Alec was at our side instantly, holding me in his arms as Tyler disconnected my harness from Josh’s, then set me on my feet. He watched me with a question in his eyes while his hands roamed, looking for injury. Tyler and Ethan eyed me warily too, clearly on edge.
“I’d love to meet you all properly, but it’s probably best if we don’t linger here too long.” The man at the front of the boat drew our attention, speaking in a thick Greek accent.
Working as a team, we pulled the soaking, thin fabric of the parachutes out of the water and dumped them in a corner. Everyone took a seat. Ethan pulled me down between him and Alec, and the speedboat took off.
It was a pretty smooth ride. The hot summer sun beat down from above, and the salty air whipped past our faces as the Greek man pushed the boat faster and faster. There weren’t any massive waves or bumpy bits; we just glided along the waters of the Mediterranean . . . for hours.
The noise made it hard to talk, so we spent most of the ride in silence, watching the water and the occasional bit of land in the distance. By the time the roar of the engine started to calm down, I was starving, a little seasick, and completely over the novelty of being in a speedboat.
We pulled up to a small dock jutting out of the side of a cliff face. There was no beach or easy approach to speak of, but three other boats identical to ours were docked there. We got out of the boat and took some time to stretch and look around as the man tied the boat to the dock.
“I’m Stavros.” He smiled at us—crooked teeth and deep laugh lines on a tanned face. “Pleased to meet you all.”
Nina introduced us one by one. “Stavros is a Lighthunter, like me.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I smiled, but I couldn’t stop my eyes from wandering up the cliff. I had to lean back to see the top. “Um, where are we, exactly?”
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you,” Stavros deadpanned, his voice low and gravelly. My eyes widened. Alec stiffened and stepped between the man and me. He couldn’t use his ability—none of them could on the Lighthunters—but Alec was deadly for more than one reason.
Nina slapped Stavros on the shoulder and rolled her eyes. “Not funny, old man.”
His serious mask dropped, and they both laughed. “It was a little funny.”
The scowl on Alec’s face suggested he disagreed.
“Come on.” Stavros picked up his backpack and waved for us to follow him.
Alec grudgingly brought up the rear. At the end of the dock, stairs zigzagged all the way to the top of the cliff. Most of them were carved directly into the rock, but every once in a while, timber ones filled in gaps.
“We are in the Greek islands.” Stavros puffed his chest out. “This island is called Naxonnos, and as far as the authorities are concerned, it is barren and unlivable with no wildlife or plant life of note. It is remote, about three hundred kilometers past the nearest island frequented by tourists or locals. It is also Lighthunter HQ.”
He delivered the last line as we crested the top of the cliff. This island definitely wasn’t barren or abandoned. Before us was an entire city! Or what I imagined a city would look like without really tall skyscrapers.
Paved streets and low buildings stretched out in front of us. People were milling about; ATVs and golf carts zipped past. I could even see a helicopter on a landing pad to our right. I couldn’t believe an operation like this had managed to go undetected by all the world’s authorities and operations, including Melior Group.
Ethan echoed my thoughts. “Man, Lucian’s gonna be pissed he didn’t know about this.”
Nina leaned forward, sticking her head between ours to stage-whisper, “Wait until you see what’s underground.” She winked and grinned at us. “Let’s get you settled and fed.”
She pushed past us and led the way down the main street. Stavros waved goodbye and wandered off.
A few people threw us curious glances, but for the most part, people just went about their business. I was a little surprised to see so many children running around among the adults.
“Nina, what’s with all the kids? I thought this was, like, a secret lair or something.”
She burst out laughing, then cocked her head and hummed.