"The sooner, the better," I replied, my tone firm. "We need you, Petru. We need your clearance and, possibly, your forces to help us track down the Radicals and find their Amplifier. And eventually…" I locked eyes with him. "You'll need to rescind your consensus."
He arched a brow. "Rescind it? Liketheyare trying to make me do?"
I nodded, holding his attention with unwavering resolve. "Yes, but not because of them. If you call it off in response to their threats, you're giving them the upper hand. You can't let them control you."
Petru’s shoulders drew back slightly, his posture tensing as he considered my words. “Let me get this straight. You want me to do what thelunaticsare demanding—retract my consensus—but not because of their threats. Meanwhile, you expect me to join your fight to track down their Amplifier and prepare for a full-blown war with humans?"
The logic was fragile, but I stood my ground. “Yes.”
Petru’s lips twitched into an ironic smile. “Well, you’ll be pleased to know the hostiles retreated last night. So, their immediate threat is gone.”
“Which means you can help us prevent them to strike again,” I replied dryly, a flicker of impatience simmering beneath my calm exterior.
Petru’s expression hardened. “I’m not fighting a war that doesn’t concern me.”
I blinked, incredulous. “How does this not concern you? They’re threatening your Collective with a weapon of mass destruction.”
“They retreated.”
“They’ll be back,” I snapped, unable to see how Petru could be so callous about it. “This is only the beginning.”
“You say so, but I have yet to see proof.”
“They’re still threatening Sisu and Alliance as we speak. It’s only a matter of time before they return here.”
Petru’s patience finally snapped. “Then I’ll revoke the consensus. I don’t care about it anyway.”
I leaned forward, my frustration boiling over. “Really? You’re just going to give in to the demands of terrorists? Why won’t you fight? What kind of man rolls over like that?”
The room fell into an icy silence. I realized I had crossed a line, but it was too late to pull back now.
Petru stood abruptly, his presence fierce and unrelenting. “A man who puts the safety of his people above his own ego. Now, get the fuck off my property.”
I met his stance with equal defiance, my jaw clenched. Finally, I looked away, knowing when to admit defeat.
Sean and I rose to our feet. Drawing a portal, I shot Petru one last, frustrated glance before stepping through, back to Crown.
“I can’t believe him,” Sean mumbled under his breath as we stepped through to the other side. “I was sure he’d be a shoo-in for this.”
I nodded, disappointment settling over me like an unwelcome guest.
“We’ll have to track the Radicals as much as we can through the Human World. Ye need to fix things with Emma. We can’t do this without her,” Sean muttered.
I glanced at him, the worry clear on his face. Damn him, he wasn’t wrong.
“Call a meeting with the team,” I said. My voice was thick with irritation, acknowledging the truth in his words. “I’ll go get Emma.”
Sean hesitated, his hand hovering near the hilt of his blade like he was debating whether to say anything at all. Then he glanced sideways at me, a sly glint in his eye. “For what it’s worth,” he said, voice low and conspiratorial, “I did leave Petru a little present.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What kind of present?”
He shrugged one shoulder, all casual mischief, and smirked. “The unflushable kind. Let’s just say Slava’s food and my digestive system had…creative differences.”
I stared at him for a beat, then let out a sharp snort, more amused than I wanted to admit. “You’re disgusting.”
“Strategically disgusting,” he said, lifting a finger as if making a grand philosophical point. His face was perfectly straight, but his eyes sparkled with unrepentant pride. “There’s a difference.”
I shook my head and turned away, the faintest trace of a smile tugging at my lips. But Sean’s intestinal sabotage aside, my mind was still a tangled mess of frustration and self-recrimination. As I climbed the stairs, the weight of everything settled heavier on my shoulders.
