Page 69 of Savage Devotion
"True."
I pace the small chamber, mind racing through implications. Every conversation we've had, every moment of apparent trust and growing connection, is now suspect. How much was real? How much of it was a careful manipulation to gain access to clan secrets?
"What was the mission?" I ask.
"Which mission?"
"Yours. Specifically. What were you sent to accomplish?"
She's quiet for a long moment, weighing her words. "Initially? Establish contact with Ironspine leadership. Assess clan stability and likelihood of alliance."
"And after we met?"
"Monitor your activities. Report on clan movements and potential vulnerabilities."
The admission stings more than I expected. Not just the betrayal, but the clinical efficiency of it. I've been a target, not a partner. An asset to be managed, not a person to be trusted.
"The attack on the camp," I say. "When the vine-beasts came through the perimeter. You fought them off."
"Yes."
"But you could have let them through. Could have used the chaos to eliminate a target and blame it on the beasts."
"I could have." Her voice is steady. "But I didn't."
"Why not?"
"Because by then the mission had changed."
"Changed how?"
She meets my gaze directly. "Because I'd started caring more about keeping you alive than completing my original objectives."
The words hang between us like a challenge. I want to believe them, but trust is a blade that cuts both ways. Once broken, it's never quite the same when reforged.
"Prove it," I say.
"How?"
"Tell me everything. Every detail you know about the spy operation. Names, locations, methods, objectives. All of it."
"That would compromise ongoing operations. Put other agents at risk."
"Those agents are operating against my people. Against my clan." I step closer. "If you want to rebuild trust, you start by choosing a side."
"It's not that simple."
"It is exactly that simple." The rage is building again, harder to control. "Either you're with House Vaelmark or you're with me. Either you're working to protect your spies or you're working to expose them. Choose."
"And if I choose wrong? If I burn bridges with my House and it turns out you're just using me for intelligence?"
"Then you'll know how it feels."
The accusation hits home. I can see it in the way her shoulders tighten, the way her breathing changes. She's been carrying this knowledge, this guilt, for longer than she's admitted.
"You want to know the truth?" She asks finally. "Fine. House Vaelmark doesn't trust me either. They think I've gone native, gotten too close to my targets. There's a recall order waiting for me when we get back to civilization."
"A recall order."
