hearts of metal

xl. i don't get paid enough

It had been three days, and Aelin had yet to see Rowan. The twins had definitely caught on that something happened between the two of them, but one glare from Aelin made them hold onto their questions.

She didn't expect to still feel the sting of his words. Don't touch me like that. Gods, and she'd thought they were getting somewhere. When he first said it, she'd been horrified. That she'd misread something and overstepped.

But the way he'd looked at her...Sam had looked at her like that once. His voice had broken as he mumbled, "I can't," and her heart had stuttered at the pain written on his expression. Was something holding him back? Lyria? Or was it just that he didn't care about Aelin in that way?

In other words, Aelin was confused and a mess. She'd been itching for a fight, but she had promised Aedion she wouldn't go to the Guild.

Which is why, when Nox sent her a rather ominous message that said Meet me at our spot, she was almost grateful for the distraction.

"Lin?"

"Hey, Nox," she greeted, as she stepped out of the shadows from the abandoned warehouse.

A single light flickered dimly above them, casting a pale glow into the night. Nox stepped into the light and ran a hand through his curls.

"Find anything?" she said.

He nodded reluctantly. "I think it might just be better to show you," he said. He started off into the night, while Aelin frowned.

She followed him quietly, not pressing for answers. It was Nox, and she trusted him. A foreboding feeling started to swell in her chest at the thought of what he'd found.

Nox stopped abruptly near a sewer grate, then turned to Aelin. "Ladies first," he added with a wry grin.

Aelin rolled her eyes, but flipped off the sewer grate and peered into the darkness. With a sigh, she lowered herself into it and searched for purchase. Once her feet hit the metal ladder with a clang, she climbed down.

She jumped off the end of the ladder and landed on the wet ground. The stench immediately pervaded her nose.

Nox landed beside her and handed her a flashlight. Once it was turned on, the beam illuminated the tunnel they were in. It was rather empty, the concrete floor wet with the remnants of rain, but otherwise clean.

"This way," he said, diving deeper into the tunnels.

Aelin fought off a shiver as she followed him. She hated sewers.

It didn't take long for the scenery to shift. The tunnel grew wider and more spacious, but more grimy as well. Aelin scanned the place as she swiveled her flashlight around, then froze.

On the wall were bloody handprints. Nox noticed her gaze and nodded grimly. He said, "I've been keeping track of missing people in the city, to see if the Valg are still using people as experiments. There was an unusual number of missing sewage workers, and several other people who vanished near the main entrances. I thought maybe they were using the sewers for something."

She frowned. "I've been talking to Ilias. He said they had mass reports of missing people as well. Even a few dead bodies, but the cause of death couldn't be identified. It sounds similar to what Asterin and the others mentioned. Sounds like it's not just Orynth they're targeting."

"All part of the Valg's master plan," Nox mumbled.

They kept going. Within minutes, Aelin spotted more blood. Then, they found the bodies. There were three, or so it seemed. The bodies were too mutilated to be able to even tell, stray limbs scattered across the ground.