His thumb strokes the cup’s rim. “Meredith, her coven, and the guards will have their day in court. Due to the breach of the treaty, a Sector Assembly has been called.”
“Oh.” The word feels thin. I lower my gaze to the pitted tabletop.
A sector-wide assembly is a huge event. In my lifetime there have been only two: the first when they organised the sector borders and carved the country into pieces, and this one.
A breach of the treaty involving the paper mages is wholly monumental. Sector assemblies bring together the leaders and their councils from every derivative group—all the major powers in a single room.
I wouldnotwant to be Meredith.
“I wanted to give you more time,” he adds, big hands wrapped round the mug as though for warmth. “But it has unfortunately run out. You have been summoned as a witness.”
My head snaps up, and I stare at him. “Me? I have to attend?”
“Yes—you’re part of this mess.”
Now I do not feel sorry for Meredith; I feel sorry for myself.
A thread of dry amusement colours his voice. “We covered for you the best we could—had to claim the memory wipe was a side effect of your spell. No one believes us, but luckily no one’s looking too closely either. No one wants to stand up in front of the assembly to explain the intricacies of your magic.”
When I look into Lander’s tired eyes—at the stubble on his jaw and his dishevelled hair—I realise he has been covering for me. I ran instead of trusting him, and he still had my back. I left the team to flounder.
He is right: I did mess up.
He said,“No one wants to stand up in front of the assembly to explain the intricacies of your magic.”Yet Lander would, to protect me.
When did I get so selfish?
“So—” He leans forward, forearms braced on the table. “What now? Are you going to disappear?”
“Are you going to arrest me?”
“No. I’m not arresting you. I’m done with that. I don’t want to force you into anything you don’t wish to do. Whether you appear as a witness or I help you vanish, that’s up to you.” His gaze sharpens. “Though technically you’re not registered to live in the Human Sector—you do know that.”
“I do.” I bite my lip. “It is very nice here.”
Technically, my kind can live anywhere. But I am not officially anyone right now; I am a ghost in the system while I have been hiding.
“But if I am not under arrest, and I have to attend theassembly, perhaps I can leave and afterwards go home, back to my chapel.”
“Back to where you’re happiest.”
I nod.
He smiles faintly. “You can do that. I’ll keep you safe. And when this is over, I’d like to take you out—on a date.”
I blink. “You want to date me? After everything I have done?”
“Harper”—he grins, eyes crinkling—“I’m a hunter; it’s what I do. You running from me only made me like youmore.”
“Oh.”
“So you’ll attend the assembly?”
“Yes. I will do what’s right—what’s needed.”
I reach across the table and take his hand. He could pull away, but instead he threads his fingers through mine.
“I want to keep you safe too,” I mumble.
