by Sadie Moss
A cool hand slid into mine, and I looked up into Jae’s shining green eyes.
He brushed my hair back from my face, his long fingers tracing the contours of my cheek and jawbone. “It’s not over, Lana. We’ll find out who’s behind this.”
“I know.”
I squeezed his hand, struggling to find in myself a fraction of his calm and certainty.
The large house felt different when we stepped inside—and I realized why immediately. It had always seemed a bit like a museum, with too many empty and unused rooms to be a real home. That feeling had diminished when my four arrived, and it was almost completely gone now.
A young boy with floppy red-brown hair darted into the hallway. A little girl followed him and almost plowed into his back as he came to an abrupt halt, his wide eyes locked on us. Retta bustled after them both, ducking her head and flushing when she noticed me and my four standing in the foyer.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Miss—Lana. William, Sophie, go upstairs now.”
The pair nodded and walked up the stairs at a much more subdued pace than they’d entered the hall with.
“That’s your son?” I asked Retta, and a wavering smile broke across her face.
She pushed her glasses higher up on her nose. “Yes, and his friend Sophie. A few other families with small children came. I put them upstairs. I… I hope it’s all right. Tarik said you told him—”
I held up a hand, trying to assuage her fears. “I did, and it’s fine. I’m glad they came. Thank you for taking care of them all.”
She blushed, ducking her head again in a half nod, half bow. “My pleasure, Miss Lana. Thank you.”
The last words were spoken so low I almost couldn’t hear them, but they eased some of the pressure choking my heart. I’d done something useful. It wasn’t much, but it was something.
“Of course. Is Darcy still here? I—”
“Lana? Is that you?” Ivy’s voice rose over the soft murmur of the TV from the living room, interrupting me.
“Yeah, I’m here!” I called back, heading for the stairs. I wanted to get this dress off then sit down with my four and put together some kind of plan of action.
“Come in here a minute! I think you need to see this!”
I heaved a sigh. Ivy had made me watch enough of her favorite shows for me to know we didn’t share the same taste in entertainment. Still, I changed direction and walked down the hall to pop my head around the corner of the living room.
“Ivy, I really don’t have—”
“Watch this.”
She didn’t even turn around to face me, and I noticed for the first time that the usual brightness in her tone was gone. My gaze flicked up to the TV screen.
And my blood froze.
It was a live broadcast. A large pavilion set up on the banks of Cherry Creek was illuminated by bright lights. Four figures stood on it, two men and two women, all with their hands bound behind their backs. Their heads drooped and their bodies swayed slightly. I recognized that look. The handcuffs binding them must be charmed, keeping them conscious but unresistant.
The camera panned farther to the right as a figure with tufts of dark, curly hair stepped onto the stage.
Victor Kruger.
I was vaguely aware of my four entering the room behind me as I stepped forward, pulled toward the television by a helpless, dreadful anticipation.
“These four Blighted,” Victor said from the TV, his voice magically amplified to carry over the crowd gathered before the pavilion, “are traitors. Not satisfied with the concessions we have already given them despite their great crime against the Gifted, they have conspired against your government, seeking to destroy us and bring an end to all magic. They are part of a ‘Resistance’ whose mission is to sew disorder and chaos in our peaceful society. These Blighted are responsible for the assassination of Representative Lockwood. And for their crimes, they have been sentenced to death.”
There was a roar as the crowd cheered, the sound almost drowned out by the rushing in my ears. Victor read out the names of the four captured Resistance members before raising a hand, his round, deeply wrinkled face stretching into a smile. Four mages stepped up behind the bound captives.
Victor licked his lips, as if what was about to happen next was a five-course meal—and he was very hungry.
Then he brought his hand down. Water erupted from the mages’ outstretched fingertips, engulfing each of the Blighted prisoners and freezing solid instantaneously. A glittering coat of ice surrounded each one of them, at least six inches thick, trapping them inside.
They looked like statues.
Unmoving.
Dying.
