“You’re wearing shoes,” Desandra pointed out.

“Yes, but I’m used to the way they look.” Robert stared at the wraps and sighed.

“Still time to turn back,” Voron said quietly inside my head.

“Not happening.” I thought I had banished his ghost.

“This is dangerous. Don’t do this. Walk away.”

“This is what you’ve trained me for. Let me be what you’ve designed me to be.”

I waited for an answer, but my memories remained silent.

“Kate?” Derek asked quietly.

I nudged Cuddles and we headed into the Glass Menagerie.

• • •

THE MOONLIGHT FILTERED through the glass iceberg, diffused and fractured, until it seemed to come from everywhere at once, bathing the interior of the glacier in a soft ghostly glow. Solid sheets of glass covered the ground. I led Cuddles, moving as fast as I could without sliding. I had no watch but it had to be past midnight.

“Any vampires?” Robert asked.

“No.”

“How long have you had the ability to sense vampires?” Robert asked.

Here we go. “Why the sudden interest?” I asked.

“We hear things,” Robert said. “Rumors.”

“What kind of rumors?” I asked.

“Disturbing rumors,” Robert said. “We are dissatisfied with the current level of disclosure. We are concerned.”

We. We as in Clan Rat. The alphas of the clans intensely disliked being kept out of the loop, and Jim was always walking a fine line between endangering Pack security by saying too much and pissing off the Pack Council by saying too little. Lucky for me, I wasn’t in charge of security.

“If you have concerns, you should address them to Jim,” I said.

The alpha of the rats nodded. “Because he will cover for you by stalling and not answering any of the questions we pose?”

I gave Robert my best hard stare. “Cover for me?”

The wererat held my gaze. “Yes.”

“He doesn’t seem to be scared. You need to work on your alpha glowering,” Derek observed. He was watching Robert with a calm, relaxed expression, one I knew very well. If the alpha rat as much as sneezed in my direction, Derek would try to rip his throat out and Ascanio would help. “Maybe you should pick an easier target to practice on, like a small fluffy bunny.”

Ascanio clamped his hand to his chest and staggered closer to Robert. “I think McBroody just made a joke. I . . . I don’t know what to do. Nothing makes sense anymore.”

They were setting him up. If Robert moved toward me, Derek would hit him head-on and Ascanio would rip into him from the side. Desandra’s eyes narrowed. She saw it, too.

Derek pretended to study Ascanio and glanced at me. “Would you like me to pull his legs out?” His eyes were completely serious. He was asking if I wanted Robert jumped.

“No, I want the two of you to hang back about fifty yards, so Robert and I can have a conversation.”