I try. Fail. My legs won’t support weight, and the burning in my wrists and ankles has spread up my limbs like poison in the bloodstream.
Stellan doesn’t comment on the weakness. Just shifts position, taking more of my weight without making it obvious. His strength surprises me sometimes—easy to forget what he is when he moves through the world with such careful control.
“We need to find her,” I manage. “The real one.”
“We will.” Stellan’s voice is calm, certain. “But first, you need to breathe through this. Let the bond settle enough that you can think.”
“It won’t settle.” The truth tastes bitter. “Not while she’s—wherever she is. Not while that thing is wearing her face and sleeping in her bed.”
“Then we use it.” Stellan’s eyes meet mine, and I see the strategist sliding into place behind the concern. “You can feel her. Even across distance, even through whatever barrier separates you—you’re still connected. That’s an advantage.”
“Doesn’t feel like one.”
“It will.” He helps me shift position, getting me seated against the well’s stone base instead of collapsed on the ground. “When we need to prove she’s not Bree. When we need to find where the real one is hidden. Your bond is the evidence we need.”
The burning begins to ebb slightly. Not gone—just manageable. Like my body’s remembering how to function around the pain instead of drowning in it.
“The others don’t see it,” I say quietly. “They’re convinced.”
“For now.” Stellan settles beside me, his usual careful distance abandoned in favor of pragmatic closeness. “But manipulation has cracks. It always does. And we’re going to exploit every one.”
I look at him—really look—and see the same cold calculation I feel settling in my own chest. The grief and fury crystallizing into purpose.
“She made a mistake,” I say.
“Several.” Stellan’s mouth curves in something that’s not quite a smile. “Not knowing any of us have bonded with Bree. Overlooking me entirely. Thinking Jace’s devotion would be enough to keep the others from questioning.”
“What do we do?”
“We watch. We wait. We collect evidence.” His gray eyes are steady, certain. “And when she slips—because she will slip—we make sure everyone sees it.”
The bond pulses again, but quieter now. More settled. Like it heard Stellan’s words and understood:We’re coming. We haven’t forgotten. We won’t stop.
Somewhere across whatever distance or barrier separates us, I hope she knows she’s not alone, even if she’s not here.
“She’ll try to isolate us,” I warn. “Make us seem paranoid. Cruel.”
“Let her try.” Stellan stands, offering me a hand up. “I’ve been underestimated my entire life. It’s useful.”
I take his hand, let him pull me to standing. My legs hold this time, though everything still aches with phantom shackles.
“One more thing.” I meet his eyes. “You weren’t touched tonight. But if her Ether reaches you later—if you start to doubt what we know—”
“You’ll know,” he finishes. “And you do whatever it takes to snap me out of it.”
“Even if you fight it.”
“Especially if I fight it.” His expression is serious. “The bond protects you. I have nothing but awareness. If she gets to me, I’m counting on you to remind me what’s real.”
I nod. “And if the bond—”
It’s not a request. It’s an order dressed in concern.
I nod. “Same goes for you. If you see something the rest of us miss.”
“Deal.”
We stand there for a moment longer, two predators in the dark, bonded by purpose and the woman we can’t live without. Even if Stellan hasn’t admitted that to himself yet.
