Something cold settled in my chest.
“You mean to manipulate us,” I said. “Because you needed access to my father.”
“I never manipulated you, Seph,” Kieran said. “I made decisions you weren’t in a position to make.”
I snorted. “Right. Then answer this—why wasn’t I brought in back then?”
I held his gaze.
“Why did you pick Sable?”
I swallowed, forcing my voice steady, even as the answer burned its way through me.
“Your father was watching you too closely,” Kieran said. “We knew we couldn’t intervene without raising hell around you.”
“Where is my father?” I asked quietly. “I’d like to see him.”
“That’s not a good idea. He’s locked in one of our cells,” Elliot said, cutting in before Kieran could answer.
“I’m not scared of him,” I said.
Kieran blinked. “You’re not?”
“No,” I said. “Not anymore. Not after what he did to me.”
Sy shifted closer to me, as if he could sense the tension in me.
“He handed me to Marr to salvage his own reputation.”
I met Kieran’s gaze. “That’s not what a father does to someone he loves.”
Elliot’s tone cooled. “You should be careful, Seph. Gideon is clever. Being contained doesn’t mean he’s powerless.”
“Could I… talk to him?” I asked.
Kieran turned to me sharply. “Why?”
Elliot cleared his throat, casting him a warning look.
“We can discuss it,” he said evenly.
Sy, who had been silent until now, leaned forward, his head tilting slightly as he drew in a breath.
Elliot followed his gaze and smiled.
“Ah. You’ve scented the hot springs.”
“Volcanic water?” Sy asked carefully, testing the words. His eyes lit, unmistakable.
I smiled despite myself. “You want to see it?”
Sy glanced at me — then at Kieran.
“Another time,” he said. Then, quieter, “Tell me, small humans. If you did not create the ferals—where did they come from?”
“There is a group,” Elliot said, his jaw tightening. “Small, for now. But growing. They used to be part of Equinox.”
He hesitated, just long enough for me to catch it.