The ice was so strong they couldn’t even struggle for air as their bodies slowly asphyxiated. The living room was silent, and even the crowd in front of the pavilion grew quiet as long minutes ticked by. Four warm bodies pressed close to me as we watched the execution take place, but even the comfort of having my men close by couldn’t banish the cold that crept over my skin. As if I were on that pavilion with the Resistance members, encased in ice too.
Finally, Victor gestured again. The mages sent out bolts that shattered the blocks of ice, and the figures encased within them crumpled like empty sacks.
That was it. Four lifeless bodies lay strewn across the stage, surrounded by slowly melting chunks of ice. And the crowd was cheering again.
The Representatives had made a return to public executions.
And they’d done it with four Resistance members who weren’t supposed to be targeted until tomorrow.
“Corin.” My voice was a rough whisper. “Call Christine.”
“Yeah,” he breathed, his gaze still locked on the TV as he reached for his phone.
I snatched the remote off the couch next to Ivy and mashed the button to lower the volume. For once, Ivy didn’t complain. Her big brown eyes watched me anxiously, and she got up on her knees to lean over the back of the couch and listen in on Corin’s phone call with the rest of us.
“How did they…?” My voice trailed off as I glanced around the dim room.
I’d spent all morning in a soul-crushing meeting with the Representatives. Yet somehow I hadn’t been privy to the knowledge that they’d moved up their attack on the suspected Resistance members or that they planned to publicly execute them. Was this what Victor and Nicholas had been hounding Olene about when we’d crossed paths with them earlier? Had she agreed to it?
“Christine?” Corin’s voice was sharp as he held the phone to his ear. “Yeah, we just saw.” He paused, his nostrils flaring. “That was the information she had, and she passed it on. If the intel wasn’t good, it’s not her fault.” He broke away from our group, pacing across the floor. “Well, why weren’t they moved to a secure location already? We gave you a warning about it this morning!”
My stomach twisted like I’d eaten a live snake as I watched Corin’s face flush. He and Christine talked tensely for another minute, and then he hung up.
“Well?” My voice was too high.
He raked a hand through his sandy blond hair, leaving the short strands sticking up in all directions. “The Peacekeepers came too fast. She said she didn’t even have a chance to warn them.”
Despair filled me, along with a helpless rage that darkened the edges of my vision. I’d probably never become half the mage Jae was, because I couldn’t seem to rein in my emotions. For the second time tonight, I had the urge to start swinging my fists at anything I could reach until I felt better—but no one here deserved that, not even a little. Instead, I clenched my right hand, pressing against my bruised knuckles and letting the pain steady me.
“How is this possible?” I spoke slowly, the words burning as they passed my lips. “I was supposed to come here to help the Resistance, to be a spy for them, but everything that’s happened since I got here has only made things worse.”
Corin shook his head, his starlight blue eyes glinting. “That’s not true, Lana. You—”
“It is true!”
I snapped, my temper getting away from me again. I couldn’t seem to hold onto it for more than a few seconds these days. “I’m supposed to be spying on them, gathering useful information for the Resistance. Instead, three people are dead because of their connection to me, and we don’t know shit. The person who targeted Beatrice must’ve known she was going to share something important with me, so they fucking killed her. Then they cleaned up their trail by killing Gerald and Rat too. Whoever it is has been ahead of me at every single turn.”
I broke away from the soothing touch of my men to pace the length of the room.
“And how the fuck did anyone even know who Gerald was? The guard I charmed made up a cover for him and then forgot the whole thing. No one should’ve known he was down there!”
My temples throbbed, my head pounding as if the strain of the past few days was making my brain swell. I kicked at a chair as I passed by it.
“Godsdamn it! I couldn’t even keep those Resistance members safe. I don’t understand why the Representatives moved up their attack. It’s almost like they knew—”
I broke off, freezing midstride.
Fen walked around so he could see my face better, ducking his head to catch my eyes. “What, killer? Knew what?”
