Lucien sighs, flickering his gaze between Jace and me.

“We have some work to do.” He makes his way to the door, turning around briefly.

“I believe there's a traitor among us.”

With that said, he turns back around and walks away, leaving us frozen by the new information.

I shake my head and quickly grab the small Prismaloct fragment from the desk and slip it into my pocket, quickly tidying my hair.

I start making my way to the door when suddenly, Jace grabs my hand. His eyes back to amber as he gazes toward me, a slight frown on his lips.

“What’s wrong?” My eyes narrow toward the slightly downcast shifter.

His eyes flicker to mine. “I don’t want you thinking I’m some possessive ass, Rhys.” He shakes his head. “My wolf, well, both of us, just felt more protective of you, and because we had just…you know.” He looks toward the chaise longue, a heated look returning to his eyes.

A smile spreads across my lips. I already understood that shifters can be possessive by nature, and with the connection, I now felt with Jace, I knew he wasn’t trying to be controlling, just protective. Okay, maybe he was a little possessive, but it didn’t bother me. I could always handle myself and always spoke my mind. If I had a problem or didn’t like something, he’d know it.

I reach for his cheek, cupping it in my palm as he relaxes into my touch. A smile spreads to his eyes as he gazes toward me, the warm prickle spreading in my chest from our bond.

“If I had a problem with it, you would’ve known, Jace.” I give him a playful glare, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he nods. I move my hand from his cheek, reaching for his right hand. “Now, let’s find out what’s going on.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

After fixing ourselves, Jace and I follow Lucien to Isaiah's office. His words of a possible traitor in the group still ringing in my ears.

But how did he know? How was he so sure? I can tell he's the observant type, his eyes watching as if he were consuming every word and movement, scrutinizing the actions of the people around him and cataloging it away for later. But did he figure it out from just that?

We make our way into the room. Cole, Ilyric, and Lucien are already inside, Isaac probably on the way. I head over toward the desk in Isaiah's office and place the small fragment on the table, remembering that was the purpose of us all being here, originally, anyway.

I glance toward the tiny delicate fragment as I put it on the desk beside the Prismaloct. I’m always amazed by the fragile-looking relic. The small exquisite device couldn’t have been bigger than my two palms, with lightly tinted teal glass and light gold metal used as its main materials.

The main body of the artifact is covered in tinted glass. Eight points form around its perimeter, encasing it in intricate gold, designs of leaves and vines flowing along each point. They then flow down to its base, a small stem of gold, layering each piece into one large trunk as if a small tree were holding the artifact up.