Page 124 of Forging Darkness

Oh, gosh. I hope that’s what it means.

The comfort of his warm, calloused fingers also boosts my confidence a half-notch. A warm fuzzy feeling blossoms in my heart when he refuses to release my hand when we both sit.

Deacon cocks an eyebrow at us from across the table, but I pretend not to notice.

“Emberly. Steel. I want to start out by letting you know that you wouldn’t normally be here for a meeting like this.”

It’s hard not to prickle after a comment like that. It must show because Malachi goes on to say, “Simply because you are novices—if only in the technical sense, of course. You’ve proven yourselves highly capable in battle, but there’s a particular reason you were asked here today. About an hour ago, the Forsaken known formally as Silver Durand walked out of the desert and up to our compound.”

If nothing else, the girl’s got guts.

“She claims to have some time-sensitive material about the Forsaken and Fallen’s plans that she’s willing to give up . . . on the condition she’s restored to her previous condition as a Nephilim.”

In other words, if I can blast the Fallen out of her, she’ll flip sides.

My gaze drifts to Eloise and Laurent. This is their daughter we’re talking about. They’re sitting perfectly still. Too still.

It seems as if the whole room is waiting for me to say something, but I can’t offer much but the truth. “I don’t know how I did it.”

“Would you be willing to try again?” Malachi pushes.

My eyes find their way to Steel’s parents again. They watch me carefully. “There’s a very good chance I’ll end up killing her in the process,” I confess. They need to know that. “I thought that’s what I’d done to Steel. Are you willing to take that risk?” And then I sway my gaze to Malachi. “Is Silver cool with that?”

“It’s our understanding that she’s been fully apprised of what happened to Steel. Most likely she talked to firsthand witnesses herself. She claims to have been unconscious when the event took place, but even so, we believe she’s aware of the possible consequences.”

That’s not good enough for me, especially since Silver is already in the driver’s seat. Yes, as a Forsaken she isn’t the same girl she once was, but I’m now more sure than ever that what she’d claimed was true—that she’d somehow overcome the Fallen that had intended to take over her body.

“If there’s a chance we can get our daughter back,” Laurent voices, “we want to take it.”

“I’m willing to try, but I have a condition of my own. I want to talk to Silver first.”

* * *

After spending so much time in the spectrum world with Silver, it’s jarring to see her in the mortal one. Her fragile beauty is striking. Her skin is pale but glows as the picture of health. A slight blush tints her cheeks, and her hair hangs down her back in a sleek sheet, every strand perfectly in place rather than the greasy, matted mess I’m used to. Her teal eyes sway this way and that as she surveys the nondescript room she’s trapped in.

She doesn’t look like a feral killing machine anymore, but rather a sedate fairy-tale princess come to life. The only hint she gives of being anything but perfectly relaxed on the other side of the one-way mirror, is the rapid tapping of her pinky finger on the metal table her hands are chained to.

“Are you ready?” Malachi asks.

I glance around the small, crowded room. Half the Council is here. Eloise and Laurent stand closest to the mirror. Eloise has her hands pressed against it and her eyes trained on her daughter. Sable stands to my left and Steel’s at my back. He’s not touching me, but I can feel his presence.

I take a deep breath. “Yeah. I’m good to go.” That wasn’t convincing at all.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to go in there with you?” Steel says. I glance over my shoulder to see him nod toward his sister, seated sedately on the other side of the glass.

“Yeah. Things tend to get a bit explosive between the two of you. I want to keep things as chill as possible.”

A frown tugs at his mouth. Before following Malachi into the antechamber connected to the interrogation room, I lay a hand on Steel’s bicep and squeeze gently. It doesn’t do much to dispel the worry fogging his gaze, but it’s all I can offer at the moment.

Malachi turns to me when it’s just the two of us. “Whenever you’re ready, Emberly. Just give us the signal when you’re done.” There are microphones in the walls of the room beyond, so the peanut gallery will be able to hear every word we say once I join Silver.

“Thanks.” I offer him a waning smile, turn the knob and step into the room. The door behind me drifts shut, the lock clicking back into place.

Silver’s hearing is excellent, perhaps even better than mine, so she no doubt heard me in the antechamber before I even stepped foot into this room. She takes her time before acknowledging my presence. It’s not until I sit on the other side of the table that her gaze meanders in my direction.

She considers me with a cat-like demeanor—seemingly uninterested, but secretly ready to attack at any moment. It puts me even more on edge. “They expect you to do your fire mojo in this room? How . . . odd.”

“No. I’m not here to use angel-fire on you.”

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