“But the Council knows?”
He nodded. Her nails were scraping through his thin shirt and against his skin. It was a thoughtless, automatic movement. It meant nothing to her, he was sure. But it felt like a caress on his skin. He swallowed. “The Council knows. And their policy until recently has been to ignore and exploit the differences.”
“Until recently? How recently? What changed?”
The spasmodic movement of her fingers slowed as she calmed, allowing herself to be distracted away from shock and fear. The slowing movement should have been a relief. It wasn’t. The intensity of his nerve response grew.
“Well. We don’t know when it officially changed, or if it was even official at first. We started noticing it about twenty-five years ago.”
“You were young then, right?”
Alex felt his eyes crinkling. “In the grand scheme of things, I’m still young.” It was time to divorce himself from the sensations coursing up his arm. He took a deep breath.
“Oh. Right. I meant…you were a young agent then. I mean, you were new.”
“Yes. And sometimes when you’re new, you see more. Or maybe you accept less. Reassignments of older, powerful agents away from the top tiers of power. Whispers. Disappearances. A group of us were already watching, waiting. So when it started—we looked into it. And what we found made us decide to move, and move hard. We made a plan. We put it into motion.” He shrugged.
She took a deep breath. Her fingers stilled. “Because if it comes down to them or us….”
“We choose us.” He tilted his head, watching her face to make sure she fully understood. “And all of the people who depend upon us. We don’t want more suffering. We’re not about withholding power, but we won’t be slaves to those who are weaker than we are. Do you understand?”
She stared sightlessly at his chest. She’d have to reorder everything in her head, line it up with her own experiences. It would make sense to her. Maybe she’d start trusting them.
Finally, she looked up at him and nodded. “So, all of this time, everything you’ve told me has been true?”
Alex nodded. “It has, yes.”
“And everything you’ve done has all been for a reason? And that’s what you’ve all been trying to teach me?”
He nodded. “Right.”
She gusted out a breath. When she spoke, her voice was nearly back to normal. “So he was wrong? My Dad. You’re not the bad guys.”
“Right.”
“And you’re not actually a brutal, heartless bastard?”
He blinked. Her final question had been quieter, but her lips were curved. She was almost herself again.
He couldn’t resist. One side of his mouth drew up in answer. “Well,” he drawled, “I wouldn’t go that far.”
She laughed, the last of her tension releasing with the burst of sound. He laughed with her, his first genuine laugh in a long time. It felt good. He felt light.
She straightened, rubbing his arm almost affectionately before letting it go.
He stepped away, still grinning. “Ready for your surprise?”
“Ha. Are you?” At his questioning look she continued, “The last time you surprised me, I threw you out.”
He laughed, again, at the memory. “So you did. It’s a good thing I don’t hold grudges. For long.” He keyed the lockbox.
“In the grand scheme of things?” she asked archly.
He grinned at her as he pushed the door open. “That’s what I like about you. You’re a quick study.”
She opened her mouth to reply, but her gaze shifted into the room. Her mouth fell open.
“Ace!” She ran inside.
Alex followed her. He closed them in as Ace swept her up into his arms with a laugh and swung her around.
“You’re here!”
Was that laugh almost a giggle? Alex had never heard her sound young.
“What are you doing here? How did you get here?” Before Ace could answer, she whirled to Alex. “You brought him!”
He shrugged. “I figured you could use a friendly face.”
Lena launched herself at him. Before he could even get his arms up, she had her own wrapped tight around his back.
She squeezed herself tight against him for a moment before leaning back and grinning up at him. “Thank you for this.”
Alex worked hard to keep his smile in place as he extricated himself from her spontaneous hug before his Dust could start dancing inside for her again. “It wasn’t a big deal. And he’s kind of a pain in the ass, anyway. Two birds. One stone.”
“It’s a big deal to me,” Ace said, his voice solemn.
She nodded at them both. “It’s a big deal. It’s—I needed this, especially today. Thank you.”
He shrugged again. “Lena, you do need to know…you have to be discreet. Ace can’t know where he is.” He raised his brows at her. “It could potentially endanger too many people, including you.”