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to allow for any other option."
    "I'm not
just going to stand by and let you kill her, Isaac. I'll fight you if
it comes to that."
    Ash had both of
his hands on the steering wheel, there wasn't ever going to be a
better time to deal with him than right now. The temptation was
overwhelming. If I waited, then I was eventually going to have to
fight him on his terms, and that was a fight I might not be able to
win.
    I sighed and
leaned back in my tan leather seat. "Why did you even agree to
have me come along then, Ash? I get not wanting to see Kristin get
hurt, I would have done almost anything to protect Jess, but you
could have just saved both of us a lot of headache and gone off by
yourself like you were planning."
    "I wanted
you along because I'll need your help if I'm going to have any chance
of hunting Dream Stealer down."
    It was too
fantastical to believe. A guy like Alec could talk about hunting down
and killing someone like Dream Stealer or Puppeteer, but that was
because he was in the same league as them. Alec could mow down normal
hybrids like pawns on a chessboard simply by unleashing his ability
on them and draining them dry.
    These days the
only hybrid who could hope to consistently beat Alec was Puppeteer,
and even that wasn't guaranteed. Ash and I didn't have those kinds of
advantages. Even if we could find Dream Stealer he'd be surrounded by
enforcers like the one who had just wiped the floor with me. There
was no way that the two of us could hope to bring down a member of
the Coun'hij by ourselves. It was something worse than a suicide
mission—we would die without any hope of succeeding.
    "That's
never going to happen, Ash, and you know it. Maybe if we could find
Dream Stealer then Alec could put together a strike force capable of
bringing him down, but there is literally zero chance of the two of
us finding him. He's got more than two hundred years of practice at
staying hidden."
    "I have a
plan. It's a long shot, but I think it could work. The only question
is whether you're in."
    I rubbed my
forehead, trying to buy myself time to think. "Tell me again why
you picked me instead of someone else? There were a lot of hybrids
back at the estate you could have asked Alec to send in my place."
    "I picked
you because you were the best option. You're no enforcer, but you've
got more combat experience than most hybrids four or five times your
age. You know your way around the technology side of things, so you
can help run a stable of hackers if it comes to that."
    "That kind
of talent doesn't come cheap."
    "I know,
but money isn't an issue. I made off with plenty when I left home. I
can fund any conceivable spend for at least a few months. I just need
someone who can talk the talk well enough to keep whatever talent I
bring onboard honest. Besides, Alec trusts you, probably even more
than you realize. He's not going to be willing to send a strike force
of his best and brightest into danger on the word of just anyone."
    "He trusts
you too, Ash."
    "Yeah, but
I don't know if he trusts me that much. If he sends a force that size
into a trap it will be the end of the rebellion. It's a big ask. With
the two of us to confirm each other's story he'll be more likely to
believe that it's a real opportunity. Alec knows that you aren't
particularly fond of Kristin or me. You won't buy off on an attack op
unless you believe it's the real deal—not just to save
Kristin."
    I couldn't help
myself. I laughed, loud enough that it should have woken Kristin up,
but she didn't even stir.
    "So I got
signed up for a suicide mission because I don't like you. That's
karma if I've ever heard of it."
    "That's
not the only reason, Isaac. I wanted you because I knew you would
understand what I was going through. You may not like us, but you'd
do the same thing for Jess if our positions were reversed. More than
any of the others, you understand me."
    "Yeah, I
guess you're right there. I know what it feels like to worry that
you've lost the