"So how did you know he's an ability user?" I asked, back pressed against the cool metal wall of the elevator, boots planted wide on the scuffed floor.
"He just appeared out of nowhere." Daphne's voice stayed controlled on the line, the way it always did when she was managing chaos. "And he had blue hair."
I was alone in the ascending car, the soft mechanical hum vibrating through my spine. This was my narrow window—between floors, between Sinn's demands and whatever came next.
"You said blue?"
"Yes."
Ernesto. The portal creation fit perfectly. Becky and Sherry had just left the building to search for him.
"Nobody here wanted to report it," Daphne continued. "They're afraid that if an ability user turns up dead in a stray town, the government pulls the offer and they all lose out. That's why I called you."
"Okay." I exhaled slowly, watching the floor numbers climb. "Have you confirmed he's dead?"
