I cleared my throat and brought my gaze to Keegan’s. “Rendel.”
He scanned the room as his jaw tightened and he shook his head.
“No,” he said quietly. “He’s not here.”
Twobble, who had been halfway through reaching for something off one of the platters, paused mid-motion and glanced between us. “Is that a problem?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
But I did, or at least, part of me did.
Because Rendel didn’t feel like someone who came and went without purpose.
He didn’t feel like someone who disappeared into the background once his part was done.
I got the distinct feeling that Rendel liked to have his hand in many things.
And that thought pulled something else forward.
Gideon.
The way he had looked at me in the marsh didn't seem guarded or distant. He seemed concerned.
“He knew,” I said quietly.
Keegan glanced down at me. “Knew what?”
“That something was coming,” I replied. “Not just the army. Not just the Priestess. Something else.”
His gaze didn’t leave mine. “You think Rendel is part of that.”
“I think they both are,” I said.
The words felt strange as they settled into the space.
“Maeve.”
My dad’s voice pulled me back, and I turned toward him, forcing my thoughts to settle enough that I could focus on what was in front of me.
“Yes?”
He studied me for a second, his expression thoughtful in that quiet way of his that always made me feel like he was seeing more than I was saying. “You’re already somewhere else.”
I let out a small breath. “I’m trying to figure out how they found us so fast.”
“And?”
“And I don’t think it was just the bats,” I said.
Caleb shifted slightly beside him. “Then what?”
I hesitated, my gaze flicking briefly back toward where the Silver Wolf stood, then to the space beside her.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But Gideon knew to leave, and Rendel is nowhere around.”
“And you think that has something to do with this?” Caleb said.
“I think it has something to do with everything,” I replied.
