Page 117 of Reverie

“Why?” I throw back at her. Amelia shoots a look to Misha, and Misha looks like he’s barely suppressing an eyeroll.

“Mother had the bright idea that if you knew about The Legion that you’d seek help. Maybe come to our side. She thought things were moving too slowly,” Misha says.

I shift my gaze back to Amelia.

“I knew you were in danger, and I couldn’t stand it,” she says. I ignore the warmth spreading across my chest.

Tilting my head, I say, “The shoot-out. The cars all dropped back as if they got an order to. Was that you?”

Amelia smiles, but Max is the one who speaks up. “Since that night Winter was taken, we added some more…surveillance to the fleet. So when you were being chased, Rio sent a signal to me and I was able to jam the cars that were chasing you, essentially causing them to shut down on the road.”

I would laugh if I could. Thinking back on the harrowing moments after the gunfire and how Winter held on to me as if I were her only lifeline, it was strange that one minute, they were chasing us and the next, they just stopped.

“I see. Well…thank you?” I say to Max. He shrugs in acknowledgment.

Turning back to Misha, I say, “The text messages?”

“There were more than one?” Amelia replies.

I nod. “I received one, as did Leo.”

Amelia hums. “Neither of those were me,” she adds, and Misha looks troubled.

“I’ll have to get the other one from Leo,” if I can get him to talk to me, “but Max, you think this one is an anagram?” I ask.

Max turns back to his computer, tapping along in a rapid cadence until he says, “Aha!”

“What?” Luna says in a slow drawl.

“Well, the anagram spells out ‘Isla Cara.’”

“No shit?” I reply.

Max gives me a look that telegraphs the thought,Of course I’m fucking sure.

“I’ll run the program again to see what other viable results come up, but the shit says Isla Cara, so I’m pretty damn sure that’s what the message is,” Max replies.

I lift my palms to show him that I’m not getting onto him about the results.

“Now to figure out who the fuck sent this,” he mutters. “And why.” He turns back to the computer and zones back into his screen.

“So Isla Cara does holdsomethingimportant, and we’ve just not found it?” This comes from Luna. I close my eyes and bring up the island. Isla Cara isn’t a huge landmass, but it isn’t exactly small, either.

If someone wanted to hide things there, they most certainly could. And with the recollection of the underground crypts, how many other places are like it there?

“What do you think could be hiding?” I ask.

“The location of their labs. The identity of The Architect.” Misha shrugs as he lists off possibilities. “Knowledge is power. The more intel we can gather on what they’re up to and who they’re doing it with, the better.”

“And the ultimate goal is to get rid of The Architect because if the head falls, so does the rest of it,” Amelia adds.

I nod again. “We need to look deeper onto the island. We need to go back to Isla Cara,” I say, understanding dawning.

Isla Cara has always been the key. We just need to find the right combination to unlock its secrets.

“The eye,” I say. “Do you know the differences between them?”

Misha and Luna share a look. Luna speaks, “We haven’t really looked into their symbols very much.” She looks thoughtful.