Page 138 of The Immortal’s Mark

I don’t buy it.

I remember the vision of Bella on the stone balcony the night she disappeared, and Adir stepping out of the shadows. He’d tried to attack her.

I don’t know what happened next, but there is no way Bella willingly left with him.

So why is she saying she did?

“Adir is the cause of the rebellion,” I say, praying logic will be able to break through whatever spell Bella is under. “If he wants to end it, all he has to do is turn himself in.”

“It’s not that simple,” she counters. “The Council needs to change its policy regarding Immortals and their interactions with humans.”

My insides turn to ice. “Are you serious?”

Emotion sparks in her dim eyes, but it fades just as swiftly. “I am.”

I…can’t believe this.

“How could you do this?” Betrayal sharpens my voice. “How could you do this to your family? To Thane?”

“I am doing this to help Thane.”

I scoff. “I sincerely doubt Thane would consider this helping. He would never approve of you working with Adir.”

“Thane will understand,” she insists. “His role as the leader of his brothers is wearing him down. It is time for the Council to stop using the brothers as their enforcers.”

Her words sound like something Adir would say.

She has to be brainwashed.

I try a different tactic.

“Couldn’t you just talk to Thane about stepping down?” I swallow, searching for the right phrasing. “If you asked him, I bet he would resign. He’d do anything for you. He hasn’t been the same since you left.”

He’s actually been a raging maniac, but telling her that won’t help anything.

Instead of convincing her, my words make her face crumple.

“I have asked Thane to step down many times,” she says, voice tightening. “Despite my pleas, he refuses to do so.”

“Maybe he didn’t realize how much you wanted it.” I take a single step forward, grasping at the fragile hope that she’s able to be reasoned with. “He misses you, Bella. If you go back to Greece, things will be different. He’ll listen if it means you’re back.”

Moisture gathers behind her eyes, and she clasps her hands before crossing them over her chest.

“You’re wrong. He doesn’t care what I think.” Her lips tremble. “Only Adir ever seemed to value my opinion, and look where that got me.”

The second the words leave her mouth, she looks like she regrets them.

I shake my head. “You know Adir can’t be trusted.”

She looks away. “I don’t have a choice.”

I seize the opening. “What do you mean? Why don’t you have a choice?”

For a moment, I don’t think she’s going to answer.

Her features shutter, and I fear she’s going to revert to the unrecognizable stranger who stepped through the metal doors.

“Do you remember the night before you visited Adir in the dungeon? When I came to your room for dinner, and we talked?”