Orion rose slowly, his gaze log with Caitlyn's.

  Bewildered. Angry. Shocked.

  He watched the spectrum of emotions flicker across her face, her sharp eyes dartiween him and Isha.

  'She's making stupid es in her head,' he thought, blinked as she uncharacteristically left her position and strode briskly across the square.

  Orion frowned, gng down at Isha. She followed his gaze, her curiosity shifting into sharp suspi before snapping ba with a gre of betrayal.

  "Nnn!"

  "I didn't rat you out!" Orion said quickly, raising his hands as she held up the food bag like a silent accusation. "She isn't going to take you or the food."

  Isha's head soward Caitlyn, her eyes narrowing before instinctively sidestepped behind Orion.

  "Where have you been?" Caitlyn's voice was tight with frustration. "Do you know how many years I've been looking for you? And you just show up randomly? Is this your kid?! When- With whom?!"

  Orion blinked again. That told him plenty. But first…

  "No, she's not my kid. I just let her have my food," he said, shaking his head before meeting Caitlyn's gaze. She shifted unfortably. "You didn't know where I was?"

  "Should I have?" Caitlyn said skeptically, brow arg. "I lost you back when my family was kidnapped and couldn't find you ever sio firm anything."

  She leaned in, squinting and shifting focus. "Your eyes… they look like Shimmer. Have you been taking it?"

  Isha clutched the back of Orion's pants, still mung on a skewer despite the thick tension in the air.

  "No," Orion scoffed but she eyed him distrustfully. "And judging by what you're saying, Greyson really did keep you in the dark."

  Caitlyn scoffed iurn, crossing her arms. "Your friend said the same thing."

  "That was me."

  She blihen gred, her voice rising. "Then why the hell didn't you say anything?!"

  "What did I just say?" Oriourned, crossing his arms as well.

  He was getting a headache. That food tasted good, now he was in an argument.

  Caitlyn's tone sharpened, a dangerous uone g her voice. "Are you acg Greyson of hiding things from me? As if I'd trust someone who hid and lied to my face?"

  "If you weren't living so fortably under your family's umbrel, you'd see where I'm ing from and why I had to," Orion dismissed, shaking his head. "Remember all the chaos? Greyson hid plenty from you."

  ill sht-ced, still ging to her belief that w and order are incorruptible.

  Biting her lip, Caitlyn's gaze faltered. "You sound just like Vi... You know her, don't you?" Orion nodded and she huffed, turning slightly. "That expins a lot about her fighting style."

  "Just a few bits came from me," Orion admitted, the tensioween them easing. "The rest came from her old man."

  Silence fell between them as Caitlyn's expression twisted with thought.

  "Nnn!" Isha tugged at Orion's pants again, holding up the y food bag and rubbiomach with a pout.

  'Are you really demanding more after stealing all my food?' Orion gaped, and Isha nodded ily as if to a. 'Wow, unbelievable.'

  Orion sighed and nodded, and Isha's expression beamed, proud of her work for the day.

  Caitlyn muttered, her gaze softening as she watched the child, "She looked hurt every time I tried to pry- about her fighting style, I mean."

  Orion patted Isha's head absentmindedly, but his face twisted bitterly, drawing a ed look from Caitlyn.

  "Yeah, I bet she did," Orion said through gritted teeth. "I bet the whole gang looks like that despite-"

  'Do they even know?'

  For all he khey might truly have believed he just walked away, abandoning them. But one person- Greyson- his jailor, knew everything.

  Dark thoughts swirled in his mind. If Greyson were unfortunate enough to step outside at that moment, Orion would have killed her then and there, Caitlyn's presence be damned.

  'Revenge, however, be served in more ways than one.'

  And Vander? He had strong suspis. It happened on his turf, and Silew about him too.

  "Despite what?" Caitlyn pressed, interrupting his thought. She immediately backed up however when Orion's eyes fshed with anger, her hand instinctively moving tun sling.

  He exhaled sharply, Orion closing his eyes and pushing doworm of emotions.

  "How about this," Orion said, voice measured. "Instead me, ask Greyson where I've beeer yet- ask Vi and all her friends, too."

  His smirk widened with a dangerous glint fshing in his eye that sent a ripple of uhrough Caitlyn.

  "I bet Greyson would love to hear about me!"

  Caitlyn tensed. "You're not pnning anything, are you?" Her grip instinctively tightened on her sling, ready to whip it around at a moment's notice. Despite the questions rag through her mind, she uood- this was not the same Orion from seven years ago. The dangerous aura radiating from him made her stomach twist.

  She couldn't aot here. The area was too crowded. Too much risk of colteral damage. And the chaos that would unfold in the media would be disastrous.

  Orion's expression darkened as he caught the subtle tilt of her head, the way her eyes flickered across the crowd. 'She's analyzing the situation, pg me as a hostile.'

  "Six years ago," Orion said, his voice low and firm. Caitlyn twitched instinctively.

  "I helped you, but I had to disappear unwillingly." His eyes locked onto hers, cold and unwavering. "Seven years ago, the same thing happened with your family."

  He turned slightly, gripping Isha's small shoulders, his stare never leaving Caitlyn's increasingly frustrated, on-edge expression.

  "I've ried to hurt you, your family, or Topside, Caitlyn." His tone hardened. "But the people around you? They sure as hell hurt me."

  "What—"

  "Ask questions, Caitlyn." Orion cut her off. "For now, I'm taking this kid to get some treats."

  He gnced down at Isha, his tone softening. "Some more skewers?"

  "Nnn!" Isha beamed, nodding eagerly.

  Maintaining his smile, Orion flicked his gaze back to Caitlyn as they started walking away. "And you have some iigating to do."

  Caitlyn's troubled eyes followed them, lingering on the child. Something about the way Orion spoke- the weight behind his words mixed with the as toward the kid- left her thoughts spiraling into turmoil.

  Her grip tightened around her sling, nails digging so deeply into her palm that she barely noticed the faint sting of her skin breaking.

  "Damn it."

  Then, without another word, she spun on her heel auro her post. Her brilliant mind was already at work.

  ------------------

  Ekko gawked uionally, his body tensing before shoving Powder's shoulder roughly.

  "What the hell is your problem today?" Powder snapped, shoving him bad gring before following his gaze, expeg a good excuse.

  The stabilizer slipped from her fingers, cttering against the pavement. Her eyes widened like saucers, fusion and shock flooding her expression.

  She barely noticed her ow moving forward when Ekko's grip cmped onto her shoulder, yanking her back.

  "Wait!" His voice was sharp, urgent.

  Powder's head whipped toward him, brows furrowed in frustration. "What? Why? That's O—"

  "Exactly." Ekko's voice cut her off, low and firm. "We don't know where he's been. Who he's with now. Or..."

  His gaze flickered toward the child, lingering there, unreadable. His voice dropped to a near whisper.

  "What kind of life he's leading."

  Powder bit her lip, and Ekko's expression tightened when he saw this.

  "Let's follow him," Powder said, determined. Ekko was about to protest when she snapped, her gaze meeting his, unyielding. "I want answers."