A million questions ricocheted in Masika’s mind—what expedition is Catherine talking about? What changed? And what can possibly be more valuable than the lives of their fellow Resistance members?Before anybody could offer further clarity, Dina’s voice echoed around the room once more.
“So, what?” Dina leaned back against her chair. She crossed her arms and lifted her lips into a sardonic smirk. “We just condemn them to what might likely be an eternity of torture in the hopes that this expedition will work? An expedition that—might I add—is solely based off ofthese two’sword.” Dina gestured toward Birdie and Russo, both of whom rolled their eyes at the not-so-subtle dig.
“It’s more complicated than that and you know it,” whispered Birdie, shooting Dina a glare. “And it’s not just some guess. We saw it with our own eyes. We brought Catherine a copy.”
“Right. Leave it to the bloody strategist to argue semantics,” Dina chuckled, rolling her eyes. “Plus, not to mention that a copy can be forged. How do we know you haven’t simply made the whole thing—”
“Enough.”
Catherine’s voice sucked the air out of the room, quickly silencing Dina. For a moment, nobody said a word. And then Catherine was standing, pushing herself away from the table.
“Let’s take the night to sleep on it.” She cleared her throat. “We’ll reconvene tomorrow morning and discuss the possibility of a search party.”
This seemed to be enough to appease everyone…well,mostlyeveryone.
Brayden rose from his seat and stormed out of the room, severing Catherine with a poisonous glare before slamming the door closed behind him. The others trickled out shortly after, whispering among themselves as they funneled into the corridor. Masika knew her best chance at exiting the room undetected would be to wait for everybody to leave, but Catherine continued to linger. Even once the last few members drifted out of the room, plunging them into silence, Catherine remained rooted behind her chair, a faraway look in her eyes.
Masika took a cautious step toward the meeting room door, hoping and praying that her cloaking enchantment would hold despite the anxiety coursing through her limbs. She took another step forward, hand outstretched, fingers trembling as she reached for the doorknob—
“It’s not polite to eavesdrop, little dove.”
Shit. Shit, shit, shit.
Well, she supposed there was no point in keeping the façadeany longer. She dropped the cloaking enchantment, the haze of golden light vanishing with a flicker.
Catherine’s eyes met hers, not a hint of surprise in her expression.
Masika let out an exasperated breath.
“What the hell are you trying to find out there? What is this expedition about?”
Catherine smirked.
“Do I need to put locks on your door? Have a guard follow your every move?”
“Right.” Masika crossed her arms. “Deflecting. Shouldn’t be surprised, should I? You’re just as secretive as always.”
Catherine’s expression hardened as she took a step forward. When she spoke next, the teasing lilt in her voice had vanished, taking on that authoritative edge she’d put on during the meeting.
“You shouldn’t have been in here.”
“Why?” Masika shot back without hesitation. “What are you keeping from us?”
Catherine shrugged.
“Nothing.”
“Oh, don’tnothingme.” Masika scoffed. “I heard every word.” She stepped forward, unflinching beneath Catherine’s narrowed gaze. “So…answer the question.”
“We’re…” Catherine looked up at the ceiling, biting the inside of her cheek as she searched for the right words. “…looking for something. Something that has the potential to shift the tides of this war. That could save the afterlife.”
“What?”
Catherine cocked her head with a teasing grin.
“That’s classified.”
Masika blinked, cheeks burning with anger.
