Rhys had told me once that he belonged to one of those Sect legacy families—the ones who’d been loyal for generations.
My dad fought. I could hear his voice in memories. My brother, too.
What he hadn’t told me was that his father was the leader of an entire Sect division. He’d left that little detail out.
“Not ‘Dad.’ Director Prince,” Prince said, correcting Rhys’s initial greeting, and it was then that I noticed the difference in their surnames. Was Rhys a pseudonym? Code name? Was it for security reasons? Personal reasons? My mind raced. There was so much I didn’t know about him. Too much.
“Director Prince,” the older man repeated.
Rhys straightened his jean jacket with a sharp tug, but said nothing. The delicate contours of his lean face tightened with his frown, the muscles in his long neck stretching as he lifted his chin. Even with his soldier-like, attentive posture, he was challenging the man childishly. But then, he didn’t outright disobey him either.
Standing, Sibyl approached him to shake his hand. Only then did he seem to relax his body. “It’s good to see you again, Rhys.”
“Yeah, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” It was like the spell his father had cast had finally worn off. His expression softened. Rhys gave Sibyl one of his friendly good-boy grins that seemed to light up his soft brown eyes. Then, finally, he turned our way. “Girls, hello again. And sorry, Lake: Yeah, this is my . . . dad.”
His inviting smile strained at the word but didn’t waver until his gaze passed over me. His body quirked curiously once we made eye contact. But not even that lasted long. “Good to see you,” he said in one breath before he turned back to Sibyl.
“I already heard some of what’s been happening on the way here. The mission to capture Saul.” He snuck in a wry grin. “And that press conference. Phew! That was a nice bit of theater, but it doesn’t help us much. It’s already all over the news.”
“The increased public scrutiny puts us in an even more delicate situation,” Sibyl said.
“Director Prince has already discussed with me the possibility of moving the rings,” Rhys said. “I know we’ll have to operate in secrecy. I came here ready.”
Prince responded with a curt nod. “This mission must be executed with the utmost precision. Sibyl will catch you up on our present situation. The three of us will consider the plan of operations and go over the short list of agents from the North American Division I’ve generated. We need to get preparations under way as quickly as we can.”
Chae Rin leaned in, glancing at the rest of us. “What about us?”
“It’s late and you’ve just come back from a mission,” Sibyl said. “If this is going to go smoothly, we all need to be at our best. Eat. Rest. Train. Like usual. We’ll handle the operational logistics.”
“But—”
“We’ll send for you once you’re needed, not before.”
Chae Rin jerked her head back, but Sibyl, who’d already turned away, didn’t notice. Sibyl probably hadn’t meant it so bluntly, but Chae Rin knew the ropes as well as I did. We were the muscle. What did that pigeon-faced conservative senator Tracy Ryan call us once? Right. Biological weapons of mass destruction. A little dramatic, but the point was clear: We Effigies only pretended to be heroes for the rest of the world and the adoring fans with their homemade signs and handwritten letters. The reality was, we were tools of the Sect. They pointed us at whatever they wanted blown up and we did our best not to die.
We followed orders. But Natalya’s death had already taught us that working for an organization with as many secrets as the Sect meant trust was a luxury.
“She’s right,” Belle said as I watched Rhys from the corner of my eye. “There’s a better use of our time. Let’s go.”
She didn’t need to say much else. Following her cue, we stood up to leave.
With the breaches plaguing the Sect, Prince was being careful, controlling the variables of the mission right down to the agents he allowed in his task force. But we Effigies had our own mission. We’d have to be careful too.
Rhys turned his head slightly as I passed, as my shoulder grazed his arm. It was even worse than not being acknowledged at all. For one fleeting moment, my heart sped up. I almost hated myself for it.
I was the one who needed to be careful.
“Rhys.” I caught Prince’s voice just as I reached the door. “You know that I chose you to be a part of this task force because despite everything, I trust you. You are and always will be a soldier of the Sect.”
I knew it. Natalya knew it too.
? ? ?
My stomach hit the couch hard, my legs awkward and stiff over the armrest. That’s when I felt something crinkle in the pocket of my sweatshirt.
The fan letter. I reached inside and pulled it out. The pink envelope was sealed by an adorable bunny sticker.
“What’s that?” Chae Rin shut the door behind her. “Is that the fan letter?” She came up to the couch and, before I could shove it back into my sweater, snatched it out of my hands.
“Hey!” I tried to get it back, but she danced out of the way.
“Let’s see what we have here.” Quickly peeling off the bunny sticker, she slipped out the letter. “Ooh, it’s handwritten!”
I could see the girl’s tiny cursive writing through the thin notepaper. Chae Rin made sure to annoyingly alter her voice as she read.
Dear Maia,
You’re so cool! All my friends like Belle, Lake, or Chae Rin—
“Damn right.” Chae Rin puffed out her chest.
—but to me you’re totally the coolest because I feel like you’re kinda just like me. I hope you don’t read the comments online and feel bad about all the people saying you’re not super-hard-core enough. You started like a month ago—and your scythe is so cool! I’m even making one out of cardboard!
“Did you hear that?” Tilting her head, Chae Rin let out a loud, affected sigh as she held the letter to her chest. “She’s making one out of cardboard. Oh, you’re just . . . just the coolest!” She’d said it as if literal tears were dripping from her voice.
My cheeks were burning. “Shut up,” I grumbled, though it wasn’t easy hiding how pleased I was. Someone thought I was cool. Maia Finley. Well, better late than never.
There’s a fan convention coming up in August and I would love for you guys to show up! Please think about it!
“That would be fun!” I said.
“All those neckbeards. No, thanks.” Chae Rin tossed the letter, then the envelope, back to me. “Well, congrats, kid. You finally have a wittle fan! It’s like you’ve come full circle: from an Effigy fan to an Effigy fan’s soon-to-be disappointment!”
“Oh, just. Quiet.”
I could hear Lake giggling as she passed by us both. Shoving the letter back into my sweatshirt, I flopped onto the sofa as Chae Rin walked away.