With considerable effort Nev pried Sabine off Ren. She struggled before turning to bury her head in Nev’s shoulder, sobbing.
“Sorry, man,” Nev said, stroking Sabine’s ebony hair.
Ren shook his head. “I deserve it.”
I couldn’t decide if I agreed with him or not. When Nev and Sabine had left the Bane pack, Ren stayed behind. He was their alpha. His duty was to lead and protect them, but he’d thrown his lot in with Dax, Cosette, and my old packmate, Fey. Their betrayal stung. Did Sabine blame Ren for how she’d suffered? Did she think it was his fault Dax and Cosette were still with the Keepers?
Bryn didn’t leave Ansel’s side, but she gaped at us. “Oh my God. Ren.”
Mason hesitated before coming to Ren and catching him in a quick hug. “Good to see you, man. In one piece and such.”
“You too, Mason.”
“How?” Sabine sniffled, still clinging to Nev. “How is it that you’re here? I thought you left us.”
Ren looked at the floor. I had to help him. Even if I still felt uneasy about why Ren had briefly chosen the Keepers over us, he was here now and we needed him. A broken, grieving alpha was no good to our cause.
“He was manipulated,” I said, and he smiled weakly, keeping his eyes downcast. “Ren is here because he has a sister who wanted to save him.”
“Okay,” Bryn said. “Now you’re not making any sense at all.”
“Adne,” Nev murmured, peering at Ren. “Right? I knew there was something about that girl.”
I nodded. “Her father was Monroe—the Searcher who led our rescue mission. He was also Ren’s father, not Emile.”
“Heavy,” Mason said.
“Tell me about it,” Ren said.
The sound of ceramic shattering brought all our eyes to the window. Tess was standing. Shards of the broken plate lay at her feet. She crossed the room, taking Ren’s face in her hands.
“You’re Monroe’s son?” Her eyes were brimming. “Corrine and Monroe’s son?”
Ren nodded.
“Thank goodness Adne isn’t alone.” Tess laughed despite her tears, wrapping her arms around Ren, who looked startled but not upset by the gesture. “Monroe would be so, so grateful that you’re here.”
“Thanks,” Ren said, his own voice getting rough. “I’m sorry I didn’t know him.”
“Me too, sweetie,” she said, wiping away her tears.
Bryn was still frowning. “Monroe and Corrine? I don’t understand. How would that even be possible?”
“It’s kind of involved, but it’s possible. We’re gonna have to leave it at that,” I said. “We’ve got other things to do now that Ren’s here.”
“What other things?” Mason asked. “Please tell me they’re things that involve kicking some Keeper ass.”
I grinned. “That’s exactly the kind of things they are.”
“Hold on,” Bryn said. “I’m all for fighting the Keepers, but do the Searchers want our help?”
“They rescued us, didn’t they?” Mason rocked back on his heels.
“I suppose.” Bryn’s eyes wandered to Ansel, who was still staring off into the distance. I was already counting her out of this fight. She was only concerned with helping my brother. And that was fine with me.
Tess spoke up. “Monroe and Corrine first met because a group of Banes planned to rebel against their masters. We were going to help them. Unfortunately the plan was discovered.”
“The Keepers killed my mother,” Ren finished. His eyes had gone flat.
“Shit.” Nev kicked the edge of the rug. “They are just total shit.”
“No kidding,” Mason said.
I didn’t want us to get lost in our own rage against the Keepers. “There have been other, older alliances between Guardians and Searchers, but none of them could last.”
“Because no one can defeat the Keepers.” Sabine glared at Tess.
“Until now.” Tess didn’t falter under Sabine’s cold eyes.
“Shay can stop them,” I said quietly. “That’s why they wanted to kill him.”
“Says who?” Sabine snapped. “That stupid prophecy Connor and that punk-rock brain trust, Silas, were talking about? What if it’s all lies? Nothing we’ve heard up to this point about our past has been true.”
“Let it go, Sabine,” Nev said, squeezing her shoulder. “These are the good guys. They saved us, remember?”
Sabine’s lip trembled. “Go to hell.” She shoved Nev away and ran from the room.
