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Bile threatened again for a moment and she pulled her phone from her pocket, just to be sure Maya hadn’t tried to call or text. She had nothing—nothing important, anyway—and so she dismissed the social media notifications and tucked it away again. Maya was just upstairs. Fenn wouldn’t let her die. Not that she was in real danger of dying.
“Interesting,” Rajan said. He crossed his arms, immediately making himself look larger, and took his chin between thumb and forefinger in a classically thoughtful pose. “You didn’t see Cassian?”
The amusement drained from War’s expression. “I think that’s actually the million-dollar question, as they say.”
Cassian bit out another sound of displeasure. “I wish you idiots had come to me with that theorybeforedeciding we’d descend on this place. I would have told you, as I have, it wasn’t me.”
“Of course you’d say that.” The skepticism in War’s voice was hard to miss.
Sienna frowned, looking between them. She was clearly missing something. “Um … this might totally be not my business, but I feel like there’s something I’m supposed to understand here and definitely don’t.”
Fenn finally released her shoulder, his touch sliding down her spine to settle at the small of her back. “Sien—”
He was interrupted by the ringing of her phone. Her heart leapt into her throat again at the recognition of Piper’s ringtone and Sienna didn’t even apologize before scrambling to get it to her ear in time. Belatedly, she realized she probably should have put it on speaker, but she’d already connected. “Yes…?”
“Wise of you not to assume I’ve chosen to release your sister,” the unnamed man who apparently still had Piper’s phone—and maybe Piper herself—said. He sounded completely calm and confident in his position over her. “I assume by now you’ve received my warning.”
The question reminded her of what Maya had said when she’d been strong enough to speak and anger bolstered her. Sienna tapped the speaker button as her response poured out. “You call what you did to Maya awarning? You piece of shit bastard! What do you even want with us?Whoare you? No, I don’t care who you are, just tell me where Piper is or let her come home and then leave us the hell alone!”
He had the audacity to chuckle. “Do you feel better now?”
Sienna gripped the phone so tightly her hand shook.
Then a voice, distinctlynotFenn’s, whispered in the ear opposite where Fenn stood, “Keep him talking. Back down if he starts getting upset.” The voice was War’s, she was almost sure of it, and for just a moment she thought it looked like he’d blinked in place when she glanced his way.
But there was no time to linger in shock. Sienna dragged in a breath and forced herself to soften her tone. Slightly. “No,” she said. “Yelling at you doesn’t take away my sister’s pain. Please, just tell me what you want.” How was she supposed to keep this guy talking? What was even the point, it wasn’t as if they were tracing the call?
“Is he trying to track me?”
Her mouth fell open a little. “What?”
“Your lover,” the nameless man said unnecessarily. “Is he hoping to use my distraction to hone in on my location? Is that why you put me on speaker?”
Shit!
Rajan held out his hand in a clear, wordless request.
For a split-second, Sienna hesitated. But she had no other bargaining chips, no other means with which to win this fight, so she handed over her phone. If nothing else, she had faith that Fenn would protect Piper’s life—and if it came to that, they could find her that way, no matter how horrible the process.
“I do not yet know your name,” Rajan said, an authority and power filling his voice that hadn’t been there before, “but I will caution you once to release Ms. Jacobsen and abandon whatever quest you’ve embarked on against this family.”
There was a stretch of silence where Sienna wondered if he’d hung up, and then the man with Piper’s phone spoke again. “You don’t sound like Death.”
Rajan’s expression hardened. “I am Conquest.”
The man immediately let out a laugh. For a moment it seemed nervous, but then it built, a tone of incredulity lacing the jarring sound. “I would say I was honored,” he finally said, “but frankly I find all four of you overrated. I will live and die independently of any gods, their precious puppets included.” The laughter vanished from his voice. “Can you hear me, Sienna Jacobsen?”
“Yes,” Sienna said before anyone could tell her not to speak.
“If you have not found your sister by sunrise, you will never find her.” The line clicked.
Rajan held the phone out for Sienna. “His confidence is misplaced,” he said. “And he has given us too much time.”
“Not necessarily,” Cassian said.
War held up a hand. “Hold on. I need clarification.” He pointed to his grumpy colleague but held Sienna’s stare. “Cassian isnotthe man you saw in that vision with Florence? The one Fenn told us about?”
Sienna was so thrown by the question she actually remembered to breathe again. She obligingly turned her gaze back to Cassian, who glowered at her as if displeased that she’d even looked, then returned her focus to War. “I suppose they look similar,” she said. “They’re about the same height and build, with similar hair, but Cassian’s face is more tired. And his eyes are more glowy.” But theydidlook similar, she realized. It was startling.