“Knew… everything,” I whispered. “They knew everything I did, everything I found out. They stayed ahead of us because they always knew exactly what was coming.”
Akio leaned against the back of the couch, Ivy’s ghostly face peeking around his shoulder. “Not even the best seer in the world could do that, kitten. It’s not possible.”
I shook my head, the motion continuing even after I’d stopped consciously doing it, like I was a broken wind-up doll. “Not by magic. But there’s a simpler way to find out what your enemy is doing.”
“What do you mean?”
“You plant a spy in their midst.” I swallowed, hating the words I was about to say. “It was Christine. She betrayed us.”
Chapter 23
The room went silent—completely silent—and I realized with a start that Ivy had turned off the TV. She was on her knees on the couch, leaning over the back of it as her rapt gaze bounced around among us.
Guess she finally realized even the craziest TV shows can’t hold a candle to the drama of real life.
All four of the men looked at me with varying degrees of shock on their faces. I didn’t speak again, but the more I considered my declaration, the more convinced I became that I was right. I’d tried to outmaneuver whoever this mysterious figure was, but I’d been scrambling, caught flat-footed at every turn since I got here. The simplest explanation was that someone was feeding every bit of information I gathered right back to the source. And the only person outside of this room who’d been privy to all the knowledge I’d gleaned since I arrived in the Capital was Christine.
That still left two huge questions hanging over us though.
Who was she reporting to?
And why?
Finally, Corin cleared his throat. “Lana, I know you don’t like Christine, but—”
“It’s not about like! I don’t like her—I never have—but I would follow her into death for the right cause. But she betrayed us.”
“You can’t be sure of that.”
“I can’t? She’s the only person who knew everything we were doing. You guys have updated her at least once a day. We were just feeding her information for her to use against us!”
Unable to stay still any longer, I resumed pacing, twisting my hair around my fingers and tugging as if it would help me pull the thoughts from my brain faster.
“Think about it,” I continued. “We told Christine that my grandmother had a suspicion she wanted to share with me, and a bomb was set off in Beatrice’s office the next day. We told her about Gerald and how important he was, and he ended up dead. We asked her to track down Rat, and he wound up dead too. I told her about the attack planned on those Resistance members, and she never even gave them a warning.”
“There wasn’t time,” Fen said, although his dark brows pulled together in concern.
“Because she told someone in the government we knew it was coming!”
“Christine has been leading the Resistance for years.” Jae spoke slowly, and I could see the gears turning in his head. At least he was thinking, and not just rejecting my theory outright. “Why would she turn against us now?”
“I don’t know.” I scrubbed my hands over my face in frustration. “I don’t get it.” A sudden thought made my chest squeeze, and I looked up. “She told me the bomb at the palace wasn’t planted by the Resistance. And it wasn’t. It was Gerald… and her. That memory of Gerald’s, the woman in front of the palace? That was Christine! I didn’t recognize her, because I never would’ve thought it was possible. But the hair was the same—pulled up into a ponytail, brown and straight. Even the way she dressed was the same.”
Akio crossed his arms over his chest, his dark eyes glittering. “She has a point. That could’ve been Christine in the memory.”
“Yeah, or it could’ve been someone else.” Corin chewed on his lip, clearly still doubtful.
“Fuck!” Fenris’s eyes were wide. “No wonder Gerald got killed. If he had memories of Christine and the person she’s working for, the one who took his magic, he could’ve connected all the dots for us.”
I shook my head, disgusted. “That fucking bitch. After all the accusations she laid on me that I was a spy for the Representatives? She was in the pocket of the Gifted the entire time. Gods, she tried to make me feel like shit for grieving my grandmother when she was the one who fucking killed her!”
My chest rose and fell as I tried to catch my breath. I clenched my hands into tight fists and stalked toward the door. But before I reached it, strong, warm arms wrapped around me from behind, pinning my arms at my sides and arresting my forward movement.
Akio spoke low in my ear. “And where are you off to, kitten?”
