“What Gideon did to you is bigger than both of us,” Kieran said. “And you know it.”
I stared at him.
“So, who else knows?”
Elliot cut in before Kieran could answer.
“Not many,” Elliot said quickly. “Just Kieran. Sable. And me.”
“And Cara Long,” I said sharply.
Elliot’s jaw tightened. “Cara doesn’t know everything.”
I turned my gaze back to him.
“And you do?”
“Seph – “
“What are you expecting me to do, Elliot? Why am I here?”
Elliot’s expression hardened. He tried to force a calming smile back on his face.
“We are hoping you will help us,” he said evenly.
Beside me Sy growled. The helicopter shuddered as his presence swelled beside me.
“He wishes to unleash you,” Sy said, his gaze fixed on Elliot.
His fingers clenched—claws sliding free.
“Rein your dragon in, Seph,” Kieran snapped.
Sy’s gaze shifted.
It locked onto Kieran.
He moved in a blur—jaws snapping inches from Kieran’s face.
Kieran didn’t move. Sy didn’t pull back.
I reached for him, holding him in check.
“Help you do what?” I asked coldly. “Steal power? What makes you any better than the Council of Light?”
“You really want to know?” Elliot said sharply.
He turned to the pilot and rattled off a set of coordinates.
I clutched the door as the helicopter banked sharply. “Where are we going?”
“You want to see the difference between us and the Council?” Elliot said. “I’ll show you. But be advised — it won’t be easy to look at.”
We flew over the mountain range toward the city of Telluride. As we crossed the canyons at the edge of civilisation, the land below turned dry and scrubbed bare, broken by stone.
The helicopter lowered onto a high outcrop, and we climbed out. Kieran moved to walk beside me, but Sy stepped in front of him, blocking the way until I chose to move first.
For a moment, I saw nothing.
