Page 470 of Eight of Swords, Part Two

Riley studies him more closely. ‘It is the timing. It had to be precise. You told us about the attack and we rallied for it, but what would we have done instead? What might we have done that you didn’t want?’

‘You did everything he wanted.’

The truth of it resonates like a tonal note struck hard.

‘Everything?’

Roman falters for the first time and falls silent.

‘Including his son dying? No…’ Riley narrows his eyes. ‘Not dying, just… free of the Knot, right? Yeah. That’s it. He still wants him.’

Roman remains silent.

Riley gets up and goes to take a piss.

With his back to Roman, he says, ‘Blaire warned me he’d try to get Jules’ corpse, and I think she was right. I was going to wait a little longer, but we’ll burn him within the hour. And if your Master is desperate enough to come for his other blood child, then he’s welcome to try, but I don’t think he’d like this body.’ Riley zips himself up. ‘Trust me.’

When he looks back, Roman’s dark eyes are staring at him with something like sly respect. ‘I think you don’t know him very well.’

‘Nor do I intend to, but thanks for the heads-up, Echo One.’

‘My pleasure, Jean-Marie.’

✴

‘We need to burn him.’

They’re in the council room.

Riley, Lachlan, Vasily, Céliane and Savannah.

Kade’s absence from the corner where he would usually stand has the hard-edged clarity of a frame removed from a sun-bleached wall. Riley misses him beyond his own ability to feel it, and he cannot imagine how much worse it is for Lachlan.

‘I agree,’ Lee says. ‘We know at the very least he can preserve a body for a long time. The fact remains that this attack was a strange one. So yes, I agree with Riley.’

Vasily sighs. ‘I am not disagreeing, obviously.’

‘But?’

‘No but. Just sad.’

Today is not a good day.

Riley looks at the one person he knows will object. ‘Lachlan.’

‘No.’

‘It’s the only way to prevent Penhalyx from stealing his body somehow. We’ve got people guarding him right now, but the Tower is compromised. We have to be realistic.’

‘No.’

‘I understand—’

‘If you burn him, then he’s gone.’

Riley wants to say, he already is, but he can’t bear to.

Savannah puts a gentle hand on Lachlan’s arm and then looks at all of them in turn. ‘I’ve been waiting until we could all meet properly before I tell you a few things.’