Page 59 of Siege of Shadows

“N-no, not at all. I was merely explaining the importance of framing and—don’t get me wrong, Victoria, you’ve been an irreplaceable asset in humanizing the Sect through your activities. You’re very... human.” He covered his cough with his fist. “And certainly your appearance has been our asset—appearances!” he added fast, his face burning red. “Yourappearances. Your appearances have been an asset... to us.”

“I’m sure you’ve done a lot of thinking about her appearance.” Without looking at him, Chae Rin spun her staff around her head and struck the air with one quick thrust. “And her assets.”

“Maia!” Brendan blurted out my name, flustered, just as Lake began to consider him with a curious stare. “You, Maia. I think you would be good for this. You have the image of being somewhat of an ingénue. It would work.”

“Great, another fund-raiser,” I said. The last fund-raiser I went to in New York was a dud even before Saul started slaughtering everyone with phantoms. “All right, whatever. Let’s just hope there isn’t a death toll for this one.”

“Good. I’ll make sure they know to expect you.” Without another word, he walked out the door.

“Oh, wait!” I stuffed my bloody bandages into the garbage and caught up with him outside.

“What is it?” Brendan said as I shut the door behind me.

“Uh. Well...” Now that I was out here, under the unfiltered glare of the morning sun, I didn’t know how to start. The breeze lapped at my face, fluttering the curled hair across my forehead.

“It’s about Aidan, right?”

Brendan looked at me like he understood. Of course he did. Aidan was his brother. They were family.

As I watched his brown eyes lighten, I suddenly felt bare, as if I’d just remembered that half of me was missing. It was the same phantom pain that always sprang up each time I thought of my sister.

“He’ll be okay,” he said before I could speak. “You’re friends with him, right?”

I lowered my head. “Friends...” Was I?

“Girlfriend?”

Startled, I snapped my head back up, shaking my head resolutely.

“Well, whatever it is, thank you for caring about him.” Brendan lifted his arm as if to touch my shoulder, but, overcome with awkwardness, settled on a curt nod. “He can be a lot to handle. He’s always been mouthy, rebellious. Always talked back to Father.” He paused. “Well, he used to before Greenland....”

As he trailed off, I could tell the same questions screamed in the silence that stretched between us.

“Brendan,” I started in a quiet voice. “What Vasily said back there in the Hole—”

“Vasily is a liar,” Brendan snapped, cutting me off. Then, composing himself, he continued. “Vasily was merely trying to confuse us. It was my mistake bringing Aidan; I should have known something like that could happen.”

But I wasn’t satisfied with that answer. “Vasily made it seem like something went down, Brendan. Something beyond the fire.”

“But nothing did,” he said. “You can check the records yourself; it’s all there for public viewing. Believe me, I’ve pored over them more than once. Was the facility tough? Of course. Was the training difficult? Historically so. But when the fire happened, there were so few survivors that the Council simply voted to keep it closed. That’s it. No foul play. All the survivors of the fire were thoroughly interviewed. Even Aidan. He was only fourteen. The poor boy was traumatized. And he never wanted to go in the first place.”

Brendan’s lips trembled a bit as he closed them.

“He’s not a bad person,” Brendan said. “Really.”

“Yeah.” I’d felt it too. The warmth he’d shown me since he’d met me was genuine. But everything about Rhys seemed like a contradiction. The more I peeled, the more sweet parts fell away, revealing those black spots I wasn’t sure I was ready to see.

“It’s honestly not that complicated, when you think of it.” Brendan shrugged. “He’s a good kid. He has a soft heart, always had. Maybe that’s why it was hard for him....” He trailed off. “He had to go through things, sure—we all have. But he’s fine now. There’s no problem.”

I let Brendan leave thinking I believed him.

Secrets piling up like bones in a graveyard. Natalya knew it too. She was probably mocking me in front of the red door, waiting. She had answers. And I had to know for sure.

I had to see Natalya.

•••

Belle borrowed a vintage pink Beetle from the Sect lot—the same one she always took when she wanted to disappear for a while without telling us where she was going. The fully tinted windows made driving around the city a lot easier; she could peer at the outside, but the outside couldn’t peer at her. It was a comforting thought as we drove through the outer gates, passed the warring crowds picketing and counterpicketing on the other side of the bars. Fans and Sect haters, newly spurred by the attacks in Bloemfontein.

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