Mason shook his head. “She’s not seeing the silver lining, is she?”
“She’ll be okay,” Nev said, watching the door close again. “It’s a lot to take in.”
Ren nodded, though the tight set of his jaw told me he was worried about her.
“We may need to rethink our teams,” I said.
“Yeah,” he said. “Looks that way.”
Mason tugged on the collar of his shirt. I glanced around at my packmates, realizing they were all dressed in Searcher garb. I suddenly wanted to laugh.
Mason gave me a quizzical look and I shook my head.
“Where’s Shay?”
“Still with the Searchers in Haldis Tactical,” I said. “They keep him pretty busy.”
He fidgeted, coughing before he spoke again. “So, uh, Ren’s here . . . and Shay’s here?”
“Yes,” I said.
Bryn glanced nervously at Ren and then me. “Who’s our alpha?”
“I am.” I waited for Ren to object, but he didn’t.
She chewed on her lower lip. “And Shay and Ren?”
“Are backing me up.”
Ren sighed, but he nodded. “We’re backing her up.”
Mason grinned. “She is woman, hear her roar.”
Bryn giggled. “Awesome.”
My answering smile was so broad it hurt a little.
The door opened and Anika entered, followed by Adne. A moment later Shay walked in. As soon as he joined us, the air crackled as if it were filled with ozone. Ren moved to the other side of the room, putting as much distance between himself and Shay as possible. I appreciated the safeguard, forcing myself to stay in place rather than going to Shay like I wanted to. Nev and Mason exchanged a glance and didn’t hide their grins fast enough.
“If you two make any bets, I will find out about it,” I said. “And you’ll be sorry.”
Mason managed to look abashed. Nev shifted his gaze from my pointed stare with a sly smile.
Adne followed Ren, looping her arm through his in a casual gesture, but I saw her fingers lock around his arm, steadying him as he glared at Shay.
Anika’s face was stern as she surveyed our small Guardian pack. “I trust you’re aware of our shifting circumstances.”
We all nodded. Anika smiled, turning to Tess.
“I’m told you have a proposal for me?”
Tess straightened. “It’s about us orphans.”
“Us orphans?” Anika’s brow furrowed.
My chest tightened as I looked from Tess to Ansel. She was right. Tess and Isaac had been posted in Denver, at the Searchers’ hideout. Now that Purgatory had burned, Tess couldn’t do the Reapers’ work of smuggling goods under the Keepers’ noses. She’d lost her home; her job; her partner, Isaac; and her lover, Lydia. All because we’d shown up and turned her world upside down. If anyone should hate us, it was Tess, but all she’d done was treat us with kindness, my brother especially.
“Me and him.” Tess gestured to Ansel. “We’ve both lost our place in the world.”
“His status is still being considered, Tess,” Anika said. “You know that.”
“Of course,” Tess said. “But I think it would benefit everyone for him to prove himself useful.”
I watched her, suspicion nestling against my spine. Ansel wouldn’t be exploited in any way while I had a say in it.
“What did you have in mind?” Anika asked.
“My outpost is gone,” Tess said. “But I still have training for basic Academy
tasks. I can help in the garden and in Eydis Sanctuary. I’d like to take the boy with me. Teach him some of our ways.”
“Do you really think that’s wise?” Anika paced across the room.
“I think it would be unwise to leave him unoccupied.” Tess’s eyes slid over Ansel’s arms. His skin was crisscrossed with bright red hatch marks. Older cuts were healing; newer scratches were just beginning to scab over.
“He’ll never be unsupervised,” Tess said. “I’ll take full responsibility for his whereabouts.”
“I’d want to send a Striker to accompany you as well,” Anika said.
Tess nodded. “If you think that’s necessary.” She looked at Ansel again, her face making it clear that she didn’t think he was a threat to anyone. As I gazed at my brother, or rather at the shell of a person that he now seemed to be, I wondered how anyone could see him as dangerous. Then again, he had been swayed by the Keepers to betray us. Brute strength wasn’t the only threat to worry about.
“I’ll consider it,” Anika said.
