distance between himself and Shay as possible. I appreciated the safeguard, forcing myself to stay in place rather than going to Shay like I wanted to. Nev and Mason exchanged a glance and didn’t hide their grins fast enough.
“If you two make any bets, I
Mason managed to look abashed. Nev shifted his gaze from my pointed stare with a sly smile.
Adne followed Ren, looping her arm through his in a casual gesture, but I saw her fingers lock around his arm, steadying him as he glared at Shay.
Anika’s face was stern as she surveyed our small Guardian pack. “I trust you’re aware of our shifting circumstances.”
We all nodded. Anika smiled, turning to Tess.
“I’m told you have a proposal for me?”
Tess straightened. “It’s about us orphans.”
“Us orphans?” Anika’s brow furrowed.
My chest tightened as I looked from Tess to Ansel. She was right. Tess and Isaac had been posted in Denver, at the Searchers’ hideout. Now that Purgatory had burned, Tess couldn’t do the Reapers’ work of smuggling goods under the Keepers’ noses. She’d lost her home; her job; her partner, Isaac; and her lover, Lydia. All because we’d shown up and turned her world upside down. If anyone should hate us, it was Tess, but all she’d done was treat us with kindness, my brother especially.
“Me and him.” Tess gestured to Ansel. “We’ve both lost our place in the world.”
“His status is still being considered, Tess,” Anika said. “You know that.”
“Of course,” Tess said. “But I think it would benefit everyone for him to prove himself useful.”
I watched her, suspicion nestling against my spine. Ansel wouldn’t be exploited in any way while I had a say in it.
“What did you have in mind?” Anika asked.
“My outpost is gone,” Tess said. “But I still have training for basic Academy tasks. I can help in the garden and in Eydis Sanctuary. I’d like to take the boy with me. Teach him some of our ways.”
“Do you really think that’s wise?” Anika paced across the room.
“I think it would be unwise to leave him unoccupied.” Tess’s eyes slid over Ansel’s arms. His skin was crisscrossed with bright red hatch marks. Older cuts were healing; newer scratches were just beginning to scab over.
“He’ll never be unsupervised,” Tess said. “I’ll take full responsibility for his whereabouts.”
“I’d want to send a Striker to accompany you as well,” Anika said.
Tess nodded. “If you think that’s necessary.” She looked at Ansel again, her face making it clear that she didn’t think he was a threat to anyone. As I gazed at my brother, or rather at the shell of a person that he now seemed to be, I wondered how anyone could see him as dangerous. Then again, he had been swayed by the Keepers to betray us. Brute strength wasn’t the only threat to worry about.
“I’ll consider it,” Anika said.
“Don’t bother,” Ansel said without turning his face from the window.
Tess didn’t react to his dead voice, but Bryn twined her fingers in his. “Come on, An. You should go with Tess. Doing stuff will take your mind off…” Her words trailed away.
“I should just stay in here,” Ansel said, pulling his hand out of Bryn’s grasp.
Her lip trembled. I wanted to grab my brother and shake him for treating her with such carelessness.
Anika frowned, peering at my brother. “You’d prefer to stay confined?”
“I’m where I belong,” he said.
Anika beckoned to Tess. “Let’s discuss this elsewhere.”
The two of them left the room. Bryn was still trying to coax Ansel into conversation. When he finally pushed her away after several attempts, she got up and went to Mason’s open arms. He hugged her while she quietly cried.
Ren came to my side, which made Shay growl. He quieted when I cast a warning glance in his direction. I wished I could do more. I hadn’t had a chance to speak to Shay alone since Ren had returned, and the longer I had to wait to steal away with him, the more I worried that Shay would misinterpret all of this.
“I think I might be able to do something here,” Ren murmured in a low voice so only I could hear him.
“Like what?” I asked.
“He needs to know you can make the wrong choice and still deserve a second chance.” A painful lump formed in my throat at Ren’s words. The alpha was the only one who could relate to Ansel’s betrayal. Maybe he could make a difference.
I nodded, raising my voice to address the others. “Let’s give Ansel some time to think about it.”
“Actually, that would be great,” Adne said, smiling at me. “’Cause I’m here to give you an official tour of our digs. You haven’t seen how awesome it is here. You’ve pretty much just seen the dining room and your quarters, right?”
“I went to the healers’ place with Ethan and Sabine,” Nev said. “The Sanctuary?”
Adne nodded. “So Nev knows where to find Band-Aids, but not much else. How about it? You guys wanna see the place so you don’t get lost?”
“I’d say yes,” Shay said, meeting my eyes. “Considering the fight we’re going to provoke tomorrow morning, this might be your last chance.”
FIVE
HAVING SEEN PARTS OF IT from the inside, as well as approaching it from the outside, I’d known the Academy was huge. Still, its enormity was overwhelming as we followed Adne through the sparkling halls. She started at the top, the floor where we’d spent most of our time since arriving. The third level of the Academy held most of the residences plus the areas unique to each wing: Haldis Tactical, Tordis Archives, Eydis Sanctuary, and Pyralis Apothecary. Fortunately, Adne had remembered that it was better to describe the Apothecary to my packmates than subject them to its discomforts. The second floor housed the Academy’s training rooms: scholarly, mystical, and combat, plus a few more residences. The first floor offered plenty of storage for weapons and gear. It also featured the dining hall, kitchens, and baths for each wing of the Academy.
“Why are they so far away from our rooms?” Bryn had asked. She’d always been concerned about access to bathrooms. It made sense as she spent more time in bathrooms than any person I knew “putting on her face,” as she’d say. I wondered if Bryn was already experiencing separation anxiety from her extensive makeup collection.
Adne was still explaining about how the kitchens and baths were on the lowest level because it offered the easiest links to water and geothermal energy as we returned to the dining hall for the evening meal. The large room was already buzzing with activity. I spotted Tess, Connor, and Sabine gathered at a table. Ren was also with them, though I noticed he’d left a couple chairs empty between himself and Sabine. Apparently they hadn’t cleared the air about Vail yet. I stopped in my tracks when I saw that Ansel was sitting beside him.
“Oh!” Bryn’s hand flew to her mouth when she followed my gaze. Her eyes brimmed.
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes. Ren had been right. Ansel was fidgeting, but there was more color in his face now than I’d seen since he first showed up in Denver.
Tess saw us and waved. My stomach was growling when we settled around the table. Within minutes tureens of spicy fish soup and heaping bowls of pasta were being passed around the table, as well as a bottle of lemon liquor Connor produced with a flourish. One sip of the bright yellow concoction had enough fresh lemon to bite into your tongue, followed by a kick that almost knocked me out of my chair.
“What is this?” Mason’s face was scrunched up.
“Wow.” Sabine licked her lips with a shiver. “That’s… something else.”
“Something good,” Nev said, dishing up another plate of pasta.
