Page 88 of Incipient

“Let themanointme as the Fourth Horseman, or whatever they called it.” Honestly, I wasn’t even sure why I was asking her. Of course, she would agree with them. Tessa always put duty above all else.

Her and Gabriel were two peas in a pod like that.

“Actually, no. I don’t.”

I jerked back at her words, certain I’d heard her wrong. “Come again?”

She studied me for a harrowing moment. “Listen, Jem. I’m all for kicking ass and taking names, but this is taking it a little far, even for me. There has to be another way—something else to try first. Preferably something tried and true.”

“If there was another way, they would’ve mentioned it,” I said, despondent. “There would’ve been something in the books about this.”

“Well, maybe this isn’t abookskind of problem. Maybe this is a throw-everything-you-have-at-the-problem-and-hope-for-the-best kind of problem, and I think I should be the one doing the throwing.”

My shock at her disagreeing with the Council’s wishes quickly switched to horror as I understood what she was saying. “You’re not going to be the sacrificial lamb here, Tessa. Apart from the fact that I’m not okay with going after a pregnant girl regardless of who’s baby she’s carrying, she’s already too powerful. And that’s without siphoning the baby’s magic or the hordes of demons protecting her. You won’t be able to get within a mile of her. It’s suicide.”

“Better me than you,” she answered, unfazed, as though her mind had already been made up. “I have more experience than you. Besides, I’m your big sister. I’m not just going to let them throw you to the stake.”

“So, I should letyouthrow yourself on it instead?” I shot her a pointed look. “That’s not going to happen.”

“Were you always this stubborn?”

“Mostly.”

She smiled, though it didn’t quite make it up to her ash colored eyes. “There’s something else I’ve been meaning to talk to you about,” she said, her tone turning serious.

My brow raised in a questioning look.

“I’m not sure if I mentioned that I had been trying to track down mom for the last few weeks,” she started, eyeing me nervously. “Well, anyway. I found her.”

I blinked at her. Just hearing her mention our mother made my heart spur icicles. “And?”

“And we spent some time together.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“She wants to see you again, Jem,” she said, finally getting to the point. “And I think you should meet with her.”

“For what?” I asked frostily. It had been months since the Council cut her loose from herforever resting placeand she had not made the slightest effort to reach out to me or Tessa once since then. “Why now?”

“I know you think she just up and disappeared on us after the Council pardoned her, but she didn’t. She’s been looking for a way to help you—to understand our bloodline better. She’s learned a lot, Jemma, and I think she can really help you.”

I crinkled my nose at her. “Help me do what exactly?”

“Help you reach your full potential,” she answered wistfully. “Who you are…what you can do…it’s so much more than any of us ever imagined. I think if you just hear her out, you’ll see—” Tessa’s words cut at the sound of the front door opening and shutting, followed by the sound of heavy footfalls making their way toward us.

My jaw was still partially unhinged when Trace appeared at the threshold, his blue eyes lighting up at the sight of Tessa. Lucky for her, she wasn’t one of the people he’d forgotten. And I totally wasn’t jealous.

“Jesus, Trace,” she said as she jumped up from the sofa and rushed over to him. “When the hell did you get sohotand grown up?” she asked as she pulled him into a hug.

His gaze cut to me from over her shoulder. “Probably around the same time you did,” he said as he flashed me that million-dollar smile of his.

She took a full step back and catalogued him. “I swear you get better looking every time I see you. There’s got to be something in the water.”

“You should know, you grew up here,” he answered and then gave her a flirtatious wink.

“Okay, enough. You’re both older and hotter. We get it,” I said, rolling my eyes at them.

“Aw, I think she’s jealous. How cute,” teased Tessa, which prompted another eye roll from me.

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