Page 463 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

‘I believe you,’ Riley says.

She glances at Lachlan. ‘I understand the intent behind your gift, but do not ever think to touch me again.’

‘I have no need to.’

Céliane looks between them both and pulls her hand away.

The three slices are already closing.

‘I am sorry that he is gone.’

Lachlan’s blankness returns so completely that, for an instant, Riley sees something almost childlike beneath all that blood he has yet to shower off. The stare of a soldier who can endure if he goes elsewhere.

‘I need to talk to Céliane,’ he says to Lachlan. ‘You should clean up.’

‘I’ll wait for you over there,’ he counters, walking away.

Céliane watches him go. ‘Do you know what he is?’

‘No. Do you?’

She shakes her head. ‘Something new, I suspect.’

‘Great. What happened at the Estate?’

‘We located the sub-level and confirmed heat signatures indicating that the Knot body was being held beneath the west complex. We found the chamber, but the body inside it belonged to someone else. Madeline Delacroix.’

Riley narrows his eyes. The memories Julian had of her are already slipping away. ‘I vaguely know who that is.’

‘After Blaire and I framed her alongside Priscilla Carrigan, Penhalyx punished her in whatever way he saw fit, preserving her in the tank I designed and he stole. I sent a team in to recover it and anything else we found there. Riley,’ she says, her tone serious, ‘I believe the body we found was an intentional decoy and that the units stationed around the Tower were meant to hold you, not attack.’

‘I know. The Resets came in hard as soon as the Death Knot broke. He came to get Julian the moment he—’

‘You’re not hearing me, mon trésor,’ she whispers urgently. ‘He had one window in which to perform the ritual, and he cleanly missed it. Why did he not attack earlier? Why not firebomb the Tower hours before the moon rose full?’

‘I don’t understand.’

‘I cannot be certain, and I was not here,’ she admits, ‘but the setup we encountered felt very much like a distraction. There was sufficient force to hold us there, but they made no serious attempt to kill us. Every route out was difficult rather than impossible. They wanted to consume our time. The force surrounding you appears to have served the same function.’

‘They killed plenty.’

‘If you follow the logical conclusion of his plan, Penhalyx’s goal of taking his son was doomed from the start by time alone. The Refinement, as they call it, had to take place within a narrow window around the full moon’s peak,’ Céliane continues.

‘Maybe it went wrong.’

‘Perhaps, but it does not feel that way to me.’

Riley tries to consider what she’s suggesting, but his mind keeps returning to the absence of Kade’s heartsong anywhere in the Tower.

It’s so hard to care about anything right now.

Céliane casts around to ensure they’re alone. ‘Whose bite?’

His entire body stills. ‘Doesn’t matter.’

‘Tell me what happened, please.’

It takes a lot to meet her request, but he’s always tried hard to make her happy, to make her proud. Even now, it’s ingrained in him.