Jack and his pair were situated furthest away, their positions oddly deliberate. From where they stood, the faces of every person in the room would have been visible. Jack was watching me. It was unnerving to be his sole focus, free of the mischievous spark that had played in his countenance during our last encounter. This time he was so serious it frightened me. Even the Sophies were frowning, though their focus was on everyone else in the room: Sophia bounced her scrutiny from Poison, to Clarin, to the guys standing in the doorway, while Sophie watched the remaining Klovoda members. I found their unspoken harmonization to be both unnerving and extraordinary. They knew who to watch, where to stand, and how to support each other without even the secret glances that my own pairs used to communicate with each other. They simply knew the thoughts and intentions of the other members of their bond as though they were all the same person.
I had been staring at them as I hastily announced to everyone that we were attempting to attract Silas’s attention, and even as I spoke, the Sophies remained diligent in their examination of the others, not once glancing at me. In the five minutes of silence that followed my announcement, I continued to watch them. I finally concluded that Jack had taken it upon himself to observe me because he was an Atmá, like me. My role as an Atmá was important to them in some way; it was a particular point of interest to them. I wasn’t sure why Sophie had taken it upon herself to watch the Klovoda members, but it was interesting to note that her vantage point gave her the best view of Yas, in particular.
Eventually, the hush that had fallen over the gathered people began to stir; Obasi un-crossed his legs and crossed them the other way, while I was pretty sure that I caught Nahab blinking. Yas tucked her elegant-looking fingers into the pockets of her jacket, while Adie—the giant, red-headed man—scratched at his beard.
“We have some bad news,” Yas finally announced.
I waited for someone else to answer her, but it seemed as though she was talking to me.
“Go ahead.” I swallowed. “It can’t get much worse.”
“It can,” Yas promised. She looked to the others for confirmation, and Alice—the Japanese woman—nodded. That seemed to be all the permission Yas needed, for she turned back to me, pulling her hands free of her pockets and squaring her slender shoulders. “We think Silas has Lord Weston. He’s been missing since the night he brought you to us.”
“He…” I trailed off. Yas was right: it could get worse. “How is that possible? Weston can control people; I don’t imagine it would be that easy to kidnap him.”
“Silas must have drugged him, or worse.”
“He can’t kill Weston,” I blurted. “It would kill his own mother, and Tabby. They’re bonded to Weston. If he dies, they die as well.”
Yas exchanged another look with several of the others, and I noticed that most of them were now avoiding my eyes, with the exception of the Sophies, Jack, and Jayden. I aimed my next question at Jayden, wanting to re-distribute the sense of leadership about the room. I knew that they hadn’t chosen a new Director yet, and though it was neither my business nor my place to hold an opinion… I still didn’t like the way that Yas appeared to be taking over. She was clearly linked to Weston in some way.
“You know him,” I pleaded to Jayden. “Silas isn’t a monster. He wouldn’t kill Weston if it meant harming people that he loved or cared about. He’s been hurt, tortured, manipulated and broken so many times by Weston, but he will always protect the people who mean something to him. Please Jayden, you know—”
“She’s right,” he confirmed, his voice edged in an unassuming boredom that seemed to stem only from superior knowledge, because Jayden knew almost everything. “He won’t kill Weston.”
“He might not kill him.” Yas sounded as though she still didn’t believe us. “But there is no end to the things he could do. I’m sorry to say it, but Silas has gone too far this time—”
“He’s one of our best agents,” Alice inserted. “The skills he provides are invaluable.”
“Are they?” Yas snapped back. “Are they really worth so many lives and countless more? He needs to be contained.”
“He needs to be saved.” I pounced to my feet, my limbs trembling with a sudden violent urge to fight, to protect. Silas was mine; they couldn’t have him. It was as simple as that. “You can’t fight bad with bad. That’s what he’s been doing and it clearly doesn’t work. Break the cycle. Give him something good. Don’t hurt him further.”
“She’s right.” Jack finally spoke up, turning away from me to address Yas. “The only way to fix this situation is to break the cycle of violence. You can’t cure abuse with punishment. He’s been pushed too far; he needs help now. He’s been punished his whole life for having simply been born. We all know it—even if we don’t speak about it. Dominic Kingsling is finally dead, and we now have a rare chance to change things. If we break Weston’s hold over Silas and protect him, we’re taking a big step toward reform.”
“Careful.” Yas was now vibrating with anger just as much as I had been. “You’re not the Director yet, Jack.”