For once, she didn’t argue. She merely shifted on her feet and sighed, those eyes sparking with that defiance I loved so much, even if it was aimed at me.
“Come on,” I said. “We need to get the others. We have a new mission to plan.”
66
Devora
Istood in the workshop, the buzz of magic and purpose thrumming through the room. It was as if lightning had struck the Keep in the last couple of days we were gone—everyone was at high speed, energy flowing, determination and vengeance reignited.
I crossed my arms tight against my chest and dug my fingers into the fabric of my sleeves, as if pressure alone could hold me together.
Every flicker of candlelight, every dark shadow, every twinge on my skin made me flinch. Even with the meetings and preparations to keep me distracted, my thoughts still strayed to the bond, that invisible tether linking me to Scarven.
I knew it wasn’t real, but I swore I couldfeelhim. He’d done this on purpose. He wanted to mess with me, to mess withNox, and to keep me in constant fear of him. I felt disgusted with my own skin. Each slight motion had me spiraling, wondering if he was doing something to hurt me. Knowing that, at any single moment, he could control me through pain.
I was tired of being afraid.
I was afraid to be alone. I was afraid of fire. I was afraid Scarvencould slit his own throat and his Shifter powers would heal him, whereas I’d be left bleeding out on the floor.
The burns had mostly healed now, thanks to Milo. I didn’t know if he still blamed me for what had happened, but all that mattered was that we were working together. The last thing we needed right now was for anyone in the Order to be divided.
Because this was our last stand. Our final play. I could tell by the undercurrent of anticipation through the entire Keep that everyone else felt it too. Something big was coming.
Whether it was our salvation or damnation, only the Fates could tell.
“...this cache was destroyed,” Nox was saying, his voice steady but tight with exhaustion. “The explosive charm worked like a…well, like a charm. But it’s not over. He has more shipments they’re planning on disseminating to the other provinces.”
He tossed a black dagger at Kieran, who caught it by the handle, then let out a grunt and narrowed his eyes.
Nox pointed at the fatesprig dagger. “I swiped it off the cargo. I hate to say it, but I was right. It has the same magic-dampening effect the fatesprig injection had. There werethousandsof weapons just like it. Before, it was just us speculating. But now…”
Tessa swore under her breath when she took the blade from Kieran, then dropped it back on the table. Milo, who was scribbling in his Grimoire several feet away, eyed the dagger suspiciously.
Everett leaned against the wall to my left, arms crossed, eye patch gone and revealing a jagged scar across his left eye. “We can’t let him distribute this to the entire empire.”
“Way to state the obvious,” Tessa said, but it didn’t hold her usual sarcasm.
Kieran rapped his fingers on the table. He’d forgone his suit jacket this evening, but still wore a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up his tan forearms. “How much time have we got, Nox?”
“I don’t know for sure. They’ll be gone by the end of the week.”
Kieran’s lips thinned into a look of grim determination. “Then we go for the kill. We destroy it all at thesource.”
A weighted silence fell over the workshop. Outside these doors were dozens of refugees, some still deep in recovery. They represented a fraction of the people Scarven had hurt over the years. A small portion of the ones he still kept locked away in his Hollow. And an entire empire full of innocents who could be harmed by an army of fatesprig.
Nox cleared his throat. “This is the last chance we have to strike. We’ve been careful up to this point, only making a move when we thought he was looking the other way. But this is different.”
“We know the risks, Nox,” Tessa said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. “We always have.”
“It’s been a long time coming,” Kieran agreed. “We’re with you to the end.”
When the three of them looked at me in expectation, my chest squeezed. I wasn’t sure if I’d ever get used to this—people turning to me,wantingme, including me.
“I don’t even know why you’re asking,” I said. “I was all in before you even let me leave that tower.”
Nox glanced over at Everett, still leaning against the wall. Everett lifted his chin. “You know I’ve made promises. I’m not giving up on the ones I care about who are still in there. As long as we get them out, I’m in.”
Nox nodded. “Of course. We’ll make sure we get every single prisoner out, as well as anyone who’s been working for him against their will. And then?—”