“Don’t bother,” Ansel said without turning his face from the window.
Tess didn’t react to his dead voice, but Bryn twined her fingers in his. “Come on, An. You should go with Tess. Doing stuff will take your mind off . . .” Her words trailed away.
“I should just stay in here,” Ansel said, pulling his hand out of Bryn’s grasp.
Her lip trembled. I wanted to grab my brother and shake him for treating her with such carelessness.
Anika frowned, peering at my brother. “You’d prefer to stay confined?”
“I’m where I belong,” he said.
Anika beckoned to Tess. “Let’s discuss this elsewhere.”
The two of them left the room. Bryn was still trying to coax Ansel into conversation. When he finally pushed her away after several attempts, she got up and went to Mason’s open arms. He hugged her while she quietly cried.
Ren came to my side, which made Shay growl. He quieted when I cast a warning glance in his direction. I wished I could do more. I hadn’t had a chance to speak to Shay alone since Ren had returned, and the longer I had to wait to steal away with him, the more I worried that Shay would misinterpret all of this.
“I think I might be able to do something here,” Ren murmured in a low voice so only I could hear him.
“Like what?” I asked.
“He needs to know you can make the wrong choice and still deserve a second chance.” A painful lump formed in my throat at Ren’s words. The alpha was the only one who could relate to Ansel’s betrayal. Maybe he could make a difference.
I nodded, raising my voice to address the others. “Let’s give Ansel some time to think about it.”
“Actually, that would be great,” Adne said, smiling at me. “’Cause I’m here to give you an official tour of our digs. You haven’t seen how awesome it is here. You’ve pretty much just seen the dining room and your quarters, right?”
“I went to the healers’ place with Ethan and Sabine,” Nev said. “The Sanctuary?”
Adne nodded. “So Nev knows where to find Band-Aids, but not much else. How about it? You guys wanna see the place so you don’t get lost?”
“I’d say yes,” Shay said, meeting my eyes. “Considering the fight we’re going to provoke tomorrow morning, this might be your last chance.”
FIVE
HAVING SEEN PARTS OF IT from the inside, as well as approaching it from the outside, I’d known the Academy was huge. Still, its enormity was overwhelming as we followed Adne through the sparkling halls. She started at the top, the floor where we’d spent most of our time since arriving. The third level of the Academy held most of the residences plus the areas unique to each wing: Haldis Tactical, Tordis Archives, Eydis Sanctuary, and Pyralis Apothecary. Fortunately, Adne had remembered that it was better to describe the Apothecary to my packmates than subject them to its discomforts. The second floor housed the Academy’s training rooms: scholarly, mystical, and combat, plus a few more residences. The first floor offered plenty of storage for weapons and gear. It also featured the dining hall, kitchens, and baths for each wing of the Academy.
“Why are they so far away from our rooms?” Bryn had asked. She’d always been concerned about access to bathrooms. It made sense as she spent more time in bathrooms than any person I knew “putting on her face,” as she’d say. I wondered if Bryn was already experiencing separation anxiety from her extensive makeup collection.
Adne was still explaining about how the kitchens and baths were on the lowest level because it offered the easiest links to water and geothermal energy as we returned to the dining hall for the evening meal. The large room was already buzzing with activity. I spotted Tess, Connor, and Sabine gathered at a table. Ren was also with them, though I noticed he’d left a couple chairs empty between himself and Sabine. Apparently they hadn’t cleared the air about Vail yet. I stopped in my tracks when I saw that Ansel was sitting beside him.
“Oh!” Bryn’s hand flew to her mouth when she followed my gaze. Her eyes brimmed.
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. Ren had been right. Ansel was fidgeting, but there was more color in his face now than I’d seen since he first showed up in Denver.
Tess saw us and waved. My stomach was growling when we settled around the table. Within minutes tureens of spicy fish soup and heaping bowls of pasta were being passed around the table, as well as a bottle of lemon liquor Connor produced with a flourish. One sip of the bright yellow concoction had enough fresh lemon to bite into your tongue, followed by a kick that almost knocked me out of my chair.
“What is this?” Mason’s face was scrunched up.
