Page 85 of Spark of the Everflame

“You are not to reveal the identity of any other member. There are no exceptions to this rule—ever. Am I understood?”

“Yes, Father,” I answered this time with the crowd, the words tasting awkward on my tongue.

The eyes of the three men in the front turned on me and lingered for a beat too long. There was something there, something in their sudden fixation—as if they could see the discomfort written on my face. The two men at Vance’s side exchanged a look, some inscrutable expression passing between them.

They didn’t trust me. Henri had been right about the cloud my father’s legacy cast over my loyalty to the mortal cause. My so-calledtestmay have been enough for Vance, but I evidently had a long way to go to be accepted by the others.

“As I mentioned,” Vance continued, “Sister Diem has brought us priceless intelligence that we hope will be useful in our coming mission. Many of you are aware that we’ve been planning a more aggressive course of action in light of the fraud King Ulther’s illness, and with this new informat—”

“Fortos’s balls, Albanon, you actually did it. You talked her into joining.”

I looked over to see Brecke slip into the seat on Henri’s opposite side.

“Brother Brecke,” Henri said quietly as they clasped forearms. “You’re a long way from home.”

Brecke smoothed a hand over his dark beard. “Someone told me there were feisty women to be found in Lumnos.” He winked at me. “I had to come see it for myself.”

I leaned all the way across Henri’s chest and dramatically laid a hand on Brecke’s thigh. “What fortunate timing you have, Brother,” I purred. “As of a few minutes ago, I seem to be back on the market.”

Henri grabbed my hand and tucked it into both of his palms. “Don’t listen to anything she says, she’s high on Descended wine.”

I shot him a fierce look, but Henri’s face was so full of guileless mischief, his eyes still lit with pride in me at my successful mission, I couldn’t resist the smile that sprang up on my lips.

“So he convinced you to become a Guardian,” Brecke said, his voice low as the meeting droned on ahead of us.

“It’s my first night,” I said.

“She broke into Evrim Benette’s personal office,” Henri added. “Stole a pile of documents off his desk and walked right out.”

“Shit, Bellator!” Brecke clapped his hand on my knee. “You’re definitely one of us now.”

My gnawing guilt eased a bit at his praise.

“How’s that knife I gave you?” he asked, nodding at the blade still clutched in my hand from Henri’s prank. “Stabbed any Descended with it yet?”

I smirked and slid it back into its sheath. “I did, actually.”

“You did?” they said loudly in unison.

A scowling woman turned and shushed us, and I cowered deeper into my seat with an apologetic grimace.

Brecke leaned closer. “You really stabbed one of ‘em?”

I nodded. “I saw a Descended man attacking a mortal woman and half-mortal child a few days ago. He...” My voice hitched at the still-tender memory. “He got away, but I got two good cuts in.”

Brecke beamed like I’d told him I had regrown the Everflame.

Henri frowned. “You didn’t tell me that part.”

I winced. I’d kept most of the details of what had happened in that alley from Henri. When I’d gone to him afterward, I’d been too lost in my anger to relive it in full, too focused on seeking retribution through the Guardians.

And there were still some parts about what happened I was not yet ready to revisit. Not until I understood them better myself.

“I forgot,” I lied, avoiding his eyes. “It was an emotional day.”

“You forgot you stabbed a Descended?”

I shrugged and leaned back, pretending to turn my attention to the meeting. An awkward silence followed, then I wandered in and out of eavesdropping as Brecke and Henri talked quietly about Brecke’s real reason for coming to Lumnos—something about a weapons shipment I mostly ignored, having already had enough exposure to that world for one day.

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