Chapter 043: Beyond the Surface

Ava's POV 

I knew the weight of the unspoken words between us as soon as I entered the room. Eli was standing beside the old desk, his fingers following a line in the dust, yet he was staring at me. His demeanor had something raw, even vulnerable—something I had hardly encountered.

"Close the door," he murmured gently.

I did; the faint click of the latch locked us into an unusual familiarity. The walls were closing in, the secrets whirling about us like a ghostly mist. It was time to face whatever lies beyond weeks of half-truths and tight silences.

Eli, what are you concealing from me? Feeling the words come out of my mouth like a dare, I inquired. Particularly given all we had gone through together, he owed me the truth. I stayed firm for whatever he was about to say.

Eli looked down, his jaw tightened as though he were battling himself, then his eyes locked with mine, sharper and more intense than I had ever seen. He said, "Ava," his voice low and nearly cracking, "there's a reason I haven't told you everything." Some things I concealed from you to guard you.

I shook my head, annoyed by the line she knew. "That is not sufficient these days. If I have no idea what I'm heading into, I cannot keep ahead.

He inhaled deeply then waved toward the chair near the desk. Take a seat.

My heart thumping as I sank down onto the chair Eli sat across from me, his fingers on the edge of the table drumming a stiff cadence. Though he seemed tired, I knew he wouldn't be turning back now.

His voice almost above a whisper, he said, "I made a deal, Ava." "I thought it would solve everything, but now...now I realize I might have underestimated how deep this goes."

My pulse sank. "An agreement? With Whose?

"The Ravens," he said, staring down as though he could scarcely speak the words. I could not really believe it. The Ravens were the very folks we had been running from—the identical organization we had said we would avoid. Now, to learn Eli was entwined with them?

"Are you insane?," I said . Though the shock and wrath were clear-cut, I growled, attempting to control my voice. "Why would you undertake that? What guarantee did you provide them?

Eli tightened his hands and fixed a blazing star. "I kept you safe by doing what I felt I had to do. They presented a means of escape, a means of protection for you. But the cost...” He broke off, staring out the window as though the shadows outside would somehow provide direction.

"Eli, if they are involved, you know it's only going to get worse." My chest hurt, and a dreadful fear started to chew at me. Tell me just what you promised them specifically. Vague responses are no longer acceptable. I have to have the truth.

He nodded slowly, his shame clearly on his face. "I promised them I would assist in delivering someone they had been hunting for. But Ava, I had no idea it would involve us in this way.

"Who?," I asked as I pushed, feeling the strain coiling within me. "Who are they after?”

He hesitated then, very brokenly, said, "You.

The breath sharply gasped out from my lungs. I looked at his face for any indication he was kidding—that this was all a horrible error. Still, his attitude was only regretful, a mute validation of the reality. The Ravens requested me. And Eli had somehow pointed me straight into them.

"What? Why would they want me?" I managed; my voice shook. "I haven't treated them any differently."

"It's not what you've done," he murmured, eyes dark with grief. "That is what you stand for. Ava, the absent element in their scheme, you are the key. They believe you possess something, some knowledge or link capable of obtaining whatever they desire.

My head spun, attempting to understand this inconceivable disclosure. Eli, I just am no one. I don't have anything really unique.

"They think otherwise," he said, a black shadow crossing his face. And I reasoned that we may benefit from that. I reasoned that if I made them believe I would hand you over, I could keep them away long enough to enable both of us to get out. But they are wiser, more tenacious than I had thought.

My breath came in little spurts, the truth of what he was saying settling in like stones. You mislead them. And today they are pursuing us. Thank you for asking me.

Eli stretched out his hand, shockingly gently covering mine. "Thanks for me. This is on Ava, on me. And I promise you I will correct it. I refuse for them to touch you.

I drew back, every nerve in my body raw and vibrantly alive. But Eli, what if it is too late? Suppose they are already close in?

He turned his head, but not before I could see the flutter of helplessness in them. It shook me more than anything else as it was the expression I had never seen in him. Should Eli be afraid, then things were even worse than I had imagined.

He murmured, his voice harsh, forcing himself back into focus: "We need a plan." "We cannot continue to live here. We have to get somewhere they cannot reach and relocate. At least until we find out their actual goals.

We were running, hiding, caught in a terrible circle of dread and secrecy, like we were back at the beginning. But this time it felt more intimate, as though the Ravens were not only wanting data. They sought me.

The truth of our circumstances sank over me and an odd serenity descended. I stood staring at him with fresh determination. "Then we head tonight. correct now. We will carry just what we can. Nothing else.

Eli looked up, astonishment flaring in his eyes, but he did not argue. He nodded; he stood as well. "I will compile our required materials. Let me meet you five outdoors.

I nodded, reaching for my coat and stuffing a few basics into my bag, hardly leaving time for thought. Every two seconds mattered. I knew this was merely the start in the rear of my mind. The Ravens were not going to give up easily. They would stop at nothing to obtain what they wanted and have followed after me with everything they had.

Eli was waiting, his eyes grave as I emerged into the evening. Shadows would abound on the road ahead, the weight of unidentified threats hovering around all sides. But I was not the same girl I had been before all this began. I had discovered survival and struggle. And I was not about to cave just now.

We looked silently at one another, knowing we were traveling between us. We would confront it together whatever lied ahead. And I couldn't get rid of the impression that we were going directly into the storm as we turned away from the safehouse and vanished into the night.