Hidden by Sophie Jordan Read Free Book Online Page A

us with wary eyes as we enter the room.
    Cassian sprints ahead to the front of Miram’s cell. He touches the Plexiglas, presses one large hand to the barrier as if he can reach her.
    I run to the observation table and study the panel with all its monitors and gadgets, trying to figure out how to open the cells.
    Tamra walks slowly up and down the row of cells, examining all the other draki. She stops before the cell with Lia. It’s my first good look at her, too. She’s just a girl—the smallest draki I’ve ever seen—and I know Tamra is taken aback to see one so young here.
    “Jacinda, I think I got it.” Will’s voice draws my attention. He points to a row of switches, each one numbered. He flips number three. The cell Cassian stands in front of slides open.
    Miram steps out and falls into Cassian’s arms, sobbing. I smile, lightness spreading through me as I watch Cassian lift her off the ground in a hug. Cassian’s happiness trips through me. It’s impossible not to absorb his absolute joy at finding her alive.
    “Jacinda.”
    I look up at Tamra. She’s turned toward me, but motioning to Lia’s cell over her shoulder. The message in her frosty eyes is clear. She wants to free the girl.
    I’ll do more than that. With a nod, I use both hands to flip up every switch all at once. All the cells slide open.
    They don’t wait for an invitation. Draki dive out simultaneously. Several fly past us without a word, intent only on escape. The one I assume is Roc, an onyx, winks and nods his thanks as he wings past us.
    Lia lingers, her large blue eyes staring from me and Tamra and back again, uncertain.
    I move away from the panel and approach her. “C’mon. You should stick with us.” I didn’t realize I was going to say that until it falls from my lips, but it’s so obvious to me. Of course I’m not leaving her alone.
    Suddenly the automated voice changes its tune, becomes a new mantra.
    Warning. Retreat to stairwell immediately. Operation Lilith will commence in five minutes .
    Operation Lilith? The enkros must have safely evacuated and moved into plan B. Whatever that is, it can’t be good for us.
    “I think it’s time we get out of here,” Will announces.
    I nod and we all rush for the doors, ready to head for the stairwell since there’s obviously a reason no one is using the elevators. Even if they work, it’s probably not a great idea in an emergency. If the power went off, we would be stuck inside.
    “Wait!”
    We pause, watching as Lia hurries back to the control frame. She glances at the open cells for a long moment before considering the panel of buttons.
    “Come on!” I call, thinking those five minutes are fading away quickly.
    With a firm nod, as though reaching a decision, she hits a switch.
    The back wall of the cells slide open, exposing the lush green of the simulated forest.
    I rush forward. “What are you doing?”
    She grabs my wrist, stopping me from hitting the switch again to close that wall—to shield us from that world … from him .
    “We can’t leave him in there,” she says solemnly. Her big eyes, so like Az’s, peer up at me, into me, seeming to know just what to say to affect me.
    “He’ll kill us.” Even as I utter this, I’m not totally sure. If he’s free, I doubt he’ll care enough to come after us.
    She shakes her head. “I don’t think so. He’ll focus on escaping, just like us.”
    I angle my head, studying her. For one so young, she’s wise.
    “He’s crazy,” Miram whispers fervently to Cassian.
    “What’s she talking about?” Cassian demands.
    “There’s another draki in there …” My voice stops. I stare into Lia’s eyes, the vertical pupils shuddering with intensity. She’s determined to help the gray one … and I don’t really disagree with her.
    He doesn’t deserve to be a captive any more than any other draki. Any more than I do.
    I glance back into the pulsing world of green, so at odds with the rest of this sterile, cold