Page 29 of Darkness and Deceit
Lilith is the variable—either a key to solving this crisis, or a potential threat waiting to ignite. And I... I am the safeguard. The anchor. Theinsurance.
If she succeeds, the Keepers win.
If she fails, I am there to make sure it does not become worse.
The clarity of that strikes deeper than I expected. They do not trust me. They are using me. And I agreed to it the second I put on these robes.
Lilith does not argue, but I do not think it is because she agrees. I think she knows, like I do, that refusal was never an option.
She rises, spine straight. “When do we leave?” she asks and her voice does not waver.
Mara meets my eyes then. There is no emotion in her expression, but the meaning is unmistakable. Ensure success or else.
“Now.”
Outside the tent, three men wait in a tense formation, the protectiveness rolling off them in waves. Predators, all of them. These must be the ones mentioned in the Keeper briefing, the ones who always surround Lilith.Kai, Simon, and Vaughn,if I remember correctly.
The broad-shouldered blond is the first to speak. “Lilith,” he says, voice tight. “You okay?”
She nods, but it’s too fast and completely unconvincing. “Yeah. I’m fine, Simon. We’re about to head into the forest for a search?—”
“Theforest?” the dark-haired one—Vaughn—snaps, incredulous. “No. Absolutely not. The last time you?—”
“Vaughn,” she warns, but the edge in her voice betrays her nerves.
He barrels forward anyway. “That’s suicide. You can’t go back in there.”
I step forward. “She will not be alone. I will be with her.”
They all turn to me like I’ve just threatened her instead of attempting to reassure them. Three pairs of eyes bore into me, all making the same thing painfully clear: I don’t get to decide anything where she’s concerned.
“You?” the quiet, brooding one—Kai, by process of elimination—says flatly.
“No offense, but… you’re still in training, aren’t you?” the blond, Simon asks.
“Yes,” I reply, calm despite the heat rising in the air between us.
“Brilliant,” Vaughn mutters, voice laced with venom. “Let’s send the rookie Keeper and our least replaceable person into a death trap. What could possibly go wrong?”
His sarcasm is sharp, but what hides behind it is sharper.
Fear.
Oflosing her.
An older Keeper might have chastised him for his attitude, but I do not.
“This isn’t happening,” Vaughn growls, stepping forward. “I’ll?—”
His voice cuts off mid-word. So does his movement. Mouth open. Arm half-raised.
And so do the others. Locked in place like statues, eyes unblinking.
Around us, life continues undisturbed. Birds chirp in the trees, distant chatter drifts through the air. But inside this circle, time has halted.
Lilith spins toward me. “What—what did you do?”
“Temporary stasis,” I answer, already walking.
