I tugged her back by her sleeve, because this wasn’t going anywhere good. “Did Lucifer tell you anything that might be a clue to his plans, or intentions for Gall?” I asked Jann desperately.
He shook his head sadly. “I’m just sure that Gall was there and alive at the beginning and… at the end as well. It was him, Melek. I really don’t think that was a trick. They’re still cleaning his blood off the stage.”
“Lucifer doesn’tsavelives,” Yilan hissed.
“Then Istraldoes,”Jann shot back.
“Regardless,”I growled, glaring to remind them both that we were on the same team, “the next step is to get them both away, though I don’t know how to—”
“There’s no fucking way,” Jann growled. “We rarely see Gall without Lucifer as well, and we don’t see Istral without both of them. Unless you think you can spirit them out under the nose of the Fallen, the only option is attack. We can have a team set aside to grab them when the fighting begins, but—”
“No. Not after what we just saw. Next time Gall takes a mortal wound, Lucifer might not havemercy.And if Gall dies, we lose Istral too.”
“All of us lose if we’re stupid about this,” Jann muttered. “Melek, I’d back you against any mortal being, but the Fallen aren’t limited in this world like we are. There’s no way to kill him, and—”
“Which is exactly why we have to find out how to get Lucifer’s eyes off of them. Until we have the pieces in place, we can’t do it. Timing will be crucial—”
“Wait,” Jann stopped me. “Timing forwhatis crucial? An assault—a battle? Or a kidnapping?”
I clenched my jaw. “I’m not certain—”
“Not certain?” Jann leaped to his feet, but kept his voice to an angry whisper. “Are you fucking joking, Mel?”
Yilan tensed again, but I squeezed her arm to keep her quiet. “I said, we get the pieces in place, and we learn what we can. We move when we’re sure—”
“Move in what way, though? Because there’s amassivedifference between a battle where we raze this fucking place, and a mission where we’re stealing something. First and foremost—if we’re stealing people, everyone else gets to stay alive, and that can’t happen, Melek. Not if we want to live after it. We have to—”
“We haven’t made any decisions yet. We’re just agreed that some kind of intervention is necessary. That’s why we need more information.”
“But—”
“Did you find Hever?”
Jann blinked and Yilan twitched.
“Yes,” he said uncertainly.
“Do you trust him?” I asked.
“Yes.”
Yilan muttered a curse, but I ignored her. “Then use him. If he wasn’t there tonight, tell himexactlywhat happened. Everything you know. Ask him how we move against that. Tell him we’ll consider anything. No matter what. It’s time to start bringing the troops across the Raven Peaks. They’ll be well rested now. So, let’s start flying them through.”
Jann’s jaw dropped, but his eyes brightened. “So, youwillattack?”
“I told you, I don’t know. I do know we need to get Gall away—and if we can do that, we’ll get Istral too. If we can take Valgorath too, then yes. We’ll kill every last one of these bloodthirsty fuckers who cheered for my son’s murder. Then finally this world might get some peace.”
“Melek—” Yilan whispered, concerned.
Instead, Jann lookedhappy.“About fucking time.”
“We’re still a long way from that, Jann.”
“We’re finally moving in the right direction though. Don’t worry, Mel. I’ll pick Hever’s brain myself. We’ll figure this out.”
I nodded as he got to his feet. As we bid him farewell, and Yilan offered to shadow walk him away from the chamber so there was less risk of anyone knowing where he’d been, I wished I felt the same strength of conviction and confidence that I sensed from Jann.
I knew I had to get my son and his mate out of the clutches of the Fallen.
