Adrian said nothing, only smoothed his thumb over my cheek. I knew he would take this from me if he could, but there were few ways to relieve this kind of pain, among them time or magic, and since I did not have control over magic, I had to rely on time.

“You are my light, Sparrow,” he said. It was not a direct apology, but in the aftermath of our disagreement, I needed the assurance of his love.

“You are my darkness,” I said. I expected him to let me go quickly, given that we had an audience, but he didn’t. He held me a moment longer, studying my face before guiding me to sit. The members of the council followed, though Adrian remained standing beside me. Ana too chose not to join the table, preferring to stand apart like a ghost, haunting the room.

“Shall we begin with our most pressing matter?” Tanaka asked.

“Are they not all pressing?” Adrian asked. “We have a witch on the run who has stolen a spell book, and we have no inkling of her plans. Yesterday, Cel Ceredi was attacked by a pack of aufhockers, and nearly thirty of our people are dead.”

“Forgive me, my king,” said Tanaka. “I assumed you wished to speak of the traitor.”

“Dracul is hunting Julian,” Adrian replied. “Unless you speak of another?”

I studied Daroc and Sorin, Ana and Tanaka, but none of them tensed at Adrian’s comment, though I knew it was a warning as much as it was an acknowledgment that he knew.

“N-no, my king,” Tanaka said.

There was silence following the exchange, but after a moment, Daroc sat forward and spoke.

“Our problems seem related to me,” said Daroc.

I met the general’s gaze. “How so?”

He did not look at me as he answered. Instead, he stared hard at the table.

“It cannot be a coincidence that Ravena attacked us with the crimson mist, and two days later, we face another attack.”

“Yes, but she got exactly what she wanted,” I said. Ravena had killed innocent people before—namely her entire coven—but even that decision had been strategic. She gained nothing from killing a handful of villagers and farmers. “She didn’t steal a spell book only to return and kill innocent victims.”

That magic was meant for something far worse.

“Why are you assigning morals to our enemies?” This time, Noblesse Razan spoke. “They do not care who they kill so long as they win.”

“Win what?” I asked. “You do not even know what she is fighting for.”

“It does not matter. She has attacked our home, and for that, she must die.”

I ground my teeth.

“How do you expect to find her if you do not know what she fights for?”

“You already said she wanted the spell book,” said Noblesse Iker.

“The spell book is a tool,” I said. “Nothing more.”