and ignored her.

Phoenix sighs heavily. “He’s regressing… I can’t have you going off the rails too. We need to lock this place down while they’re on the back foot. Then, we’ll go on the offensive.”

Chapter 39

Zane

Bleach stings my eyes, but I keep scrubbing on my hands and knees.

Tile. Grout. Baseboard. Every red smear screaming the same thing—I didn’t do enough.

The bristles squeal against the floor, until the stink of blood and chlorine mixes and my chest burns.

I should’ve been here. I would’ve heard the hinge before it snapped and the first boot hit the floor. I should’ve put my foot down, forced Phoenix to take Myles out instead, and stayed inside these walls where she trusted me to be.

A boot toe nudges my bucket, the pink water sloshing.

“Easy, big guy… those tiles aren't gonna testify in court.”

Phoenix’s voice is amused, the way he gets when he's about to poke a wound just to prove it's open.

I squeeze the brush so hard it creaks. “Fuck off.”

He doesn't. Of course he fucking doesn't.

Squatting opposite me, elbows on his knees, he watches like he's cataloguing evidence. “You've been chewing nails all day. Talk.”

“I'm busy.”

“Busy hating yourself.” His head tilts. “Myles saved her life,Zane. That isn't a sin.”