The light disappeared and I held up my palm, calling up my fire to pool, red-gold and brilliant enough to give us an easy path. Easter gave a low grunt from behind me, the tension growing.
A few more turns and we were in front of a ladder rising high above our heads. I bent and scooped Ruby up, settling her on my shoulders, then started the climb. She didn’t squirm, didn’t so much as flinch as I went up. I was breathing hard by the top, and glad she was no bigger.
The end of the ladder had no covering. I popped through and Ruby scrambled off my shoulders.
“Took you long enough to find me.”
The words were not fully out of the man’s mouth before I had Dinah up and pointed in his direction, even though I was only half out of the tunnel, my feet still on the ladder.
Ruby rumbled a low growl and settled into a crouch beside me, but otherwise didn’t move, her one good eye locked on the shadows to my right. The speaker stepped out of the darkness and held up his hand, brilliant blue and green flames lighting it.
“Holy shit, he’s like Bear!” Dinah yelled as I finished climbing the last of the ladder and stood across from the abnormal who smelled like family and held flames like me.
The pieces came together quickly, memories from before the facility flashing like intense lights. “You are the third ascendant, the one Mancini couldn’t find.”
He dipped his head toward me. “I am.”
I still didn’t lower Dinah. I was no fool to think that just because he had the same power as me, the same blood, that he was safe and not there to kill me or trap me. The flames rolled around his wrist and up his arm, absorbing into his skin. “I wanted to meet you before you came to me. God only knows what my people would do if they knew exactly what I was capable of.”
He smiled and I saw a flash of teeth. He was fair-haired, blue-eyed, and taller than most. A sweep up and down and I put him at six foot four. Lean like a swimmer and with just the skim of a beard that was shades darker than his hair, he would turn heads.
He reeked of abnormal, though if he was a true ascendant, he shouldn’t have. He smiled, and in that smile, I knew he was not there to kill me. At least not yet. I found myself lowering a spluttering Dinah.
“What the fuck are you doing? He isn’t that charming!”
I drew a slow breath and the smell of abnormal faded. “He has my mother’s smile.”
He grinned. “Very good.”
“What is this, fucking family reunion week?” Dinah grumbled from her holster.
Diego grunted. “Disappointed again. I was just hoping to shoot a few more things.”
The man in front of me spread his hands wide. “I have been trying to get your attention since you escaped the facility. I did try to break you out once, but they buried you deeper than any other abnormal. Both of you.” He gave a nod to Easter as she moved to my left with her gun raised on the ascendant.
“Let me be clear,” the man said, “I am very much related to you, Phoenix. Closer than you might expect. Your mother—excuse me—our mother, gave me up for adoption before Romano took her fully. Thank you, by the way, for killing him. It was on my to-do list.”
I just stared at him. Seeing the similarities. The differences. “Goddamn it,” I muttered. “How the fuck have you stayed hidden so long?”
“I played dumb, same as you.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “But I cannot play dumb now. There are far worse things than Romano and Mancini at our heels.”
Dinah wiggled in her holster. “Seriously? You think she’s just going to believe you because you’re cute? She has a man, you know!”
I didn’t roll my eyes, but I felt like it. Sometimes Dinah focused on the wrong aspect and this was one of those times. “He’s my brother, Dinah. Which means he’s half your brother. Full blooded to me. Yes? And I imagine a couple years older?”
He nodded. “Yes. After our mother got pregnant from Romano the first time, she hid long enough to have me and give me away. But she still checked in on me when she could, and she made sure I had ties to strong abnormals to train me and protect me.” He shrugged. “You are looking for Rio, are you not?”
Easter grunted and I nodded. “He was supposed to be the last real powerhouse left.”
He held out a hand. “Nice to meet you. My friends know me as Rio. Mario is my name, though.”
Mario turned and beckoned for us to follow him. “This way. There are things we need to discuss.”
“No shit,” Easter muttered.
I let Easter lead this time, wanting a little space between me and this Mario who was most certainly my brother. How I wished Eleanor was still with me and I could give her shit for keeping this little gem of a secret.
Mario led the way through this level of the subway, up to street level via a series of stairs that switchbacked. I thought he’d be silent through the walk, but he picked up a running narrative.
“I have several Hiders working for me which is partly why I’ve been able to keep things quiet. All along, I thought I’d take down Romano and take over his territory. Set it up for a more stable place to live for abnormals, but you beat me to that punch.” He walked to an alley that opened on the docks. Jesus, we’d come a lot farther than I’d realized.
He led us across an empty dock that should have been bustling with people, but if anything, it was eerily silent. Easter glanced at me, her brows drawn down. I didn’t blame her, but
