It had been a long night. I’d had to go into possibly the grossest frat house in Alabama, I’d watched my boyfriend go all mega-Oracle, and I’d gotten my ex-boyfriend to wipe my friends’ minds; my life being threatened was the icing on a seriously crappy cake.

“So that whole ‘Hey, we want to help you and be besties’ thing lasted what, five minutes?” I asked. Next to me, I could feel Ryan go tense, and I nudged him with my elbow. I appreciated the chivalry, but dealing with death threats was kind of my area of expertise.

Alexander sat back in his chair, eyes narrowing even as he smiled. “You certainly have enough spark to be a Paladin. I can appreciate that. But let me make myself very clear, Miss Price. We are offering our assistance because you need us, and I think you know that. Work with us, and David stays safe and protected, as well as extremely useful as an Oracle. I think it should be clear by now that our powers are greater than yours. After all, I was able to penetrate your wards with hardly any trouble at all.”

“Please don’t say ‘penetrate,’” I muttered, but once again, Alexander ignored me and kept going.

“You and Mr. Bradshaw here have some of the weight taken off your shoulders. But if you choose not to follow our rules, then you declare yourselves our enemies, and we will spend however long it takes to eradicate all three of you. Should the Oracle die, another will be called. Another Paladin will be created, and another Mage.”

Leaning forward, he pressed his palms flat on the desktop. A strand of hair fell over his forehead, marring that whole men’s-magazine thing he had going on. “You are expendable to us.”

My heart was pounding, my mouth dry. On one side, Ryan was breathing hard, his fingers clenching and unclenching. On the other, David was glaring at Alexander. He wasn’t jiggling his foot anymore, and had gone so still it was almost unnerving.

“Then why not kill us all now?” I asked Alexander, trying to keep my voice steady. “I mean, we’re all here. It wouldn’t be hard.”

“Harper, could you not?” Ryan muttered, but Alexander only smiled.

“Because that’s not what we want. It’s true we can replace you, all three of you, but that’s not ideal. Much easier to simply welcome you all back into the fold.”

“I am not in your fold, buddy,” I said, standing up. “And neither are Ryan or David.”

On my left, Ryan rose to his feet, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Damn straight.”

But David sat in his chair, his elbows on his knees, hands clasped tightly in front of him. He was looking at the ground, a muscle working in his jaw. “David?” I asked, hating how unsure I sounded.

“It’s just... Pres, we need help. I need help.”