Page 35 of The Song Rising

Shock washed over me. I hadn’t wanted to accept it, but now I had no choice. The four most populous orders of clairvoyance were visible, their years of walking the streets at an end. That left a fraction of us who could roam London without fear of detection.

And all because I had gone into the warehouse without ensuring that our information was reliable.

“Vance used my aura to improve Senshield.” I kept my voice low. “We need to focus on damage control.”

They were all silent, watching me.

If I told the syndicate the truth, many of them might blame me for our new vulnerability. If I lied, and they found out anyway, their reaction would be much worse. Either way, I needed them to believe as I did: that revolution was crucial to our survival. If we were to endure with four of the orders in this much danger, that belief would be vital.

“I have to speak to the Unnatural Assembly about this,” I said. “To warn them.” I hesitated. “I should . . . tell them the truth about how Scion did it. I don’t want to rule with lies.”

“I wouldna do that, Underqueen,” Tom murmured.

“They have to know that they can trust me. If I lie to them—”

“You won’t be lying,” he stressed. “You’ll be leaving something out, for the sake of harmony.”

“Perhaps you should take the rest of the night to consider this, Underqueen. It will be difficult to bring the Assembly together during curfew, in any case,” Glym said. “It would be prudent to wait until sunrise.”

He had a point. I would only put them in more danger if I forced them outside now.

“I want them all at St. Dunstan-in-the-East at fiveA.M., before Weaver can make any early announcements,” I conceded. “I’ll tell them myself that the fourth order is in danger, and I’ll hold a vote on what we should do next: go into hiding, or stay on the streets. Whatever the outcome of that vote, I’ll have to ask the Ranthen to sanction it.”

“Never mind a vote. Those of us who are detectablemusthide,” the Pearl Queen said. Maria gritted her teeth. “Well, what else is there to do? Senshield is intruding farther and farther into our lives by the day. Personally, I have no desire to be pounced upon by Vigiles if I stray too close to a letter box. Let us not put pride over sense.”

“This is the Mime Order’s decision to make. Together.” I sounded much calmer than I felt. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Be there at five, not a second later.”

They murmured their goodnights and went their different ways; Maria patted my arm as she left. I took the stairs to the ground floor, wearing a mask of unconcern, and walked straight into Nick, as I headed for the doors. My muscles felt so spring-loaded with tension that I flinched away from him.

“Paige?”

“Sorry. I didn’t see you. I’m just—” I stopped when I saw his face. “What’s happened?”

“It’s Dani. She’s gone.”

I shook my head. “Gone?”

“Every trace of her: her clothes, her equipment, everything. No sign of a struggle.”

“That means nothing.” I gripped his arm. “Nick, she could have been discovered—”

“I doubt it. They would have stayed in the hideout to lie in wait for her allies.”

If she hadn’t been taken, then she had left us of her own accord. My first deserter, and it was Danica, of all people. Danica Panic, the last person on earth to run from a problem.

Surely she hadn’t gone to Jaxon.

“Eliza saw her earlier, and she didn’t say anything. I think what happened at the warehouse really shook her, Paige.”

The words dug out a hollow in my chest. “That’s our last link to Senshield gone,” I said. His face reflected my disquiet. “Maybe it’s time for us to approach the Vigiles. Like Warden said, they want Senshield destroyed as much as we do, and they might have information. We can’t give up on finding the core. Destroying it is the only way.”

“We’ll need to be very careful.”

“You don’t need to remind me.” I drew my coat closer. “They . . . confirmed the report.”

“Tom said.” He laid a hand on my shoulder. “Are you going to tell them the whole truth?”

“I don’t know yet.” I glanced behind me and lowered my voice. “I’m announcing the news tomorrow. I want to do it tonight, but—”

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