Her lips parted, struggling to form a word, and Aern knelt closer.
“We think she’s trying to tell us about Brendan,” Eric said from behind them, his voice quiet.
Ellin’s eye closed tighter.
“No,” Aern said. “Brianna. She’s trying to warn us about Brianna.” A grateful breath escaped her, and she opened her eye to close it again, in a long blink. A yes.
His thumb slid over her cheek. “Don’t worry, Ellin. We have her. She’s safe.” Her gaze moved to his, another warning, and he answered, “We know they’re coming for her, but she’s safe.”
Ellin hadn’t had a chance to learn about the battle with Morgan, hadn’t seen anything except the men who had taken her and Brendan. But Aern wouldn’t tell her yet. Not here. This room was filled with men and women of the Seven Lines, but they only knew what they’d witnessed of Brianna—the wind that had whipped around her, the power that had surged from her hands. No one had dared speak of the others, to even whisper shadow. “Rest,” he said. “We are all safe.”
Her eyes fluttered shut with the words. Aern couldn’t be certain whether she truly believed them or not, but Ellin had been trained. She would understand the others were keeping Brendan, using him for leverage. She would understand that in this world, their version of safe meant something different. It wasn’t a promise to remain unharmed, only the reprieve to shut your eyes. To recover until the next round.
The cart was rushed from the room; the preparations made that would allow them to repair her most serious injuries. To reset bones and stitch up wounds that would recover better given a headstart. The crowd of soldiers stood silent, watching as the door swung shut behind someone who’d been central to their Council lives, and later, at the Division.
“They’re coming for her?” Eric said, breaking the stillness of the room.
Aern closed his hand, the warmth of it only reminding him of how cold Ellin’s skin had been. He turned to Eric, who stood waiting in front of what was left of his team. “We have time. Brianna will give us warning.” He hoped the words were true, but if not, if they didn’t have time to prepare, it wouldn’t matter.
Eric gave a small nod, and drew a map from his pocket to start his report. “We found her here,” he explained, pointing to a derelict industrial area. “Another warehouse. This one wasn’t even on Council’s records. We just got close and…” He stopped, wetting his lips, and glanced up at Aern. “It just seemed right.”
“You were pushed?” Aern said.
Eric shook his head, uncertain as he brought back the memory. “I’m not sure. I wasn’t…” He gestured toward his men. “None of us really know how it happened.” He indicated another spot on the map. “We were heading to the Jamestown buildings to see if we’d missed anything there. And then Cooper took a side street, and this place looked suspicious. There were new locks on the gate, but they were open. High-dollar security equipment and no one had bothered using it. We dropped the team, and suddenly we were heading through doors, following new tracks and evidence of water, a fire that had been extinguished. But it wasn’t right, Aern. There wasn’t any smoke damage, no sign of anyone around. Something was off. Wrong.”
Wrong. Brianna’s words echoed through Aern’s mind, and he patted Eric on the shoulder. “Send Seth and the other teams to check out the area surrounding it. But don’t engage.” He looked again at the map in Eric’s hand. “Whatever this is, I don’t want anyone getting too close. Not until Brianna gives us the go-ahead.”
“And if they find us?” Eric said.
Aern glanced at the door that Ellin’s cart had disappeared behind, remembering her broken body. As if they had played with her, taken their time. Brianna’s face when she’d described Brendan, when she’d said the others were coming.
His gaze met Eric’s, his tone even. “Pray.”
Chapter Seven
Shadows
Callan brushed a finger over his mouth as he watched the monitors. They would have retrieved her by now, taken the blonde back to their Council properties. He’d have to destroy the buildings soon, before the others noticed the body was missing. He’d liked the woman—the way she stared at him without flinching, the way she’d kept calm even when the water came. She had fight in her. But that wasn’t what had saved her. Brianna was the only reason the woman had lived, and Callan knew it. She’d been restoring their powers. Fiddling with the lines.
It was time. She was getting stronger, finding her own answers, and it was going to be too late. He couldn’t go to her, the shadows had warned him against that, but there would be no call for issue if Brianna found him. If she initiated the contact. Come to me, Brianna, he thought. Come to me and I will show you why your kind is hiding.
Chapter Eight
Brianna