“Four Council members. And a man traveling with them.” He pauses, eyes flicking to me. “Phil.”
The name lands like a stone in my chest.
Wes’s voice is flat, dangerous. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Wait,” Thane says from the archway, stepping forward. “Four?”
The scout nods. “They’re about eighteen hours out.”
Silence.
“Someone’s missing,” I say, looking at Thane.
“Nyx,” he confirms, silver eyes narrowing.
I turn back to the scout. “A woman—dark hair, sharp features?”
The young Feeder shakes his head. “No one in the group matches that description.”
Thane’s jaw tightens, and I see the calculation happening behind his eyes.
The room tightens—every expression hardening in the space of a heartbeat.
“Fuck,” Jace mutters.
Theo’s eyes flash silver, and I know he’s seeing something—fragments of what’s coming.
Gray’s jaw tightens, his body going still in that way that means the wolf is close to the surface.
Seth looks between us, confusion flickering across his face. “What’s—”
Stellan pushes off the wall. “Let’s go for a walk,” he says, meeting Seth’s eyes. “I’ll catch you up on everything.”
He glances at me, waiting.
I nod once.
Seth follows him out, still looking lost, and the door closes behind them.
The Ether pulses around me like a heartbeat.
I look around the kitchen—at the half-eaten pancakes, the warmth fading under the weight of what’s coming, the faces of people I love staring back at me.
We finally felt like we could breathe.
And now the world is coming again.
I meet Jace’s eyes. He nods—calm but ready.
I exhale slowly.
“Then we have eight hours,” I say. “And we need to get every Feeder that’s still here through the Oath before the Council arrives.”
Thane’s voice is low and certain. “To get ready.”
He’s still there in the archway—arms crossed, silver eyes unreadable.
He’s been listening.
