“I told you she was at his house,” Troy says almost with a laugh.
“Shut up,” Frey snaps. His cheeks flush red with anger and he balls his hands into fists.
“What are they doing here?” I ask Frey, my tone a bit rough.
“We need Troy if we’re to get into the Archive,” Frey responds.
“Why would we go there?” I ask.
“My mother suggested it. She says there’s something she wants me to look up, but to make sure I bring you with me.”
“The Archive is open to the public, so why would we need them?” I say, anger resonating in my voice.
“The public isn’t allowed in the section we’re going to,” Troy says, with a big grin.
An uneasiness settles over me. I do want to go, but under my terms, not theirs. What could possibly be so restricted that we need Brink and Troy to come with? I do have the map, so if I need to escape out of the Archive I can.
“When do we leave?” I ask them. My anger replaced with confidence.
“Now,” Troy replies.
Eleven
A carriage is waiting for us when Frey opens the door. Brink gets into the front with the driver while I’m sandwiched between Frey and Troy. The doors slide shut and we’re whisked away down the path and head towards the city itself. It takes almost an hour to get to the Archive. The building is a tall, thin, metal and glass structure with a massive plaza encircling it, making it look like it’s on an island. We’re dropped off on the south end of the plaza. There aren’t many people out in this part of the city. Frey comments that they’re all inside the surrounding structures working.
He takes my hand as the group of us cross the slate-covered area and onto the main floor of the Archive. I look up and can see the high point of the building, the tip that juts out from the roof. Walkways crisscross from one level to another, almost to the top floor, which is at least several hundred feet high. I grow dizzy the longer I stare. I refocus my eyes onto the front desk of the lobby where a man in orange stands talking to Troy. The man hands Troy something, they shake hands, and part.
“It’s going to be a few minutes before we can go up. Let’s head over to the café across the plaza,” Troy says as he returns to us.
I recall what Lok said about Frey spiking my tea with the cinnamon, so I wonder if it’ll still happen even if we’re out in public. We exit and head over to a small one story building with an open patio. Frey and I take a table while Troy and Brink get our drinks. Frey pulls my chair next to his, places his arm around my shoulders, and begins nuzzling my neck. I try not to show how uncomfortable I am with the affection now that I know how he got me to sleep with him. His hands pull my face towards his, our mouths touch, and I actually feel myself melting. Heat rises between us and I pull him closer.
This can’t be right. Why am I feeling this way? Do I actually like Frey? I’m not fighting this, and in fact am enjoying it.
We release each other just as Troy and Brink return. They hand us each a paper cup filled with a light brown liquid. I take a small sip, checking for the cinnamon, and silently sigh when I don’t taste any. The only flavor that jumps out at me is jasmine. We chat about what we might expect when we return to Thrace Tower. Troy thinks the Keepers will place more of us in battles, so instead of two contestants there will be at least four. Frey laughs at that suggestion. His opinion is that the points will be raised, especially if you kill someone.
Brink and I don’t join in the conversation. He’s too focused on me, anger clearly visible in his eyes. I glance around the plaza, looking at the various people dressed in outrageous clothes walking by. I thought we dressed oddly for the selection floor, but these people make our outfits look positively tame.
An alarm goes off on Troy’s bracelet. We finish our teas and go back to the Archive. We follow Troy towards the center of the building then over to a bank of elevators along the side wall. We step into the one in the middle, Troy punches in a code on the keypad, which causes the door to close, and we rocket skyward. We’re moving so fast I feel like I’m being thrusted into the floor. Less than a minute later, we slowly come to a gentle stop. The walkway surrounding the top floor is covered in blue carpeting and lined with waist high steel rails. None of the walkways crisscross to a lower level like those in the rest of the building. I don’t dare look down since I’ll only make myself sick like I did looking up. We’re the only ones on this floor, which makes me uneasy.
Troy leads us towards the front of the building, which has sectional seating with two monitors against the far wall. Frey guides me to a chair in the middle of the group and tells me to sit down. I do what he says without protesting. He tells me to lean back so the footrest will extend out from the chair, which it does. He tells me to relax and take deep breaths. I follow everything he tells me to do, which concerns me.
What was in that tea that is making me obey his every command? Fuck! What are they going to do to me?
I want to panic,
