Page 10 of Forging Darkness

“You’re not wrong. Since your discovery, the Council has shoveled resources into searching for the lost branch of angel-born.”

A spark of hope starts to warm my chest. I’m much more comfortable being a regular Nephilim descended from a previously-believed-to-be-extinct line than the only living Nephilim to have been sired by a full-fledged angel.

“But I wouldn’t get too excited about it. If they do exist, they’ve gone to a lot of trouble to remain hidden. Saying it’s going to be difficult to find them is an understatement.”

The flickering hope immediately snuffs out.

“But you won’t regret this trip. I promise.”

The look on Sable’s face is so earnest, I do my best to smile back, hoping she’s right. I live with enough burdens—I’m not looking to add regret to the pile.

When I leave her office, I pull out my phone and type out a short message to the group.We need to talk.

Chapter Four

Sterling slams his hands against the library table. I jolt back, the front two legs of my seat lifting off the ground as several students shoot curious or annoyed glances our way.

“You absolutely can’t go.”

“Don’t hold back. Tell me how you really feel.”

“I’m serious, Emberly. If you go, you may never come back.”

“Geez, Sterl. Dramatic much? She said Sable was going with her.” Nova files her nails, looking completely bored. I didn’t even realize she’d been listening. Tinkle is who-knows-where. Probably napping. “The Council of Elders is not the Illuminati.”

“Are you sure about that? Do you remember Jude? Here one day, gone the next.”

“Because he transferred to another academy.”

“That’s what they want you to believe.”

Nova shakes her head and goes back to her nails.

Sterling’s reaction to my Council announcement makes me want to burst out laughing as much as it makes me want to run and hide. Anything that could possibly lead to the loss of my freedom makes me twitchy. I trust Sable, but . . .

“Stop, Sterling.” Ash leans forward and points a finger in the twin’s direction. “You’re going to freak her out. We all know Sable has been sending them updates about Emberly since Blaze and Aurora were kidnapped. They’ve had weeks now, months really, to pull Emberly out of the academy and ship her to an undisclosed location, and they haven’t. That has to count for something.”

I offer Ash a weak smile. She’s trying to reassure me, but that wasn’t the strongest argument. Just because they haven’t tried kidnapping me—again—doesn’t mean they won’t. I don’t have the best track record when it comes to authority figures. Granted, up until I learned I was a Nephilim, all the adults in my life had been humans who were genetically predisposed to be wary of me, but still, when you find out someone is trying to have you committed, that’ll do a number on you.

I can’t rely on Sable’s protection alone. At the very least, she’ll be outnumbered if the Council tries to pull something. For all his boasting of unparalleled cosmic powers, as far as I can tell, Tinkle’s main ability is shading me from Fallen and Forsaken . . . and shooting sparks out of his butt.

“I think,” Greyson starts, the last of our group to speak up. He waits until it’s clear he has our attention. “We’re missing the obvious opportunity this presents. If we manage to track down Steel, we can use Emberly’s trip as a cover. We could slip away to help himandgo with her to Egypt as backup.”

Sterling leans forward, obviously intrigued. “How do you figure?”

“Sable wants to take you to the Council’s compound over break, right?” I nod. “So we campaign to go with you, but ask if we can spend a few days with our family in New York first. We tell our parents we’re going straight to Egypt and tell Sable to pick us up in New York at a set date. Boom, we’ve just created a window of time to be wherever we want to be. With a bit of luck, we’ll be able to help Steel and make it back to New York before anyone knows we were gone.” Greyson makes it sound so simple, but I doubt it will be.

The table is silent for a beat while his suggestion sinks in. It’s Sterling who reacts first, by whooping and jumping to his feet. He pounds his fist in the air and starts chanting “road trip” over and over again. Someone throws a balled up piece of paper at him.

“Sit down,” Ash orders. “You’re in a library, you putz. And also, the Council resides in the Middle East. You can’t road trip over the Atlantic Ocean.”

“Same difference.”

“Not really.”

“You guys can’t come,” I cut in. “This is one of your only yearly breaks. You should be with your families to celebrate the holidays.”

“I could swing it.” Nova’s still working on her nails. I think she’s filing them all to points. “My parents won’t miss me,” she says with a shrug.

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