He groaned. And now he would have to explain this latest fuck up to the Archdderwydd.
He pulled out his phone, accepting the inevitable.
“Yes,” the gruff voice answered.
“It’s me.”
“I’ve told you not to call me unless it’s an emergency.”
“We have a problem.”
“Yes?”
“It didn’t happen.”
“Clarify.”
“The boys were ready. The text was sent to the school and the media. I was there, but I was interrupted. The boys were stopped, and the… ah… the blood is gone.”
“How?”
“The same girl as before.” He hesitated for a moment. “Kayleigh Stewart.”
“Fuck. She obviously knows something. It’s Elizabeth; that woman has always been a problem.”
It shouldn’t have been possible, but he couldn’t deny it. And there was more. “She was strong. Strong enough to take on the Shadows.”
“Fuck.” There was a loaded silence, and he could just imagine the Archdderwydd’s angry scowl. “It’s a pity we couldn’t risk recruiting her; her bloodline is formidable. What a waste.”
A waste? What did that even mean? He shook his head, even though the other man couldn’t see him. “I can still recruit her.”
“No. Not with Elizabeth so close.”
“What if I could control her?”
“Control a Stewart?” The other man snorted patronizingly, and he bristled.
He knew he could do this, and he was tired of taking orders. Something had changed during this attack, something inside him, and he wasn’t going to hide anymore. “I’ll sort it out.”
“You’re responsible for this. I don’t want to hear about control. Just get rid of her.”
Get rid of her? No. They were creating chaos for a very specific purpose, and that did not include killing Shadow Weavers. Especially not Kayleigh. That had never been what they were trying to do.
Was it?
Something felt wrong, unsettled, and his Shadows churned uneasily.
The Archdderwydd gave an exasperated sigh. The kind of sigh that a parent might make when talking to a particularly obtuse two-year-old. “Listen to me. You are calm. You are doing well. I need you to pull yourself together and take care of this.”
He shook his head, trying to clear it. “I’m not sure I—”
The Archdderwydd cut him off. “This is a war and in war there are casualties. Your job is to make this problem go away, and then everything will be well. Do you hear me? You are calm. All is well.”
Okay. Yes. He was calm. Everything would be well.
ChapterFourteen
Ethan openedhis eyes to the bustling sounds of London waking up. The traffic was already heavy, and people clattered around outside as stores opened and buses took people to work. But something was different.
