Chapter 226: The Devil's Bargain

XENOIS "How long do we have?" Riley asked, his voice once again carefully controlled. "Before Marcus and Zade... before the curse kills them?"   "Less than twenty--four hours," Lumina replied gently.   Riley closed his eyes, and I could see him weighing the cost of different choices. Save two men he barely knew, or protect himself from whatever psychological warfare Andy had planned. The fact that he was even considering it spoke to the fundamental goodness that Andy and Sophia had never managed to destroy.   "If I do this," he said finally, "if I talk to her... will you promise me something?"   "Anything," I said immediately.   "Promise me that no matter what she says, no matter what she tells you about me or Lake, you won't separate us. Not until he's healed enough to make his own choice about whether he wants to stay."   The request was reasonable on the surface, but I could hear the deeper fear underneath it. Riley was terrified that Andy would reveal something that would make us s