“Okay, okay,” Bryce said. “But can we … track this one for a while?” She directed the last bit at Ithan, but the wolf shook his head.
“There must be a logical reason for this—like a gap in the camera coverage or something—but that Reaper just seems to … appear.”
“Micah had the kristallos stay in known camera gaps,” Hunt said darkly. “These Reapers could know about them, too.”
Ithan pointed to the screen. “Right here is where they first appear. Before that, nothing.”
Ruhn pulled up a map of the city in his Aux app. “There should be a sewer entrance right behind them. Possible they came out of there?”
Ithan moved the footage around. “The cameras don’t cover that sewer entrance.”
Bryce said, “So they probably knew it’d be a good entry point. And it’d make sense, given that they dragged us into the sewers.” Where there were no cameras at all.
“Let me look around a little more,” Ithan offered, and clicked away.
Athalar asked none of them in particular, “You think they were waiting for you, or for Emile?”
“Or both?” Ruhn asked. “Clearly, they wanted to stay hidden.”
“But did the Prince of the Pit send them, or did the Under-King?” Athalar pushed.
“Good thing we’ve got a date with the being who can answer that,” Bryce said.
Ruhn winced. He’d paid for the Death Marks that Jesiba had promised, but he wasn’t happy about it. The thought of Bryce confronting the Under-King scared the Hel out of him.
“We need a plan for how we question him,” Athalar warned her. “I doubt he’ll appreciate being questioned at all.”
“Hence the research,” Bryce shot back, gesturing to the computer. “You think I’m stupid enough to go in and fling accusations around? If we can confirm whether or not those Reapers came directly from the Bone Quarter, we’ll have steadier footing when we question him. And if we can get any hint of Emile actually going over to the Bone Quarter, then we’ll have a good reason to ask him about that, too.”
Ithan added, “Considering what Tharion thinks Pippa Spetsos has done while hunting for Emile, I’m half hoping the kid’s already in the Bone Quarter.” He dragged a hand through his short brown hair. “What she did to that selkie we found this morning was no joke.”
The wolf had filled them all in on the work he’d done with Tharion earlier—the tortured body they suspected had been left behind by the rebel fanatic.
Bryce pivoted and began pacing. Syrinx trotted at her heels, whining for a second dinner. Ruhn refrained from remarking on how similar the motion was to one he’d seen their father do so many times in his study. Unable to stand it, he turned back to the sunball game.
Then Ithan said to Ruhn, picking up the thread of conversation from earlier, “See? Regez should have nailed that shot, but he balked. He’s second-guessing himself. He’s too deep in his head.”
Ruhn glanced sidelong at the male. “You’ve never thought about playing again?”
A muscle ticked in Ithan’s jaw. “No.”
“You miss it?”
“No.”
It was an obvious lie. Ruhn didn’t fail to note that Bryce’s eyes had softened.
But Ithan didn’t so much as look in her direction. So Ruhn nodded to the wolf. “If you ever want to play a pickup game, me, Dec, and Flynn usually play with some of the Aux in Oleander Park over in Moonwood on Sundays.”
“Where’s my invite?” Bryce asked, scowling.
But Ithan said roughly, “Thanks. I’ll think about it.”
Hunt asked, “I’m assuming I don’t get an invite, either, Danaan?”
Ruhn snorted at the angel. “You want an excuse for me to beat the shit out of you, Athalar, then I’m down.”
Athalar smirked, but his gaze drifted to Bryce, who was now staring over Declan’s shoulder at the lightning-fast footage zooming by on his laptop. Footage of Danika from years ago.
She straightened suddenly. Cleared her throat. “I’m going down to the gym. Call me if you find anything.” She aimed for her bedroom, presumably to change. Ruhn watched Hunt glance between her disappearing form and the sunball game. Weighing which one to follow.
It took Athalar all of thirty seconds to decide. He ducked into his room, saying he was going to change for the gym.
When Ruhn was alone with Dec and Ithan, his beer half-finished, Ithan said, “Connor would have picked the game.”