The lobby is mostly full when Asher and I come down the wide, spiraling staircase. As we enter the mess hall, the chairs and tables are full of mingling people. The smell of spiced meat and vegetables wafts across the room from the hotel’s kitchen. My stomach grumbles.

          Asher takes me to a table where Aiden and Silas sit. A gigantic man stands by their table, bellowing with laughter.

          “My favorite pipsqueak is back!” the man booms. He spreads his arms and sweeps Asher up in a bear hug. His bicep is about as big around as her head. His shirt stretches taut over his chest and massive shoulders.

          Asher lets out a laugh as he lets go of her. “It’s good to see you too, Cook,” she says, smiling up at him. Cook, as she called him, is a bald man with olive skin and a grin so wide I feel a smile creeping over my own face. He turns to me.

          “You must be Finn,” he says. He extends a hand and I shake it. His grip is firm. “Aiden said his little brother arrived. Name’s Cook, it’s nice to meet you.”

          “You too,” I say, answering his grin with one of my own. He releases my hand, and rubs his together conspiratorially.

          “Let me go get you and Pipsqueak a plate,” he says. He turns and hurries off toward the kitchen tucked behind the lobby. Asher and I sit at the table with Aiden and Silas. The former laughs, the latter frowning.

          “Pipsqueak?” I mutter to Asher. I grin at her, waggling my eyebrows.

          She huffs a laugh. “Prefer ‘Shortstack,’ huh, Sasquatch?” she asks.

          Cook comes back after a moment bearing two plates, piled with food. Steaming mountains of spiced meat, roasted dark brown and leaking juices onto stalks of asparagus lined with grill marks and—my mouth waters at the sight and smell alone—buttery mashed potatoes.

          “Venison,” Cook says proudly. “My specialty!”

          “It smells great,” Asher says. Cook smiles warmly and pats her on the shoulder lightly. As he leaves the table, I cut into my venison. Steam rises from the steak; the meat is tender and spiced. A hum of pleasure slips from me.

          “There’s a park nearby that’s pretty much completely overgrown,” Aiden says. “We hunt there, and even have a garden for crops and some livestock.”

          “Wow, you guys have a whole system here,” I say. “How long has this place been in operation?”

          “I got here at the start,” Silas says shortly, his arms crossed across his chest. “Six years ago.”

          I glance at Aiden. “How long have you been here?”

          He frowns a little, glancing down at his hands, folded atop the table. “Four years,” he says quietly. He purses his lips as he meets my eyes again.

          The words get stuck in my throat. “Four… years?” I begin. Aiden nods. Next to me, Asher stiffens.

          “Don’t get righteous, Sasquatch,” Silas growls.

          I blink at him. “I—I’m not,” I say. “I just… didn’t know how long it’d been.”

          Aiden sighs. “I know it’s not what you wanted to hear, Finn,” he says. “I’d have gone home, but—”

          “But you let Mom and me think you were dead. For years, by the way,” I grumble.

          Aiden’s expression is enough to make me drop my eyes. “We’re not doing this right now,” he says. “I’ve worked too hard to get you here.”

          “You’ve had a long day,” Asher says to me, her voice soft.

          I sigh, shaking my head to clear it. “You said you got me here, what did you mean?”

          “Asher fed us information while she worked for her father,” Aiden answers.

          “When I realized who you were to Aiden, I got the okay to get you out of there,” Asher says. “It was Aiden’s plan.”

          I’m quiet for a long while. “Thank you,” I say. My voice is hoarse.

          Aiden leans forward in his chair. “I’m just sorry Null got to you,” he says. “I had no idea you even had an ability.”

          “Neither did I until about a year ago,” I say.

          “How did it happen?”

          I clear my throat. “I was almost mugged one day on the way to class,” I say. “They shot at me, and I stopped the bullet in midair. I was kidnapped a week later.”

          “You’re a metallic?” Silas asks.

          I shrug. “I guess. I can control metal,” I say.

          “You’re also very rare,” Aiden says. “We’ve never known another one.”

          I frown at my brother. “You guys sure know how to make a guy feel special,” I say. “Does everyone here have an ability?”

          “Not everyone,” Aiden answers. “Cook doesn’t have one, for example. Some of our people lost someone they loved and sought us out. Otherwise, this is a safe haven for people with abilities that would be in danger on the outside. You’ll be safe here.”