“You know I can’t disclose that yet. But Kallister’s not on board, and some things need to be unanimous. I think this is going to be one of them.”
I’m even more intrigued, but Gray doesn’t elaborate. He grabs a quick bite, and then he, Henley, and Evlynne head off to a pilots’ briefing.
I linger over my coffee, debating what to do next. Finally, I open a path to Kallister.
“Can we talk?”
“Of course. My quarters?”
“No.”I pause.“The white daggerstone cave on the bluff.”
“I see.”He immediately grasps the implication. The white daggerstone will ensure it’s a confidential meeting.“I can be there in fifteen minutes.”
I bid the others goodbye and leave the Dagger through the air lock. Jogging to the bluff, I wonder how to approach this. How much to share. I don’t want Adrienne getting mad at me for speaking out of turn, especially if the rest of the Authority is privy to her secret rendezvous with the General. But I can’t just ignore what I saw at the railway station, and I don’t entirely trust that she’ll be honest with me if I confront her directly.
I’m reaching the cave when I suddenly hear a rustling behind me.I spin around, not sure if I’m expecting Kallister or my old ridgehowler pal, but I find neither. The woods are silent, the trail empty.
“If you’re out there, Prince, I hope you’re doing well,” I murmur to the trees, and I swear I feel eyes boring back at me.
I can’t see a thing through the brush, though. If heisthere, he’s improved his stealth skills. And I don’t know if he’s stalking me or protecting me, but whichever it is, he’s staying well hidden this time around, and that brings a smile to my lips.
I step through the eerie gap in the wall and find myself surrounded by the shimmering white walls, the daggerstone winking like an explosion of stars all around me. Evlynne’s son would probably call this magic, too.
At the thought of Fisher, my stomach clenches in frustration, because every time I try to ask Evlynne about him, she brushes me off. I assume she hasn’t disclosed his abilities, because I haven’t heard a peep about it around base.
Granted, the Authority does like to keep everything close to their vests. For all I know, they’re fully aware of Fisher’s bloodmark. The fact that the boy is still in the valley at least tells me that if Evlynne did disclose, they’re not planning on training him right away. Hopefully they allow him some time to grow up.
I hear the echo of footsteps. A shadow casts across the floor and is projected against the cave wall before Kallister appears.
“Something’s happened?” he says in lieu of a greeting.
“Maybe. I don’t know if I should even be here. But I wasn’t sure who else to talk to. Everybody’s keeping different secrets, and the Authority knows some things but not other things, and Personnel know other things but not all things.” I realize I’m babbling and force myself to stop. “I want to ask Adrienne, but I worry she won’t be truthful.”
His gaze sharpens. “Truthful about what, Wren?”
“Last night…The mission. My sniper duty.”
I hesitate, just for a beat, before deciding there’s no point. I already asked him to come. I might as well finish it.
“Did you know she was meeting Travis Redden?”
“Yes.” Kallister is quick to reply. Matter-of-fact.
I’m unable to mask either my disbelief or my revulsion. “The Uprising is working with the Company?”
“Not quite. We only worked with him once.”
“To do what?” I ask, but the answer hits me at the exact moment Kallister voices the alarming truth.
“We worked with Travis to take down his father.”
Chapter 50
“Travis helped you take down his father,” I repeat. My mind is spinning. For a moment, I think I misheard him.
“Yes,” Kallister says.
“Why?Why would Travis do that to his own father?”
