“Thank you.” William glances up at Lark as he holds Sel’s wrist. “For saving him.”

“No thanks needed, Scion Sitterson.”

William stands with a tired smile. “Call me William. Please.”

Lark holds William’s gaze for a beat, then ducks his head. “William.” If I wasn’t looking for it this time, I’d have missed the pink on his cheeks entirely.

Gill calls from the door. “Better get out of here, Larkin. They’ll get suspicious if you’re gone too long.”

Lark salutes me, then he’s out of sight. The car he arrived in speeds away just as Gill pulls the door, and instructs us all to buckle in.

The engine changes pitch, then we’re rolling down the tarmac.

My head is forced back into the cushion as we climb. Motion below catches my eye.

A convoy of Mageguard Jeeps careens around a corner and skids to a halt on the tarmac below. Half a dozen figures clad in black whoosh out of their cars onto the cement to stare up at us with glowing eyes.

“They’re too far away to create a construct to slow the plane,” Gill says reassuringly. Somehow, it still doesn’t reassure me at all. “Promise.”

Samira seems just as unbothered. In fact, she flashes me a grin. “We’ve got about a couple hours in the air, and you have questions.”

“Where is everyone else?” William demands.

“They said they’d send Tor and Sar to the field to help the Lieges search for Nick,” I say.

Gill nods. “They’re at Northern now. We’ve kept an eye on them through the Liege network. And the others—Felicity, Pete, and Greer—they’re grounded at the chapter, hunting the demons that have been crossing.”

William shakes his head in disbelief. “They just… gave up on us?”

“They were told lies.” Gill’s face sours. “We thought about sending them a message about what really happened to you both, but decided against it. Greer and Pete would have begged to join the rescue, but too many people on a mission is how somebody gets dead.”

I shift in my chair. “But they have no idea what they’re facing.”

“We need to tell them about the inheritance-blocking serum the Regents used to suppress our abilities. Bree’s the Crown Scion, the king,” William says. “If they’ll do it to her, they’ll do it to them.”

“They won’t need to,” I say quietly. “Not if the Regents have convinced them I’m too dangerous for the Order.” All eyes turn to me. “We already know Tor will never see me as king. She might even turn me back over to the Regents again if she ever finds me.”

“Again?” William asks.

I nod. “I don’t know what she told them, but her call that day… it started everything. They’ve been planning since the moment she reached out.”