Page 37 of Nearly Dead

A snort of derision comes from the werewolves.

“Hardly neutral,” Sully growls.

“I have a better suggestion,” Birch says smoothly.“The hybrid will be kept in council territory, with representatives from all factions present to observe.”

“Prison,” I mutter.“You’re talking about putting me in prison.”

“Safety,” he corrects.“For you, and for others.”

I look to Costin, seeing the carefully contained rage in his eyes.He doesn’t like this any more than I do, but I can tell he’s calculating, trying to find the best way forward.

“I accept,” I say before anyone else can speak.“But on one condition.”

The chamber falls silent again, every eye on me.

“I want information about Leviathan and why he’s coming after me,” I continue.“And about what he’s doing with my brother Conrad’s spirit.”

A ripple of surprise moves through the council members.

“Conrad?”Decimus repeats, his eyes narrowing.“Your adoptive brother who died?”

“Whose ghost has been haunting me,” I clarify.“A ghost that Leviathan is supposedly keeping contained, except he isn’t.He’s using him for something.I want to know what.”

“How do you know this?”Vasilisa asks.

“Because Conrad told me.”I straighten my shoulders, forcing confidence I don’t entirely feel.“Three nights ago, he appeared in my room.He said Leviathan had given him work release.And then he said he’s coming for me.”

The council members exchange glances, some skeptical, others concerned.I notice Elizabeth’s face has gone carefully blank, giving nothing away.

“Necromancers are not council business,” Birch says dismissively.“Their practices are their own, so long as they maintain discretion.”

“Do you not believe me because he’s an elder from the Sacred Delegation and I’m—?”I start to ask.

“A Devine,” Astrid inserts.“She is a Devine, and it becomes council business when they target a Devine.”

Vasilisa chuckles.“The Sacred Delegation is just a meaningless title we gave lesser creatures centuries ago to make them feel special.”

“Thane was part of the Sacred Delegation,” Sully interjects.

Vasilisa smirks as if it proves her point.

“If she’s being targeted at all,” Elizabeth interjects.“We have only the word of a hybrid who, by her own admission, is unstable.Perhaps these visions are simply manifestations of her fractured mind.”

I feel a surge of anger at her dismissal, but before I can respond, Costin stands.

“I was there,” he says, his voice carrying easily through the chamber.“I smelled the necromancy magic in the room.He was there.”

Decimus taps his staff, thinking.Finally, he nods.“Very well.The council will investigate these claims regarding Leviathan.In the meantime, the hybrid will be taken into council keeping for observation until the full moon.If she maintains control, we will reassess her status.”

Zephronis’ thoughtful gaze flicks to me.

“And if Leviathan comes for her while she’s in your custody?”Sully asks, his voice hard.“Will you protect what belongs to the pack?”

“Tamara Devine belongs to no one,” Astrid says sharply.“She is a Devine, first and foremost.”

“She carries my blood,” Costin says quietly, but with unmistakable authority.“She is under my protection.”

I want to scream at all of them that I belong to myself, that I’m not a possession to be claimed.But the circle keeps me rooted in place, revealing the uncomfortable truth.I am bound to all of them in different ways.By blood, by family, by supernatural politics I never asked to be part of.

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