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Chapter Sixteen
A Turn for the Worse
Breakfast was far more private. Brendan had apparently learned his lesson, and only allowed Kara and Seth to join us at the small round table beneath the skylights that surrounded the entrance to the kitchen. When Emily and Brianna arrived, Kara slid fluidly into the seat to Brendan’s left, leaving only a free chair between myself and Seth on one side and myself and Kara on the other. Brianna chose Seth’s side.
“I trust you all slept well,” Kara said, as if we were guests in her house. I pointedly did not look at Emily as she arranged the napkin in her lap, head down. “Of course,” Kara continued, “we can make other arrangements if any of you are uncomfortable.”
I realized then that she was not implying anything about us, but rather Brianna, whose eyes were shadowed more than usual. I laid a hand over hers. “Are you well, Brianna?”
Her eyes flickered just the tiniest bit, as if the pupils had constricted to pinpoints and then flashed back to normal. I narrowed my gaze on her, but she stared steadily into my eyes, and I decided the reflection of the skylights must have been playing tricks on me. “I’m fine,” she said, “only anxious for this to be over.”
“Soon,” I promised, hating the lie. No matter what happened, Brianna would be forced into a life she couldn’t want. Even if, by some miracle, we removed Morgan and Council fell back into order, the Division would come for her. She was the key to the prophecy, and she’d never rest until a path was fulfilled.
I looked up, recognizing that the table had fallen silent, and found them all staring at the two of us, a daughter of great power and second heir to the dragon’s name, my hand lying gently over hers. I had the sudden, infuriating sensation of being pushed into something I didn’t want, and I had to consciously remove the glower from my face. My hand returned to the silverware, but only as pretense.
Seth attempted small talk with Emily, failed miserably, and then moved on to repeating jokes he’d heard from Logan the night before. But Logan had a dry sense of humor, and generally delivered them in a subtle manner that Seth simply couldn’t master. After the first few fell flat, he clicked his tongue and went back to his food. This made Emily smile, though all of his efforts had not, and she finally forked up a large bite of the scrambled egg she’d been picking at.
Brendan looked, if not pleased, at least a bit less annoyed now that she’d apparently decided they were not trying to poison her. Brianna, who had yet to touch her own plate, raised her gaze to the door. It was a full six seconds later before Wesley walked through it.
As he approached Brendan’s right side, Wesley locked eyes with Brianna in an all-too-brief instant that would have meant nothing had he not immediately looked down to break their connection as he handed Brendan a report. My eyes narrowed on Brianna, who looked as if she were about to be ill, and then Brendan’s fist crashed against the table, sending silverware and dishes to clanging.
He cursed, clenched his jaw tight, and then handed the paper back to Wesley. “Gather a meeting, I’d like some control in how this gets out.”
Wesley hurried from the room and Brendan pressed the base of his palm firmly against his forehead before looking up to let us in on the bad news.
“Three different sources are reporting Morgan had a row with a couple senior Council members. After the disagreement, it seems that one of the men walked to the encased display knives and stabbed himself in the chest, directly through his heart.” There was a gasp from my right, and Kara covered her mouth with a manicured hand. Brendan’s jaw flexed and he swallowed hard. “The other abruptly changed his opinion, and knelt on the ground before Morgan’s feet.”
“No,” Seth said from beside him, “no, it’s not possible.”
“I might have agreed with you, Seth, if not for their character.”
“Who?” I said. “Which ones?”
Brendan sighed. “Caleb and Noah.”
“Oh gods.” Kara sounded sick. We all knew Caleb and Noah. Neither of them were the sort of man to commit suicide, or kneel down to Morgan.
It was true then. Morgan had figured out a way to use the sway against our own kind. He could control them.
He could control us all.
“Four more of the Council have receded, but at this point I don’t know who we can trust,” Brendan said. “I’m afraid to bring anyone else to our side if the influence is genuine.”
“He has to be stopped,” Kara said. “This isn’t right. No one should have that power.”
Emily huffed quietly beside me at Kara’s hypocrisy, but there was no humor in it. This was bad for everyone, but Brianna most of all. Without our immunity, there was no one to keep her safe.
And then a lead weight settled in my stomach. There was no one to keep any of us safe.
“But what about—” Seth started, and then suddenly remembered Brianna beside him and fell dumb.
“We should continue this in the conference room,” Brendan said. He glanced at me. “Aern?”
I subtly shook my head. No matter that I’d left Brianna under their protection, no matter that I was staying in their house, I would not join the Division simply because we shared the same enemy. I still had some choice. I wasn’t certain exactly what that was at the moment, but there had to be another option.
Kara glared at me openly, but Brendan and Seth didn’t take the time to try and convince me. The three of them were gone a moment later, and we sat alone at the small round table, the dragon, the prophecy girl, and her twin.
When Emily realized Brianna was crying, she startled us all by moving. She crossed to Brianna, who’d not made a sound but bore red-rimmed eyes and telltale tracks of a few escaped tears, and led her silently from the table.
