Lira recognized her immediately—Kestrel Farrow, Cardinal’s most notorious information broker. Their rebel leader. The woman whose contacts had been in Brooker’s personal effects.
“The princess of the kingdom finally coming to play with the big boys,” Kestrel said, a smirk tugging at one corner of her mouth. “Welcome to the rebellion, Lira Serel. I was wondering when you’d come to the dark side.”
Jameson’s gun wavered slightly, confusion flickering across his blood spattered face. “What the fuck is going on here?”
Jaeger slammed his fist against the table and Lira’s blood curdled in her veins at the sound, like a gunshot in the tense silence. A programmed reaction to her own father’s violent outbursts.
“Everyone. Sit. Down.” Each word of Jaeger’s carried the weight of a command, not a request. “We don’t have time for this territorial bullshit."
Reluctantly, Jameson lowered his weapon, though his finger remained dangerously close to the trigger. He backed toward the table but didn’t sit, positioning himself with a clear line of sight to both entrances.
Callum guided Lira forward with a light touch at the small of her back. The contact anchored her, kept her moving even as her mind raced through possibilities, assessing dangers, formulating responses. This was familiar territory for her—navigating treacherous social waters, reading the undercurrents of power and intent. She’d been doing it since childhood in her father’s government. Only the setting had changed.
A server appeared, setting drinks before each of them. Lira noted that the men and Farrow received whiskey, while she was given wine. Small assumptions about class, even here at the edge of the world. She picked up the glass carefully, then poured the contents onto theconcrete floor. Next, she reached for the bottle in the center of the table and poured herself two fingers of amber liquid.
“I must say,” Farrow said, swirling her own drink and eyeing her. “I was surprised to get your call, Lira.”
Callum’s head snapped toward her, genuine shock breaking through his expression. “Your call?” The question hung in the center of the table, laden with implications.
Lira shot Farrow a warning glance, which she acknowledged with the slightest incline of her head. Some things were still not for public disclosure.
“I found Farrow’s contact information on my brother’s phone after his death,” Lira said, choosing her words carefully. “I called it to see if I could gather any clues as to why he died.”
Farrow shared a quick glance with Jaeger at her words, both eyes falling back on her as if assessing.
It wasn’t a complete lie. She’d found Farrow’s contact among Brooker’s things. What she omitted was the truth of why she’d called, the plan that’d formed. But that, she would never speak of until it was carried out.
Lira took a deliberate sip of her whiskey, then set the glass down. “But that’s not why we’re here tonight.” She turned her gaze to Mikel, letting the full weight of her anger show on her face. “Why the fuck are you here? Didn’t you just help my father imprison Shadera and my brother hours ago?”
His jaw clenched, a muscle jumping beneath the skin. In the harsh bar light, he looked older than what she saw through surveillance, deep lines etched around his mouth and eyes. When he spoke, his voice was rough with an emotion Lira couldn’t immediately identify.
“I did my job,” he said finally. “Your father has become . . . unpredictable. There are things happening in this city that you know nothingabout, and my task with the rebellion was to get close to him. I’ve done what is necessary to make that happen.”
Before she could respond, Jameson cut in, his voice sharp with suspicion as he turned to Callum and finally dropped into a chair beside Jaeger. “What about him? Why is Heart Mafia at this table? Why is the Executioner’s sister here at all?”
Callum sucked in an exaggerated gasp. “Mafia? You honor me.”
Jameson’s hand twitched toward his weapon again. “Don’t play games with me, Thane. I’ve lost too much to this fight to be jerked around by Heart elite playing at rebellion.”
“Jameson,” Jaeger warned.
“No,” Jameson snapped. “No more secrets. No more need-to-know bullshit. We’ve lost too much time because we didn’t share information. Because we all thought we were so fucking clever keeping our own little sections of the rebellion separate.” He turned his fury on Farrow. “Did you know Maximus has bombs he’s planning to drop on the Boundary? The drones I told you about. That’s why he is mapping the rings, so he knows where to drop bombs.”
Farrow’s expression faltered for the first time. “What?”
“It’s worse than just bombs,” Callum interjected, and every gaze turned to him.
Lira felt the room tilt slightly, the enormity of the situation finally dawning. She hadn’t known about the bombs. The back of her throat started to burn, acid building from the twisting of her stomach. This wasn’t just about saving her brother and Shadera anymore. This was about saving thousands and thousands of lives.
“They are incendiary gas bombs that will disintegrate human life on contact, while saving the environment from harm.” Callum paused as if he were preparing himself for what he would say next. “The President is calling it The Culling.”
A heavy silence descended over the table, each person absorbing the horrifying truth of Callum’s words.
Mikel broke the silence first. “Greyson and Shadera are being held in your father’s penthouse.” He glanced at Lira. “He has a level beneath his floors that he uses as a private prison for important people.”
Lira’s stomach dropped.
“He will keep it under twenty-four-hour surveillance with Veyra whose loyalty is resolute. We will not be able to get to them until after the Vow ceremony, until after he releases them.” Mikel’s face softened. “I respect your brother, I’ve known for a long while what he has been doing for the rings, and I have tried to protect him, to ease his burdens on the platform when I could, and I will do everything I can to get him out of this alive.”
