Shea watched the other woman, waiting to see if she would speak. Victoria held her silence, meeting Shea’s gaze with a haughty expression that told Shea the other woman didn’t plan to make this easy for her.
Shea’s lips twisted in disgust. A pathfinder all these years and Victoria hadn’t learned a damn thing. She’d thrown away everything for a son who had already betrayed them.
Perhaps Shea was being too harsh. A mother’s love was supposed to be unconditional after all. Somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to care. Not when her family were the ones in danger and not when she’d been made to suffer for a crime that was never hers to begin with.
“Griffin is alive,” Shea stated, ignoring the shock her words caused. She stepped closer, her expression hard with just a hint of cruelty as she lowered her voice, her words meant only for the woman in front of her. “Which means all the filth and hate you’ve spewed over the last six years were meaningless. You’re a hypocrite and a traitor, and I will do everything in my power to see your son doesn’t survive what he’s started.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
There was a hint of fear in Victoria’s face. Shea wasn’t known for mincing her words. If she said she’d see Griffin pay, she meant it. Victoria knew Shea well enough to know she wasn’t someone you messed with lightly. She might love her son, and he might have some new powers none of them had dealt with before, but it didn’t change the fact that Shea had an odd way of exacting retribution when she felt it was warranted.
Shea’s pronouncement had the feeling of prophecy, and although the thought was ridiculous, it was enough to send the smallest hint of unease through the other woman.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but perhaps your time away has made you unstable,” Victoria said before her gaze flicked to Fallon and his warriors.
Her mouth tightened, the thin lips making her seem even more severe. Victoria had been pretty once, but time and bitterness had destroyed any looks she might have had.
“She speaks truth,” Reece said in a lazy drawl from his post against a wall, arms at his sides as he stared down the woman in front of Shea. “I saw him myself. He’s a bit ragged, and whatever taint he received from the Badlands is definitely not a good look on him, but it was Griffin. Clear as day.”
There was a troubled murmuring from the rest of the pathfinders present.
An expression moved over Victoria’s face, it was there and gone from one moment to the next. It might have been anger, denial, or any number of other emotions. All Shea could say for sure was the woman wasn’t thinking pleasant thoughts about her cousin.
“You’re her blood. You’d say anything to protect her,” Victoria said, her voice turning ugly. “All you Hallorans’ and Oshassys’ are the same. You don’t care about the rest of us, just about keeping power to yourself.”
“What would he need to protect me from?” Shea asked, her voice curious. “There’s nothing any of you could do to me, nothing that you could take, that matters anymore. I found something better than all of you.”
The Trateri at her sides stepped forward. They were almost all taller than the pathfinders, their bodies merciless weapons. They didn’t have to say a word to convey any threats. Their presence was enough.
Shea shook her head at Victoria. The anger drained away, leaving nothing but pity for the other woman. For all the crap that had been aimed Shea’s way, she’d come out the better for it. She’d found her people, ones who appreciated her skills, a warlord who drove her crazy while also making her feel more alive than ever before. She might miss some of her friends from her past life, the camaraderie that came from a similar upbringing and shared purpose, but she was happy where she was. She didn’t need anything from these people.
The realization loosened something in her chest, and she realized how right her words were. She was perfectly fine where she was. With this knowledge came a sense of ease and self-assurance.
She lifted her chin, staring Victoria down. “So, tell me, what incentive do we have to lie?”
The other woman didn’t respond, glaring at Shea, her jaw twitching.
Gerald stood at Victoria’s side, his thin face slightly placating and regretful as he said, “Be that as it may, you can’t accuse one of us of something like this without proof. You’ve shown yourself to be unstable. These stories could be just that, figments of your imagination.”
Shea stared at him, the words he’d just uttered filling her with disbelief. “You’re telling me my cousin’s eyewitness account isn’t enough proof?”
He spread his hands, his face frank and sympathetic. “As Victoria pointed out, his relation to you calls into question his motives.”
In a voice taut from the effort not to yell, Shea said, “The Trateri witnessed his actions as well, as did several of the latest batch of students. Are their words also no good?”
He shook his head. “None of them have ever met Griffin before. They could be influenced by your views.”
There was a murmur of agreement from around them.
Allyn looked torn. Despite looking like he wanted to believe Shea, he seemed swayed by Gerald’s argument.
Victoria’s face was coldly victorious, smug in the belief she’d won.
Anger and a numb disbelief filled Shea at how willfully blind her former people were. It made it hard to think. She didn’t know if their hard-headedness stemmed from the fact she was no longer one of them, or if they were too afraid to see what was right in front of their eyes.
She mentally threw up her hands before gesturing at Fallon. She’d tried to take the high road for old time’s sake, an acknowledgment of her former loyalty to these people. They’d just forfeited any kindness she might have given them.
“We don’t require your belief,” Fallon said, a dark satisfaction in his face and voice. He looked like he was enjoying this. “I don’t care what lies you choose to tell yourselves. The truth is clear, and we will act accordingly. Any who stand in our way will be treated to the same mercy as our enemies.”
