"We've lived on the outskirts of society for too long," Owen rumbled.
"Maybe so, but we can't sacrifice her on the off chance she can change things," Callie argued. "We don't even know if she can move past the veil."
Silence replaced the arguments.
The twins had stilled, trading significant glances. One of them winked at me. The expression so fast I almost thought I'd imagined it.
"I'm not saying we don't use the twins. I simply want to give her a chance," Callie relented.
The moment stretched, my fate hanging on a bunch of people I couldn't even see or talk to.
"Very well," Travis said at last. "We'll try it your way."
"What if this doesn't work?" Astrid asked.
Nobody spoke for several tense seconds.
"We do what is necessary," Travis said with a note of finality.
There was no argument this time.
I caught the sounds of people moving toward where I thought the door was.
In other circumstances, ones where my body wasn't an immovable block of stone, I would have seen this as an opportunity to escape.
As it was, I couldn't even turn my head to see how many people were still around me.
"I know this isn't your preference," Callie said when it had gone quiet again. "But I think it's the right choice."
"I hope you're right." Travis let out a weary sigh.
"If not, there will be trouble," Don said. "This is the first time in centuries so many of the Scattered have been in one place. It will draw attention—if it hasn't already."
The twins were the only ones in my view, listening with fascination to the three who seemed to have forgotten they were still here.
"I can't help but feel we should have waited a couple more decades," Callie said.
"That wasn't possible. Her power is starting to germinate. Already she's drawn the kind of attention we can't afford," Travis argued. "If we waited, another would have taken the prize."
"Perhaps if you'd told us when you found her, we could have accounted for that." Don's voice was careful.
I perked up.
Was that a possible divide between my captors?
It seemed my former captain hadn't only been keeping secrets from me, and his companions weren’t happy about that fact.
"I told you why I felt secrecy was necessary." Travis' tone carried a warning.
"Yes, you wanted to safeguard her existence," Don agreed.
"I did the best I could," Travis said defensively. "This very scenario is why I didn't want her mingling with vampires. Their blood, along with human blood, made her powers bloom faster than they should have. It’s moved the entire timeline up."
Liam had been right. Everything had been a lie. Travis had manipulated and lied to me to steer me to the path he wanted.
Some observational skills I had; I’d never even suspected.
"There's no point in casting blame," Callie said soothingly. "What's done is done. We can only move forward now."
