"I don't know," I say finally.
Stellan nods, like he expected that answer. Like he's been asking himself the same question.
We stand there in the dappled morning light, two predators who've spent centuries learning how to survive in a world that sees us as expendable. As dangerous. As less than.
And for the first time, I wonder if maybe the problem isn't that we're not worthy of her.
Maybe the problem is that we've never learned how to be worthy of ourselves.
The thought follows me as I start walking back toward the sanctuary. Back toward the girl who offered me coffee like it was nothing.
Back toward the moment when I'll have to decide what kind of operative I want to be when she looks at me again.
It's not Bree I have to earn, I realize.
It's the right to stay.
After a few steps, I glance back at Stellan. He's still standing in the dappled light, perfectly still.
"You coming?"
Chapter 29
Bree
The door swings open so fast it nearly slams against the wall.
"I'm so sorry, darling—I missed breakfast, didn't I?" Mairen bustles in with an apron half-tied and cheeks flushed, scanning the kitchen like she expects to find me still stirring eggs. "I've got a new batch going, don't you worry—"
I blink, halfway to rinsing my mug. "We already ate."
She stops short, blinking owlishly. "You did?" A beat. Then, cheerfully: "Oh, well. Plenty of mouths still to feed."
My frown deepens. "What do you mean?"
She smiles, wiping her hands on her apron like it's the most ordinary thing in the world. "The ones that came, dear."
She gestures vaguely toward the front of the house.
"They're all outside. Because of you."
My breath catches. "Outside?"
The woman nods, entirely unfazed. "Mm-hmm. I'd say about a hundred or so, maybe more. Quiet as anything, just standing there. Like they've been waiting."
"Waiting for what?" Rhett asks, straightening from where he's been wiping down the counter.
The woman's eyes twinkle. "You, darling. Or rather, her."
Jace lets out a low whistle. "Well, that's not ominous at all."
Theo's already moving toward the front windows. "She said they're outside?"
"I didn't hear any cars," Wes mutters, looking suddenly uneasy.
"They didn't drive," Mairen says simply. "Theyfollowed the Ether."
That draws a silence thicker than surprise—something heavier, older, crawling under my skin like static.
