Page 305 of Shadowblood Souls
We can fill Jacob in at the same time.
I give Dom’s cheek an actual kiss and whisper, “We’ll see what Clancy has to say about it when we get back.”
He nods again and slings his arm right around me to give me a brief but emphatic hug. The love we share seems to pulse through the mark on my collarbone.
After several minutes, I switch seats to cuddle up with Jacob, but all I tell him is, “There’s something Clancy hasn’t been telling us. We’ll bring it up with him when we see him.”
Jake manages to restrain a full frown, but his muscles tense even at that vague news. He glances at Dominic, who offers a small, crooked grin, and sighs.
Then he loops his arm around my shoulders as if he’s determined to be some kind of armor for me even here. Even without knowing what he might be protecting me against.
I run through the possible scenarios dozens of times in my head during the flight until I fall into a doze. At the jolt of the wheels hitting the mountain-top runway, I wake up with a jerk.
As we straighten up in our seats, everyone looking a bit groggy, the door swings open.
Another guardian appears in the glow of the jet’s interior lights. “Clancy wants a briefing from each of you, in your own teams. Jacob and Riva first.”
My pulse stutters. I assumed we’d all go together—that I’d have the backup of five other shadowbloods when we confronted him.
That Dominic would be able to say exactly what he found out.
There isn’t time to hash out an alternate plan. The guardian is motioning to us impatiently.
I peel myself out of my seat and hurry over with Jacob right behind me.
It’ll be okay. The two of us can handle the conversation ahead.
It’s better for us to address it than to leave Dominic to take Clancy to task on his own.
Outside the plane, a warm breeze washes over us, carrying the hum of nighttime insect life. Dawn is just starting to tint the horizon.
We head down the path carved into the mountainside from the plateau that serves as a landing strip, our shoes rasping against the rough stone. Our escort leads us straight to Clancy’s office.
In spite of the early hour, the head of the Guardianship looks perfectly alert standing behind his desk to greet us. Did he sleep while we flew, or has he been up all night?
As he motions us into the room, my gaze catches on the other figure waiting with him, and my heart hitches in my chest.
Griffin is sitting in a chair in the far corner, watching us with his unnervingly blank expression.
What’s he doing here? The only explanation I can think of is that Clancy wants him to read our emotions, to make sure we’re telling the truth.
I guess it’s a good thing I decided I was going to call out our captor now, because I’m sure Griffin would have picked up on the fact that I was hiding something major if I held off.
We come to a stop in front of the desk, but Jacob’s attention has fixed on his brother. His jaw works.
Griffin simply tips his head in greeting as if this is a totally normal situation. Jake wrenches his gaze back to Clancy without acknowledging the gesture.
Even with all the other concerns gnawing at me, grief ripples through my gut. Have the guardians managed to destroy their brotherly connection forever?
I make myself focus on the man behind the desk.
Clancy is studying us with an intensity that feels more penetrating than I remember from our past conversations. As if he already knows there’s something we’ll have to say beyond the basics of the mission.
My skin creeps in uneasy anticipation.
“It seems the assignment went well,” Clancy says with typical briskness. “But I’d like to hear the full account from your own mouths. It appeared that you had a bit of a hiccup toward the end of your time in the house.”
My mouth twists. He must have been able to tell something went wrong from our physiological signals broadcast from our ankle bands.
