“A war carefully cultivated,” Dupont countered.“The Order of the Morning Dawn has spent centuries ensuring that supernatural beings remain divided, fighting amongst ourselves lest we turn our collective might againstthem.”
I studied him in the darkness, this man who was not merely a man, who had saved us when he could have left us to destruction.Catherine pressed close to my side, her eyes darting between Desiderius and Dupont.
“Why reveal yourself now?”I asked.
“Because,” Dupont answered simply, “the time for secrets has passed.And because you need to understand who your true allies are in the war that remains to be fought.”
Chapter 29
Favoringhiswoundedside,Dupont eased himself further into our sanctuary, finally leaning his good shoulder against an ancient stone coffin.In the dim light filtering through cracks in the ancient masonry, his eyes reflected with that same amber glow I’d seen in the wolf’s gaze.The confirmation of what he was—a creature I was meant to fear as much as humans feared me—should have filled me with dread.Instead, I felt only the hollow emptiness that had consumed me since watching my flock die in flames.One more impossible truth in a world that had rarely made sense.
“I must tell you what I know,” Dupont said.“It is not good news, but certainty is preferable to false hope.”
I braced myself, though I knew what he would say.“My flock?”
“All confirmed dead,” he confirmed, his expression grave.“The ammunition depot explosion was more catastrophic than even the Germans anticipated.There were no survivors from either side at the site.”
Though I had witnessed their destruction myself, the final confirmation landed like a physical blow.Ruth.Rebecca.Thomas.James.All of them gone, beyond any hope of return.Creatures like us could survive dismemberment, decapitation, even extensive damage—but not complete destruction.Not being reduced to ash and scattered bone.
“And Mercer?”Catherine asked.“You killed him, right?.
Dupont nodded.“I consumed his heart.What remains of the body will burn to ash under the sun.By nightfall, nothing will remain.”
Desiderius remained rigid with suspicion.“And what of Dr.Gallow?We still have to deal with him.”
“Which is why it was so important I speak to you.”Dupont’s expression hardened.“He is likely gathering intelligence concerning the night’s events.He will soon make his report to General Gantry.”
“No one is left.”I huffed bitterly.“There’s not much information for him to piece together.”
Dupont’s lips curved into an unexpected smile.“I’m still here.Before I left, I told Gallow I was leading an elite support team to assist with the mission.He believes my assignment aligns with his—and the Order’s—agenda.”
“Your assignment.”Desiderius spat.“You were watching us all along.”
“Observing,” Dupont corrected.“Assessing.Determining whether you were worth the risk of exposing myself.”He shifted, wincing again as his movement disturbed his wound.“Which brings me to our present situation.Gallow does not suspect my true nature, nor my true allegiance.I can report you all as casualties—give you a chance to escape this war, to rebuild your lives elsewhere.”
I stared at him, processing his offer.Freedom.The chance to disappear, to start again, to gather what remained of my shattered existence and find some new purpose.Another convent, perhaps.There was a certain appeal to the idea.
My fingers found the silver locket at my throat—the one Bishop Harkins had given me before this mission began.The Bishop’s mandate echoed in my memory: infiltrate the Order, learn their true intentions, protect those who couldn’t protect themselves.
“No,” I said, the word crystallizing my resolve.“We won’t run.”
Catherine looked at me with bewilderment.“Why in the world not?”
I straightened, finding strength in purpose that grief had nearly extinguished.“What if you revise the report, Lieutenant?What if you tell Gallow that we fought to defend the Order’s operatives?That all three of us did.That we were not the threat they’d imagined we were from the start, but allies?”
“You want to present yourselves as sympathetic to the Order?”Dupont’s eyebrows rose.“The very organization that orchestrated the destruction of your flock?”
“I don’t understand,” Catherine whispered, shrinking back against the wall.“Why would we align ourselves with those who tried to kill us?”
Desiderius watched me with careful consideration.“It may give us an opportunity,” he said slowly.“To earn their trust.To infiltrate their ranks.”
“Precisely,” I confirmed.“The Bishop sent me on a mission before all this began.To learn the Order’s true intentions, their methods, their weaknesses.That mission hasn’t changed—only its context, and its difficulty.If anything, the losses we suffered only hardens my resolve to see it through.”
Dupont shook his head, clearly troubled by my proposal.“You’re passing up a chance at freedom, at safety.The Order’s reach is vast, their methods are ruthless.They’ve spent centuries perfecting the art of destroying our kinds.”
“All the more reason to understand them from within,” I insisted.“How many more lives will they destroy?How many others will they manipulate as they did Mercer?As they did us?”
“Revenge, then?”Dupont asked quietly.
