Clearing his throat, Blaise grew serious as he pulled out five flasks filled with liquid I recognized very well. The muted, grayish-brownish color of the shadow mark. “One of my contacts in the Underearth came through,” Blaise said, drawing my gaze back to him. He was looking at Lucien. “We received a formal invitation from the Syndarch.”
Lucien froze, his fingers leaving my hair, and he straightened in his chair. “Tell me everything.”
Blaise nodded and complied. “According to my contact, the Syndicate became aware of Mack Page’s death soon after you”—he glanced briefly at Oz, whose face was dark—“dealt with him.”
“It’s fine, Frenchy,” Oz hissed. Apparently, his vocal cords were healed. “You can say that he killed him.”
Lucien ignored him and nodded for Blaise to continue, and he did. “The Fae whom Mack contracted was indeed from the Syndicate’s Covert Umbral Neutralization Taskforce. The Syndicate, however, claims that the Fae operated on their own, without the Syndicate’s knowledge.”
“Of course they claim that,” Lucien murmured, grimacing. “What about the Fae that attacked me in Drew’s apartment?”
“My contact confirmed it was the same one who almost killed you,” Blaise said with a heavy sigh. “They said the Fae hasn’t returned to the Underearth since after they tried to kill you that first time, which,according to my contact, was because they were tracking down Mack to receive the payment.”
Lucien’s lips thinned. “Did they get the payment, then?”
Blaise shook his head. “My contact wasn’t clear on why, exactly, but the Fae was delayed, and by the time they found Mack, he was already dead. That’s when they realized you must be alive.”
Something about this didn’t add up. “Why didn’t the Fae make sure Lucien was dead to begin with?” I asked, frowning, and flushed a little when everyone turned to look at me. “Lucien was still alive, albeit barely, when I found him.”
“That’s a good point,” Blaise murmured, “but from my association with the Fae through my various contacts, I’ve come to know they are a very conceited, arrogant bunch. Most likely, the Fae believed they finished the job without finishing the job.”
“But that’s too sloppy,” Teya chimed in, folding her arms. “Umbral Fae aren’t sloppy.”
Blaise shrugged. “Either way, that’s all I know.”
“So the invitation?” Lucien prompted, voice contemplative. I knew he was still thinking about what we’d just discussed too.
“The Syndicate wants to negotiate a deal with you as a gesture of good faith, or, in other words, for the sake of sweeping this whole thing under the rug,” Blaise replied and motioned toward the flasks full of shadow marks he’d put on the table. “My contact gave me these portals. We are to use them in an hour, Overearth time.”
“Overearth?” I repeated, surprised.
Lucien smiled a little when he replied, “That’s what the Fae call our time, since time runs differently in the Underearth.”
“One hour in the Underearth is about a day in our world,” Blaise supplied. “That’s because the Underearth is considered by the rules of space and time as a different dimension.”
Before I could ask questions aboutthatintriguing piece of information, Lucien rose to his feet. “In that case, we need to get ready,” he said, andturned to look at his Betas. “Blaise, Oz, and Teya—you’re coming with me to the Underearth.”
Everyone nodded, even Oz, despite his permanent look of distaste.
“Since it can take a few days, Overearth time,” he continued, turning to look at Callista, “I appoint you as temporary Alpha until we return. If anyone has a problem with that, you have my permission to punish them accordingly.”
Callista let out a sigh and nodded, while Ren raised his hand. “I’m in charge of the trainees’ field trip tomorrow. Is that still going to happen?”
With a shake of his head, Lucien said, “While all other pack activities should continue as usual, anything that requires leaving the pack territory is postponed until we return.” He grimaced. “I don’t want to take any risks until I make sure the Syndicate is no longer a threat to anyone here.”
Ren nodded, and Oz scoffed. “The trainees are gonnalovethat.”
Lucien’s eyes snapped to the annoying Beta. “Do you want to have your vocal cords severed again?”
Oz folded his arms and looked away, jaw tight. “No,Alpha.”
I could tell Lucien was pissed at Oz’s tone, and it made me wonder why he’d decided to take him to the Underearth. With his attitude, Oz might be more of a threat to Lucien—and this mission as a whole.
Lucien turned to me then. “Since the Syndicate has also threatened your and Thayer’s lives, you’ll come with us, too, Drew,” he said softly. “Callista will let Thayer know so he won’t worry.”
“Is he still in the Ward?” I asked quietly, turning to look at Blaise.
He nodded grimly. “I don’t think he’s planning to leave there anytime soon.”
