Page 79 of Siege of Shadows

“Maia?”

“Agent Rhys! Ms. Finley!”

“Aidan!”

“Aidan! Oh god, Aidan!”

Figures were rushing toward us. Agents. I recognized some of them. Director Prince’s eldest son, Brendan Prince, was among them and—Naomi. She was barefoot, running toward us with her high-heeled shoes in her hand, but she stopped the moment she saw me, saw the sword I lifted.

“I did everything I was asked,” I called out over the noise. “I did everything, but you...” I lowered my arms, the tip of my sword touching softly against the ground before my hands started to shake. “You... Why didn’t you protect me?”

I fell to my knees as Zhar-Ptitsa faded into embers that brushed past my body and fluttered with the wind into the moonlit night. My time was up. She was coming.

Closing my eyes, I let the darkness take me.

•••

The story was that an anti-Sect gunman had infiltrated the estate looking to murder Blackwell. Blackwell’s wounded body and the shattered windows were proof enough, though it didn’t stop questions from being asked. Dignitaries left the fund-raiser quickly while journalists scurried to put together their news reports.

I sat on the front steps of Blackwell’s estate, my dress torn in places, my body wet with sweat as I watched the ambulance take Rhys to the nearest hospital for his burns.

Rhys.

“Natalya,” I whispered as the bright sirens disappeared into the night. “You... weren’t lying to me after all.”

Each word plummeted to the floor like a stone. I had to fight to keep from following them. My limbs felt weak, my mind blank but for the memory of Rhys pleading for death at Natalya’s hand.

I was wrong about everything.

I touched my lips, lips that had touched his, my fingers trembling. Liars and traitors were everywhere. I was surrounded by them. Brendan had taken the shattered steel neck-band in as evidence, and I was to be sent to the London facility immediately to check out the back of my neck. But even though I needed to know what had happened to me, I couldn’t trust them. I couldn’t run away either. I couldn’t hide. WhatcouldI do?

I lowered my head into my hands as soon as I felt the tears budding.

“Maia.”

Lifting it again, I looked down the line of parked cars in front of the estate. Naomi called me from the back of a sleek black Rolls-Royce. She waved at me to come over.

“Are you okay, Mrs. Prince?” I asked once I finally reached her.

The window was down, but she kept the door open. That didn’t mean I felt welcome coming forward. Naomi sat rigidly in the backseat, her long, sleek black hair draping down her chest like a blanket.

“Somewhat. I’m still shaken.”

I could see that. Her pale hands trembled against her lap.

Did she know? About Rhys?

“Mrs. Prince...” I looked around, making sure nobody could hear me, and lowered my voice. “The last time I scried, Natalya told me to talk to you. She gave me your name specifically.”

“She did.” It was something between a statement and a question.

“What Natalya said to you earlier...”

Naomi’s bottom lip curled inward. “Yes. Come inside.”

I hesitated but eventually listened. Whatever Natalya blamed her for, she’d sent me to Naomi for a reason. The woman shifted over to make room. Once I was inside, she rolled up the tinted windows. We were alone.

“Please tell me you know something.” I gripped the back of the passenger seat. “What the hell is going on here? Saul is out there. Jessie said something big is gonna happen. And he’s got people helping him, soldiers with abilities like him, likeus, but I don’t know who the hell I’m supposed to trust anymore.” My eyes watered as I thought about Rhys, our kiss. The burning sensation still hadn’t quite disappeared from the back of my neck. “The Sect—”

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