The greater demon, Ikakantor, had awoken the dormant demonic mutation lodged in my soul, intending to use me to uncover some secret buried below the castle. After being forced to accept who I was becoming to save my friends, I was now half Light and half Dark.
And what that meant exactly was anyone’s guess, least of all mine.
Then there was Elijah…
“I don’t know,” I said, finally replying to Jackson’s question.
“The truth always helps,” he commented as he glanced past me. “What happened to Wilder wasn’t your fault.”
Following his gaze, I noted the guards stationed at the end of the hall. Looking in the other direction, two more men stood by the double doors leading out to the main foyer of the Sanctum.
They trusted me…to a point. It wouldn’t take any effort for me to walk out of here. I wouldn’t even have to raise a hand. Being a part of both worlds, I could nullify the powers of both. I hadn’t tried the Dark yet and had failed miserably when I’d tried, but I understood Light and getting past it was easy. Training your whole life to become a warrior was good for times like these, though it was terrible for building trust.
“Madeleine.”
I looked up at the Natural down the hall. The tall man I didn’t recognise was a representative from the Regula, the governing body of the Naturals.
“They’re ready for you.”
I nodded and rose to my feet, smoothing down my black suit jacket. First impressions counted, especially when you were accused of consorting with the enemy.
“Good luck,” Jackson said, rising with me. “Remember—”
“Jackson.” I pouted and brushed him off.
“I know, but my fickle human heart wants to say it out loud.”
I attempted a smile, but I was entirely positive it looked like a twisted grimace. Turning towards the doors, I pushed them open and strode inside. Better to get this over and done with as soon as possible.
The gallery was a large round room with a domed skylight. Tiered seating surrounded the entire space, climbing five levels. Eight hundred Naturals could cram themselves in here, but only one hundred were stationed in London at any one time. They weren’t all warriors, but support personnel like scientists, doctors, cooks, trainers, researchers, and assistants. Of that number, less than half patrolled the city, protecting its people against demonic possession.
I supposed that’s why everyone took things so seriously around here. The loss of one was the loss of many.
I stood in the centre of the gallery, illuminated in a circle of overcast light filtering through the dome, and looked up at the representatives sent by the Regula. Wilder was the Inquisitor—the Naturals’ version of a Prime Minister—but ever since he’d fallen into a coma—which was another reason I was here—Greer had taken his place.
Greer was the protector of the Codex. Selected by fate and powers beyond reasoning, she alone was tasked with keeping the powerful book safe, recounting its lessons and adding new pages. If an unworthy touched it, they’d burn from the inside out. It was one hell of a firewall, pun intended.
She could be sweet with her angelic face, blemish free skin, shiny almond-coloured hair, and perfect wardrobe, but her wrath was terrible.
To her right sat Aldrich, Scarlett’s uncle and long-time council member at the London Sanctum. He now served as part of the Regula beside the Inquisitor. Grey-haired and weathered by decades fighting on the front lines, he was wise, calm, and the fatherly figure everyone wish they had.
To her left was a man I didn’t recognise and to my annoyance, no one bothered to introduce him. He looked a little young to be sitting beside such esteemed Naturals, but I wasn’t in the position to question the authority of our government. They assured me I wasn’t on trial, but it sure felt like it.
I could tell the new guy was handsome, but he wasn’t my type. He was clean cut and impeccably dressed in a tailored black suit jacket and crisp navy shirt. His sharp green eyes stared at me like I was transparent. His caramel-coloured hair even had that artful swoosh that was meticulously styled to look like he rolled out of bed that way. Even so, I wasn’t blind. He was good-looking, but I usually went for men with darker colouring and who were a little rugged around the edges—like Elijah.
My heart twisted at the thought of him. The last time I’d seen the half-demon, he’d given in to his Dark side, cut Ikakantor’s head off to save Camelot, then told me to take all the credit so I could keep my place amongst the Naturals. Who knew where he was now?
“Madeleine Greenbriar, you stand here accused of treason, assault, and conspiracy,” Greer said, her voice echoing through the chamber. “Among other things.”
“You conspired to flee with a demon,” Aldrich said. “Why?”
I cleared my throat. “He freed me from a greater demon’s lair. In exchange, all he wanted was help with finding a cure—”
“A cure you couldn’t give,” the unknown man stated. He even sounded posh.
“No, but—”
“And why was that?” he pressed, cutting me off yet again.
“Because Ramona found he wasn’t mutated like I had been. He was different.”
“Different how?” Greer asked.
“She never got the time to find that out,” I replied.
“Because you broke out of your bonds and helped him escape,” the man snapped.
“I left because no one believed my intentions or Elijah’s were good,” I said, my voice rising. “You’re all too hung up on the fact that I have some bad guy’s DNA to see the threat growing on our doorstep. If I hadn’t broken out and stopped Ikakantor, the Dark would have used the Naturals to finish digging up Camelot
