“None of you remember,” Stellan says quietly, realization dawning. “The black Ether. She’s been suppressing it from the start.”
Thane looks at Stellan. “Even you.”
Stellan’s jaw tightens, and for once, he has nothing to say.
“And I didn’t remember until right fucking now,” Thane says.
Seth raises his head. “So what are we going to do about it?”
Rhett finds his voice. “We go get her. We go into the Void and bring her home.”
“And the one upstairs?” I ask.
No one answers.
Chapter 32
Gray
The question hangs in the air—And the one upstairs?—and nobody has an answer.
Rhett’s fire has guttered out completely. His hands hang at his sides, empty of the rage that was holding him together moments ago. Jace stares at the floor like it might open up and swallow him. Wes looks like he’s about to be sick.
I’m the one who has to stay rational. Someone always has to.
“Introductions first,” I say, cutting through the heavy silence. My voice sounds steadier than I feel. “One problem at a time.”
Seth’s eyes move over each of us as I gesture to the others in turn.
“Gray. Rhett—fire elemental. Jace—air. Wes—incubus. Theo—seer.”
He nods slowly, exhaustion making every movement look like it costs him. When he gets to Wes, he lingers for a moment before moving on.
“You knew my mirror,” Seth says quietly.
But Rhett can’t let it rest. “He was working for Phil the entire time. Bree’s stalker. Council lap dog. Your mirror was feeding him information—about all of us. Everything we said, everything we did.”
“He betrayed all of us,” Jace adds, voice hard. “Pretended to be our friend while reporting back to that bastard.”
Seth staggers back like he’s been hit. “No. That’s not—I wouldn’t—”
“You didn’t,” I say. “But he did. And when Bree lost control, when her Ether exploded—your mirror was caught in it. He died.”
“She killed him,” Wes whispers. “Accidentally. But she’s been carrying that guilt ever since.”
Seth’s hands shake. He presses them against his thighs, trying to steady himself. “Does she know?” His voice cracks. “That it wasn’t really me?”
“Not yet,” Thane says coldly. “She thinks she killed you. The guilt has been eating at her.”
“But she also thinks you betrayed her,” I add, and watch that land. “In her mind, Seth—the person she trusted—turned on all of us. Worked for her abuser. Held her while Phil threatened her in front of the entire sanctuary.”
Seth’s breathing goes shallow. “She thinks I’m—” He can’t finish.
“A traitor,” Stellan supplies. “Yes.”
Seth’s face goes even paler, and something shifts in his expression—horror mixing with understanding.
“When I found her,” he says slowly, voice rough, “her eyes opened for just a second. She looked right at me and said—” He swallows hard. “‘No. It can’t be him. I killed him.’”
