“Apparently,” I say, but my attention flicks briefly to Jack, then to Caly, and then back to Jamie, weighing how much to say and how blunt to be about it.
Because this isn’t just about keeping him out of sight.
“Listen,” I add, lowering my voice just slightly enough that it keeps the conversation between us without completely shutting the others out. “This isn’t just about you being a target out there.”
Jamie frowns. “What does that mean?”
It means we’ve got a prince in the next room who might tear the world apart to get his mate back.
It means fear makes people do stupid, unforgivable things.
It means not everyone here is built the same way.
I exhale slowly, choosing my words carefully. “Aelith’s a wildcard,” I say. “He’s not thinking straight. Not fully.”
Jamie’s frown deepens. “He wouldn’t?—”
“I’m not saying he would hand you over,” I cut in, because that’s not exactly the truth and not exactly a lie either. “I’m saying he’s desperate. And desperate people don’t always see the full picture. They see the one thing they can fix.”
Caly watches me closely now, that keen intelligence of his locking in.
“And it’s not just him,” I continue. “This place? It’s solid. People are loyal. But not everyone here is the same kind of strong when it comes down to it. If things go bad—really bad—and it’s a choice between their life and yours….” I let the sentence hang.
Jamie goes very still, and Jack swears under his breath.
“That won’t happen,” Jamie says immediately, but there’s an edge to it now. Not certainty. Determination. The kind that knows exactly what it’s up against.
“Maybe not,” I say. “But we don’t take chances like that if we don’t have to.”
Caly tilts his head slightly, considering. “You’re suggesting proximity increases risk,” he says.
“Yeah,” I reply. “If Aelith was followed, or even if he wasn’t but the queen’s close to figuring out where he came from, then the outer sections are the first place they’ll hit. Entry points. Weak spots. Places where pressure can be applied.”
“And where people can be made to choose,” Caly adds quietly.
“Exactly.”
Jamie’s eyes narrow, and for a second, he looks older than he has since I met him—far too aware in a way kids shouldn’t have to be.
“So you’re hiding me deeper because you don’t trust everyone,” he says.
I meet his gaze. “I’m saying I trust enough people to know we don’t gamble with you.”
Silence hangs for a beat. Then Jamie exhales, slow and controlled, like he’s forcing himself to accept something he doesn’t want to.
“Right,” he mutters. “Cool. Love that for me.”
“Yeah,” Sonny mutters from behind me. “Not exactly a highlight.”
Caly steps in again, smoothly redirecting the tension before it can spike back up. “You will assist me with reorganising the inner storage,” he says to Jamie, as if that has been the plan all along. “If we are relocating, we require efficiency.”
Jamie shoots him a look. “You’re doing that thing again.”
“What thing?”
“The ‘I’m distracting you so you don’t freak out’ thing.”
Caly pauses, then inclines his head slightly. “It’s effective.”
