Page 94 of Flock This

And given he’d wanted me to survive this, from the start, I had to think he was happy. Except, his expression suggested something far more complicated.

The rest of the council seats were empty, and the stifling atmosphere pressed down on me. Finally, the door opened, and the first to enter was Kelvin. He wore a pin on the front of his shirt that designated him as the new Grave council seat.

I drew my hands into fists, my thoughts bitter and angry. He’d finally gotten exactly what he’d always wanted, to climb to the top of the pile no matter who he had to step on and destroy.

Including me.

He swung his face toward me, but I looked away, refusing to meet his gaze, to give him that satisfaction. Instead, I studied the floor as though it had suddenly gotten incredibly interesting.

A chair scraped against the marble floors, telling me he’d taken his spot in front of the red crystal, the seat of power for the Grave clan.

When the door opened again, Galen walked in. He took a step toward me the moment he entered, as though he couldn’t stop himself, and I nearly lost my composure at seeing him.

It had been so long since I’d seen his face. Not since this all started, when I’d run to his house not knowing where else to go that first day. I recalled the way he’d stared at me when he’d checked me for injuries, the way he’d offered me protection.

What would have happened if I’d said yes? If I’d agreed to become his mate? Would everything had gone differently?

I blew out a breath, wondering just how badly my own stubbornness had fucked me over.

He stopped himself before he approached, however. He must have known doing it wouldn’t gain anything. Instead, he went to his seat, in front of the amber crystal, never removing his gaze from me.

I gave him a tight smile, knowing I had nothing else to offer.

Next came Harrison, though he hardly spared me a glance. Funny that he could be that uninterested despite the way he’d treated me in the car after finding me hiding in this very council room what felt like a lifetime ago.

That left just one missing council seat—the head of the Nature clan, the one who rarely came to such meetings. It would be my first time meeting them, and what a way to meet.

I chuckled at my own thought. Somehow, restrained and charged with murder seemed liked a pretty fair way for someone to meet me. It set up all the right expectations of what a friendship with me would entail—mischief and disaster for the most part.

“Is he coming?” Galen asked Ruben.

“I believe so,” Ruben answered. “I reached out last night and was told by his second that he planned to attend personally.”

“He’s coming?” Kelvin asked, his tone sharp. “He never comes to these. I wonder what reason he could have now.” Kelvin looked my way, as though blaming me for it.

Which was fair, given how often things were my fault, but this time felt like jumping to conclusion a little too fast.

At least, I thought that until the door opened and a very familiar person walked in.

Long white hair, almost ethereally beautiful features and soft brown antlers.

Which meant that Porter was the head of the Nature clan. I couldn’t believe that Ignis wouldn’t mention that little fact when she’d sent me to meet with him.

He looked my way, but his expression was impossible for me to work out. It wasn’t happy, but neither was it quite so upset as Galen. Instead, it seemed full of thought. Could he tell about Kelvin from just seeing me? Given he could sense life forces, maybe he knew I’d become a thrall.

It might just save me—in a way—but it also killed me.

He wore pair of slacks in a soft green along with a loose white tunic, something that made him look as though he came from the past—or a really nice Renaissance fair. He went to his seat before the green crystal, and sat, somehow managing to look really damned regal.

It made me wonder how people pulled that off. So far all four of them had looked as though they belonged there, in their places of power. They all looked like the sort of people who would control the world, who would shape it to their own will.

Was that why they sat in those places or was it something they learned from being there? It was a chicken or egg question, I guessed, something I would never really know.

Also, something that didn’t matter.

Once Porter sat, Ruben approached the table, standing beside me. “The items on the itinerary today are clear. First, as you can see, Kelvin has been named as the head of the Grave Clan. He takes over for William Garrison and now holds all the power and protections afforded to that position.” Ruben nodded toward Kelvin, the passage of power appearing too damn peaceful.

Which was a lie and a half. I thought about William’s body, about all the people threatened or killed or hurt to achieve that. Sure, it seemed so nice when all a person saw was Kelvin sitting there, but that was far from the full story.

---