Page 105 of Anchor

He grinned. “Yes, well, I put a spell on you when you first came to the Blue House, one that relieved your mind of the magic of this charm.”

“You can do that?”

“Of course. I don’t physically change my appearance—that is only good for short term goals. Days, maybe a couple of weeks, but not longer. It’s illusion magic. This charm alters the people’s perception, not my person.”

I sat up all the way. “That’s fairy magic.” To mess with someone’s mind—that’s categorized asfairy magic.

“It really isn’t—just the Council and the IDD trying to put everything into neat little boxes,” Taland said. “Come closer.” He pulled me down until I was half lying on him again. “Magic is magic. Fairies seem to be more naturally gifted at illusions—that doesn’t mean that this magic is for fairies only. They’ve destroyed and made illegal all kinds of illusions in their attempt to control the people, to control the power that they have. Trust me, it’s not because they care; it’s because they want that power for themselves.”

I shook my head, speechless for a moment. I believed Taland—of course I did. But I was raised among these people, and I worked with them every single day, and never before had I even had the chance to go close to confidential files or spells, what the leaders were cleared to use. Michael, my team leader, had taken things from us and written reports on missions several times without our input—for missions he calledtop class. He said we weren’t allowed to test and report on the things we found or didn’t find, or to read the meters of magics used against us infights or simply in locations where we were sent to hunt down the bad guys.

Whattheycalled bad guys, anyway.

“My grandmother has kept so much from me,” I ended up whispering. She probably knew about all of this—of course she did. She was at the heart of the Council when she was in Hill’s place, and I didn’t know about other IDD directors, but the Counciladoredher.

“Which was why Selem was created. Nobody passes on this information to their children anymore. Not the Iridians who are in charge. They call itsaving the younger generations from unnecessary danger and trauma,but in fact they’re just leaving us ignorant. We need to know what’s out there—exactly what magic is capable of, what mages are capable of. We need to be prepared, not blinded. This was made by my mother—she made each one of us identical charms because she felt it was her responsibility to tell us what to expect from the world, and she still found a way to offer her protection for when we grew up and she couldn’t keep an eye on us anymore.”

Taland kissed the top of my head, and I realized I’d never once heard him talking like this before. Not just about his mother—but aboutlife.About how things were right now. About how the Council maintained control over the people, apparently, and called itorder.

“I worked for them for so long,” I whispered.

“But you were safe. I preferred it,” he said.

A bitter laugh escaped me. “Believe you me, I wasn’t. My town team leader tried to kill me. My own teammate made me Mud. All that magic she put on me—and she was so powerful. All that magic…” The look in Erid’s eyes, thesorryin them was in the center of my mind right now.

“That’s what I don’t understand,” Taland said. “You’re Madeline Rogan’s granddaughter. I don’t believe a team leaderwould dare to threaten you, let alone try to kill you, without good reason. Without having something to gain out of it, something big.”

“He said he had orders from high up,” I whispered, and I really didn’t want to think about that day, go back to those memories, but I knew I had to. Taland was here and it was a hundred times easier to do it now than when I was on my own, anyway.

“Hill?” Taland whispered, and every inch of my skin rose in goose bumps.

“You think?”

“Well, he apparently gave the order to spy on me, to shoot me. Why would he want to get rid ofyou,though? Your grandmother and the Council are still connected as far as I know,” he said.

“They are. They literally let me live because of her. They decided toallowme to remain the winner of the Iris Roe and made up that lie about me always being a Redfire, too.” Even having survived that trap they calleda game,I’d have been dead right now if it wasn’t for Madeline—which sucked.

“I don’t see why he’d want to go against her, especially since his goal is to remain the director of the IDD until retirement. We need him there—that’s what my brothers and the Mergenbachs say.”

That name—he’d said it before. And I was almost sure I’d heard it somewhere else, too. So much on my mind that I couldn’t—didn’t even try to put my finger on it.

“Maybe the Council found out about you andmadehim or something?” I muttered, though it was highly unlikely.

“He’d have warned us if that was the case. He always does.”

“Then I have no clue.” All of this was far too complicated, and my head was already heavy.

“Which is why we need to talk to Radock,” Taland said. “Something doesn’t feel right here. Something’s going on, and I want to know what it is.”

I sighed. “Fine. We’ll go see your brothers, but if they come close to me again, I am going to shoot them.”

That made him squeeze me to his chest tighter. “They won’t. But if they do and I’m not there, feel free to shoot them twice.”

I looked up. “Why wouldn’t you be there?”

He shrugged. “Just saying,if.Shoot them as many times as you like.”

“Oh, I will.” And I wouldn’t even hesitate.

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