“I’m gonna go tell Christine I know what she’s been doing. And then I’m gonna fucking stab her.”
I wrenched my arms free and tried again to storm out, but Akio tightened his grip on me, pulling me back toward him. Unconsciously, my body relaxed against his, some of the adrenaline and rage fading from my mind—at least enough that I could start to think clearly again.
The incubus’s breath tickled my neck as he sighed. “I thought that might be the case. But pull your claws back in for a moment, kitten. I admit you make a compelling case, and though I’m loathe to do it, we should seriously consider the possibility that Christine has been turned against us.” Without releasing his hold on me, he turned us around to face the room, raising his voice to include the other men in our conversation. “But even if you’re right—especially if you’re right—the worst thing you can do is storm into the Resistance headquarters and start throwing around accusations.”
Fen rubbed at the scruff of his beard. “He’s right. Christine has the upper hand there. Lots of the Resistance members are still wary of anybody with magic, so it’d be easy for Christine to rally them against you. They’ve known her and trusted her longer, and even if it turns out she betrayed their trust, she has it right now, and you don’t.”
“So? Then what should I do?” I bit out.
Akio’s soft chuckle vibrated against my back. “Take a lesson from all those politicians you’ve been rubbing elbows with, kitten. Lie.”
I twisted in his grip to look up at him. “What?”
He arched an eyebrow. “Tell an untruth. Deceive someone. I know you have a tendency to blurt out whatever you think whenever you think it, but surely you’re familiar with the concept of lying.”
Reaching one hand around, I jabbed him in the ribs and was rewarded with a slight grunt as his whole body jerked. Yup. He was definitely ticklish.
“Yeah, I think I’ve heard of it.” I pulled away from his grasp so I could face him more fully. “But how the hell does lying help us with Christine?”
“Oh, ki
tten. Never underestimate the power of a good lie. It will give you a chance to both test your theory about our illustrious leader and deal with the consequences if it turns out you’re right.”
I narrowed my eyes, still not sure where he was going with this. “Okay… I’m listening.”
“Your concern is that she’s been using every valuable piece of intel we’ve given her against us. So we feed her more information, something that would be of particular interest to her if she is working for the magic thief or the Representatives. And if she takes the bait, then we know where she stands. And we can find out who exactly she’s working for.”
“And the part where I get to deal with the consequences of being right?” I asked, my fingers already itching to throw a fireball… or a dagger… or both.
Akio’s lips tilted up slightly, as if he could read every violent, vengeful thought in my head. “If you’re right, we’ll have gotten her out of the Resistance headquarters and away from her backup. Which will make bringing her down easier.”
“Woah, woah! Wait a minute.” Corin stepped forward, hands raised. “This is Christine we’re talking about. Christine. She’s been our leader for years. Are we all just assuming she’s a traitor now?” He turned to face me, the muscles in his jaw twitching. “I love you, Lana. I do. And I will always have your back. We stood up for you every time Christine doubted you, and I would never let her hurt you. But that doesn’t mean…. I just can’t believe that….” He trailed off, looking lost.
“I’m sorry, Corin,” I whispered. “I wish it wasn’t true, but I can’t think of any other possibility.”
Jae, who’d been listening thoughtfully as we all talked, put a hand on Corin’s shoulder. I could see Corin twitch like he wanted to throw the hand off, but he didn’t. His whole body vibrated like a guitar string, and I couldn’t blame him. I’d known Christine a couple months; they’d known her for years. If I was right, the enormity of her betrayal was staggering.
“Nobody is pronouncing Christine guilty yet.” Jae’s green gaze shot to me, silently seeking confirmation, and I nodded grudgingly. “But I think Akio’s plan is a good one. If Christine has turned traitor, she’s a threat to the entire Resistance. And as she herself pointed out not long ago, there are many innocent lives that would be at risk if the Resistance is compromised. We need to know for sure. If Lana’s theory is wrong, so much the better. But we can’t refuse to seek the truth just because we’re afraid of what we might find.”