A knot formed in my gut. “I see.” Glancing past him to the stack of tomes and papers, I tried to get a glimpse of what he’d been reading. But our conversation roused Kost, and he sat upright in such a flurry that he knocked over a perilous stack of books and obscured the titles. A thick red mark stretched from forehead to chin where the binding had pressed into his skin. Righting his spectacles, he blinked furiously. Then he ran his fingers along the red overcoat draped over his shoulders and drew his brows together.
“Ah, sorry about that.” Gaige reached over and took it from him, slipping it on. “You looked cold.”
Leena snorted and Kost attempted to murder her with his stare. “Thank you. But if I’d been cold, I would have fetched a blanket.” With precise hands, he began the process of smoothing his hair.
Gaige’s lips thinned. “Noted.”
A low, strained chuckle sounded from behind me. “Looks like I missed a slumber party.” Calem sauntered into view, heavy bags beneath his bloodshot eyes. His hair was knotted in an unkempt bun atop his head, and he tugged at one of the loose strands teasing his ear. Ozias followed him in and leaned against the first bookshelf his back could find. The wood creaked with his added weight, and he dug the palms of his hands into his eyes.
“I take it none of us really got the rest we needed.” Kost pushed away from the table, studying Ozias with mild concern.
He shrugged. In a rumpled, sleeveless work shirt and loose cotton pants, he was a walking picture of sleep deprivation. “Someone had to keep an eye on this guy.” He jutted his chin toward Calem.
“I’m fine.” Calem’s gaze jumped between all of us one after the other as if it had been electrified.
“You’re not fine,” I said with a scowl. The mercury thread surrounding his pupils had widened, nearly dousing the entirety of his irises. His fingers twitched involuntarily as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“That bad?”
Leena shifted closer to me. “Do you remember anything?” I looped a supportive arm around her waist.
He cast his eyes to the floor. “Yes. Everything. Though I…I swear, I couldn’t control it. It was like watching myself from a dream or something. Is Onyx all right?”
Leena barked out a laugh. “I can’t believe you’re asking me that. Onyx is fine.”
“Guess that makes us even?”
“Hardly.” She sighed, then paused for a moment before speaking again. “Effie was worried about you.”
Calem stiffened. Remorse flickered in his eyes. “I know. I remember. I’ve barely spent any time with her since… Well. You know.” He dragged a heavy hand down his face. “I’m just afraid of what she’ll think of thisthing. Of this monster. Or worse—I’m afraid I’ll hurt her.”
Leena shook her head. “You won’t hurt her, Calem. You’d never hurt her. I wouldn’t have gifted her to you otherwise.”
“Yeah.” He faked a smile. “I’ll get it under control.”
Stepping toward him, Leena placed the back of her hand against his forehead. His eyes slipped closed as his shoulders slumped forward. “You’re burning up.”
“We should take him to Hireath. Immediately.” Gaige tied a few rolls of parchment together with some twine and tucked them into his jacket. A small scrap slipped free of his grasp and floated to the table, but he didn’t notice. “I can escort him.”
“Alone?” Ozias straightened. “I’ll go with you.”
“And what good would that do?” Calem shot him a weak grin. “You’ve played mother hen long enough. The new recruits need your guidance, and you can’t do that if you’re hovering over me. I doubt the Charmers would let you do much, anyway.”
“He’s not wrong,” Gaige said. “I can take him alone—it’s no trouble.”
My gut tightened. As much as I wanted to trust Gaige, I couldn’t bring myself to let my brother walk into Hireath alone. There was no doubt he needed help. It was obvious in the way his skin jumped with every breath. But there was also the matter of my oath. We didn’t know who we could trust in Hireath, let alone how to unearth that information.
Leena shifted beneath my touch, and I slanted my gaze to her. Would it be too much to ask her to go? I didn’twanther to leave. The idea of her being away from Cruor in dangerous territory set my teeth on edge. But we needed answers. If she accepted the Council’s offer to join them, she’d have more resources than we did now. Even if they couldn’t unearth the woman behind the bounty, she’d have access to more bestiaries. More chances to find an alternate solution.
I cleared my throat. “Leena, why don’t you go?” Even as I said it, my fingers tightened against her hip. “Maybe it’s time you take the Council up on their offer.”
Silence stretched on for minutes as she turned to face me, eyes full of questions. She grazed her bestiary and twisted the chain dangling about her neck. When she finally spoke, her words were soft. “I don’t know if that’s the right thing to do.”
Gaige frowned. “Why? It’s possible one of them might know of a beast that could help. But you’d likely have to accept their invitation before they’d allow you to review their bestiaries.”
Her fingers froze against her collarbone, and her voice went cold. “I don’t know if I can trust the Council.”
Scratching his jaw, Gaige parked a hip on the table. “I’ll admit that I’m leery of the lack of information on all this. But to insinuate that someone on the Council is responsible?” He shook his head. “I can’t fathom it.”