“Limoncello.” Connor laughed. “Local specialty.”
“Wow.” Sabine licked her lips with a shiver. “That’s . . . something else.”
“Something good,” Nev said, dishing up another plate of pasta.
“Corrupting the kids already?” Ethan had approached the table. I looked up at him in surprise. I’d been so busy scarfing down food that I hadn’t noticed he was missing from our group.
“What I do best,” Connor said, passing the bottle around again. “Wanna pull up a chair? Really good eats tonight. We should advocate for a longer stay in Italy.”
The addition of Guardians to the Haldis team made for a crowded table, even with the number of Searchers we’d lost in the past several days.
“Taking into account what’s about to go down, I’d hope the food is good,” Ethan said. “Every meal could be our last.”
“Thanks for ruining my appetite.” Bryn stuck out her tongue at him and then smiled at Ansel.
Seeing him briefly smile back at her had more of an effect on me than the limoncello. I crossed my fingers, wishing with every ounce of my being that Ansel really was coming back to us.
Sabine scooted her chair over, making space for Ethan beside her. “Here you go.”
Ethan looked at her and then away. “Actually, I’m not hungry. Just saying hello.”
Without another word, he turned around and left the dining hall.
“Is he always so grumpy?” Mason asked with noodles dangling from the side of his mouth.
Nev elbowed him with a chuckle. “You have no manners whatsoever, huh?”
“I’m a fierce beast, man,” Mason said, wiping tomato sauce from his chin. “What can I say?”
“Ethan’s still a little uneasy around Guardians,” Adne said. “Don’t take it personally.” She was slurping her soup with abandon. It looked like everyone had been getting tired of whatever the Iowan menu had been. What she’d said about Ethan wasn’t clicking in my mind. Ethan had certainly been open with his hatred when I’d first shown up, but lots had changed since then—including his attitude. Even this morning he’d defended us to Silas. So why would he say that and then refuse to eat with us? It didn’t make any sense. My questions vanished when Bryn passed a bowl of luscious fresh fruit.
While the rest of us continued to stuff ourselves, Sab
ine was picking at her food. She spent about ten minutes making patterns with her pasta before she stood up, mumbling something about being tired, and hurried out of the room.
Watching her go, Connor laughed and shook his head.
“What is it?” Adne frowned.
“Nothing,” Connor said, but he was grinning like a fool.
Suspicion buzzed in my ear like a gnat. Unable to quell my curiosity, I excused myself from the table. I wasn’t sure why I was following her, but something irresistible pulled me after Sabine’s jasmine trail. Plus if I’d tried to eat another bite, I probably would have passed out.
Sabine had followed the curving corridor to the first level’s entrance to the garden. I had an eerie sense of déjà vu, having taken this very path myself last night. I peered through the glass doors, but the garden had bloomed into its full, lush glory in the two days since the Weavers had moved the Academy to Italy. Hanging vines, fruit trees, and thick hedges blocked my view.
I slipped into the garden, shifting into wolf form so I could prowl the paths on silent paws. Guilt nipped at my heels, but I couldn’t fight off the suspicion that something important was about to happen in this garden—something that affected my pack. As an alpha, I had to know.
Moving along the path, close to the hedges so I wouldn’t be spotted, I followed what I thought was the sound of voices. Quiet, but persistent, like the bubbling sound of a distant stream. I’d almost reached the heart of the garden when I caught sight of two figures. Their bodies gleamed ghostly silver in the bright veil cast by the near-full moon. I tucked myself against the trunk of the nearest tree, letting the shadows cloak me.
Sabine paused in front of the stone bench where Ethan was sitting. Ethan continued to sharpen his dagger; he didn’t look up.
“You can’t do it forever, you know,” she said.
“Do what?” He kept his eyes down; the dagger’s blade seemed to glow in the moonlight.
“Ignore me.”
“It’s nothing personal.”
“Of course it is.”
His shoulders hunched slightly at her words, but he didn’t speak.
A rustling of the bushes on the other side of the tree caught my attention. I had to bite down on my tongue so I wouldn’t yelp when a brown wolf slunk from the undergrowth.