Page 34 of Winterfall Destiny

This future Ethan hinted at—where he intends to change the shifters' hierarchies and tear down their control. Am I a pawn in that?

"Yeah, well, my future is with Maeve, not involved in dragon politics," I say cautiously.

Zeke nods. "And you can demonstrate this by taking her to our meeting as an equal."

"And her mental magic skills would help," adds Ethan casually.

"Then we need Tobias. The others."

"No. This has to be focused on you to distract from what we're doing," says Ethan.

"We'll be around." Zeke's smile is tight. "Just us. Not Dorian, if that worries you."

"He doesn't know?"

"Shifter business," says Zeke curtly. "Dorian keeps out."

"The guy's methods work well sometimes, but other times his 'rip throats, ask questions later' method doesn't work." Ethan folds his arms across his chest. "There's a lot to uncover and the fewer bodies involved, the easier that will be."

"I don't think the others will allow Maeve to go," I tell them. "I'll go—but alone."

"Oh, she'll go," says Zeke with a chuckle.

"You can't force her," I growl, and he arches a brow at my tone.

"And your friends can't force Maeve not to do what she wants, if she thinks her involvement will help," he replies. "Isn't it about time Maeve used some of these superior powers on someone?"

I stand. "I'm not going alone with Maeve. We're a team. End of discussion."

Ethan slowly pushes his chair back and I swallow as the dragon mid glares at me. I'm bigger than most people I meet—more so these days—but this guy's body screams 'not to be screwed with'.

"Do you want to kill Gabriella or not?" he asks and the menace ripples towards me.

The question nobody's ever asked me directly. But why would they? We all want the Dominion's roots ripped from the world. No question. But do I want to kill Gabriella?

No.

If I said this to the others, they wouldn't listen to my explanation why, but I'm fucking terrified. Under the academy, the Gabriella we dealt with didn't have the First's blood and still we almost lost lives. Hell, I spent the following days convinced we'd lost Tobias. If our combined group was the only ones capable of killing Gabriella, sure, I'd take the risk. I'll happily pull her and the organisation apart.

But we're not. The First wants her dead too. Isn't the answer simple? We wait until that creature kills Gabriella and nobody needs to die.

Again, if I spoke these words, they'd accuse me of being simple. The First had her opportunities and could easily locate the woman who's stolen and used her blood, and end her life. Why would the First need us?

The answer's obvious and still a reason I don't want to put Maeve and my friends in any more danger. The First could eradicate the Dominion in one fell swoop, just as she did the Blackwoods recently, and exactly as she could us.

Why don't I want to kill the Dominion leader? Because as soon as Gabriella dies, we're next.

15

TOBIAS

We're due to travel to London tomorrow and as Jamie runs through arrangements, I'm distracted by other thoughts. Andrei isn't avoiding me, but then he isn't engaging either. I'm not pushing the issue, especially after the first day when he thought we didn't trust him, but I've watched everything Andrei does for clues.

Clues to what? The First? Secret motivations? A hemia on the verge of going over the edge when in a room with a witch?

I've spent enough time around the people I live with that I'm always aware whose energy enters a room before I see them. Andrei's now confuses me. We were closer recently, Andrei accepting we've become the family that many of us lack, and although he showed anger in the conservatory, his greatest emotion was hurt.

But Andrei's right. If we treat him differently or with suspicion, and he struggles within himself, Andrei won't reach out. The guy's spent his life with people not trusting him, looking for an excuse to tear him down. He'd struggle to leave behind his need to hide and protect himself, even with his found family.

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