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“Terraguard isn’t responsible!” I hate the way my voice pitches upward, desperation sneaking into my facade. For a first Elder meeting, this is off to a terrible start.

Elder Hightail shakes her head. “How can you possibly know that, girl?”

I ignore the clear lack of title usage, head spinning for an answer that isn’t, “He’s my lover” or “I have been seeing him for months,” but before I can respond, Elder Superior Markus cuts in.

“If you speak out of turn once more, we will be forced to adjourn the meeting.”

“Yes, Elder Superior. I understand,” I sneer. I am not a girl anymore and won’t be treated as such.

You know what, fuck it.

“Now that I am an Elder and council member myself, I would imagine that I have the same speaking rights as anyone in this room. Just because I am the newest or youngest voice does not mean that my points are any less valid.”

Elder Davenpath tilts his head in agreement. “I second Elder Nox’s position. She should be able to speak freely amongst us.”

Markus smiles with a saber-toothed malice. “Fine. For the sake of moving along with our discussion, Elder Nox may speak freely.”

Somewhere deep within his soul, a tiny fracture begins.

I smile back. “Excellent.”

“Now, where were we?” Elder Hightail rasps. “Right, let’s discuss the matter of this attack. This was unprecedented.”

Elder Burroughs adds, “It cannot happen again. Both Underworld Territories were clearly implicated.”

I lean forward. “I assure you that Terraguard was not involved. In fact, Lord Atlys was helping us. He probably took out more Underlings than the Watchers.”

Markus scoffs. “And how would you know such intimate details?”

My face heats with the insinuation. “The Lord of Terraguard was my sponsor last year. We remain in contact and were meeting the moment the attack began. He was just as surprised as I was.”

Faces all around me contort with skepticism. No one jumps in to agree. No one disagrees either.

I take this as a small win. That somehow, despite everything, my voice is being heard.

“We need to increase the protection around the Watch,” Elder Superior Markus states.

Obviously. I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

“We should increase the WatchGuards stationed along the perimeter,” Elder Teneth says. She had remained quiet until now, arms folded in front of her.

“That won’t be enough!” Elder Hightail shakes her head. “They came from beneath the surface. We need more than a non-magical military stationed around the border.”

Elder Superior’s smile turns saccharine, and my stomach drops. His dark, beady eyes lock with mine. “Then we will need to use magic. Elder Nox, you have a relic that could be useful to us, I believe.”

All of the Elders shift to look at me.

The Elder Superior stands, hand outstretched. “The Helios Blessing will need to be returned to my possession and used as an additional magical barrier around the Watch.”

No! I need the Helios Blessing in order to save us all, I want to say, but I remain silent, utterly shocked by this turn of events. If they take the sun stone from me, I will be back to square one. Nothing.

Not with the moon stone missing from the Forest Tribe.

Or the star stone yet to be retrieved during the Spring Equinox.

Could I trust them with my secret mission? Trust the Elders to put forward the good of all before the good of just the humans?

No.