“If you must know, I was worried Wilhelm was going to tear you limb from limb if she found out you’d let Lynette walk free. Believe or not, I’ve grown rather attached to you, Bastien. I would hate to have to train someone new to take your place.”
He glowered at me, his gaze sharp as razor steel. “Trained me, eh? Last I recall, you were the obedient one who did exactly as he was told.”
I shook my head, heat rising to my cheeks. “I have no idea what you’re going on about. You must have me confused with someone else.”
He took a step towards me. “Ah, you’re so right. There must be another annoying, petulant man-child, too used to getting his way around here. How could I be so blind?”
I responded in kind, drawing so close our noses were almost touching. “That’s right. Be sure it doesn’t happen again, or else I may have to take action.”
I wasn’t expecting him to be the one to close the distance, his lips crashing into mine with such ferocity that I wondered if I had daydreamed the entire moment. Real or not, I wrapped my arms around Bastien, pulling him tight against me as the door across the room slammed open, a crowd of bodies filling the lab.
“Where are they?” demanded a familiar voice.
I pulled away from Bastien, keeping my hands firmly planted on his hips as I spotted Wilhelm, breaking through the line of Reviled guards.
“Sorry, Wilhelm dear, I’m afraid that we were having a bit of a moment here. Can you return later? How long do you think, Bastien? Fifteen minutes?”
Her eyes flashed an acidic green as she scowled.
“Tobias and Lynette. Where did they go?”
I looked back at Bastien, still clutched in my arms. “Bast, do you know someone by that name? I’m drawing a blank.”
Bastien rolled his eyes, pushing me away with a tempered shove.
“Why the show of force, Wilhelm? Isn’t this all a bit much?”
“It was our agreement that you were only to wake Tobias. Lynette Greene was to remain incapacitated, so as not to send the entire Council of Magi crawling down our throats. You’ve placed all of Paradise at risk!”
“The Council won’t even know she’s awake,” I argued. “They’ve enough on their plate with their precious Second Awakening going tits-up.”
“You can’t guarantee that.”
“I can, actually, seeing as I just inherited Sancha’s seat.”
Wilhelm blanched at that, taking a step back in surprise.
“What?”
“Saint Sancha is dead,” I explained, exhaling to keep my own emotions in check. “A result of the Umbral’s destruction of the Cradle back in the Magi City. I am the next in line to the Church’s head seat on the Council. So, you have my word that they will not come here.”
“The gods watch over her,” Wilhelm muttered, bowing her head for the briefest of moments. “Be that as it may, none of this absolves you of your actions, Bastien. Now, I must ask that you turn over the Greenes to me at once, and perhaps we can work out a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
“Tobias and his sister are not tokens for us to trade,” Bastien replied, hands clenched at his side. “And I am master over neither. I cannot give you what you ask, Wilhelm.”
“Think very carefully about your next actions, Seeker,” the woman replied, a threatening undercurrent coloring thewarning. “We have opened our doors to you. Shared the knowledge of those who came before. Given you a purpose.”
Bastien huffed a laugh, tugging at the cuffs of his shirt. “You opened your doors, yes. And for that I am grateful. But do not assume for a moment that my life lacked purpose. There is purpose in all things, not just those you deem worthy.”
“You disappoint me, Seeker.”
“I would say the same of you.”
“Wilhelm,” I interjected, stepping between the two Reviled before tensions could reach a boiling point. “As acting leader of the Church of the Source, I am formally requesting that you allow Bastien and our associates to leave Paradise in peace. This gesture will show good faith and allow us to open a dialogue regarding mending the wounds of the past between our peoples.
“What do you say?”
Wilhelm’s piercing gaze shifted from Bastien to me, and for the briefest moment, a shadow flickered behind her golden eyes. The Source’s warmth in my chest cooled at that, sending a shiver down my spine.
