Rook lifts his glass. “Eat first,” he says simply.
I stare at him. “I’mnot—”
“Red,” Ash says softly.
I look at him, really look at him.
He doesn’t blink, pleading with his eyes. “Please,” he says.
Something in my throat almost breaks.
“Fine,” I mutter. It’s petty and resentful, but I pick up my fork anyway.
There’s real food in front of us. Saint’s influence, obviously. Roasted chicken, tender and golden. Potatoes with rosemary. Slow-cooked greens slicked in oil and garlic. Bread still warm, torn into hunks, steam curling up.
I take a bite because they’ll lose their minds if I don’t. The second I chew, I realize how hungry I actually am. Which is infuriating.
I eat, and no one talks for the first few minutes. It’s not awkward. It’s… loaded. All of them watching, all of them pretending they’re not, all of them letting me get through a few mouthfuls before they start whatever this is.
When I finally set my fork down, Wraith refills my glass without asking. I scowl at him. He looks pleased.
“Now talk,” I say again, turning to Rook.
His eyes hold mine. For a long few breaths, he doesn’t answer. Then he leans in, and says the words I’ve been dying to hear. “Damien is here,” he says.
Everything in me goes cold.
I blink, brow furrowing in confusion. “Here…where.”
“Here, in the manor…”
My mouth goes dry. “You’re joking.”
“No,” he says.
My heart is beating too hard now. “You— you brought himhere?”
Saint answers, voice smooth. “Correction, little lamb. We collected him.”
Vale snorts into his wine. “Snatched that rat straight off his leash.”
My eyes flick to Vale. “You hit your head… Snatching the rat off his leash?”
He grins. “Direct correlation.”
I look at Saint. “Your wrist—”
“Collateral,” he says simply. “Nothing I cannot manage.”
“You drove home one-handed with a shattered joint,” Ash mutters without looking at him. “Which, for the record, you’reneverdoing again.”
Saint smiles faintly at the rest of us. “Noted.”
I’m still trying to catch up. “You went after him without telling me.”
Rook’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t deny it. “Yes.”
Anger flashes hot. “You said I’m part of this. You said this is my war too. Yousaid—”
