I don’t know, Raisa thought. I don’t know, I don’t know.

“Whatever his bloodline, Alister has done everything I’ve asked. I was the one who asked him to stand for High Wizard, and he did. He didn’t seem happy about it, either. Is there any evidence that the Bayars or anyone else know who he really is?”

“The Bayars do not confide in us,” Elena said tartly.

I have to buy myself time to think, to figure this out. There has to be an explanation.

“I have listened to everything you’ve had to say,” Raisa said. “Captain Byrne has already launched an investigation into the allegations against Lord Alister. In the meantime, I won’t take foolish chances.”

Such as falling in love with him? a sardonic voice said in her head.

“Listen to me, daughter,” Averill said. “You must dismiss Alister as your bodyguard. Do it now. He should not be housed so close to you. If you don’t take action, we will.”

“What do you mean by that?” Raisa said, her throat gone dry.

“We are Demonai warriors,” Elena said. “We know what to do with jinxflingers who present a danger to the Gray Wolf line.”

Raisa looked up, and all she saw were implacable, unforgiving clan faces staring back at her. They will do it, she thought. They will do it and they will tell themselves they are doing it for love of me.

And suddenly she couldn’t stand to be in this conversation a moment longer.

She drew herself up. “You are my father,” she said to Averill. “And you are my grandmother,” she said to Elena. “And you are duty-bound to me,” she said to Nightwalker. “If you take action against Hunts Alone without my permission, we will be at war.”

C H A P T E R  T W E N T Y - E I G H T

CLIMBING
THE DEADLY
NEVERGREEN

After the final meeting between Alger and Lucius, Han stayed another day at the cabin on Old Woman Creek. The longer he stayed away, the greater the likelihood of Bayar mischief—he knew that. He hated to leave Cat responsible for Raisa’s safety, but there was business to do before he returned to town.

He hoped to go back with the armory as his bargaining chip. He visited Aediion twice more, looking for Crow, but Crow wasn’t there. Worry pinged through him. Han had kept his part of the bargain—would Crow keep his?

Dancer helped him go through Lucius’s sparse belongings. They found a will that Speaker Jemson had prepared for him, which designated Han Alister his sole heir. The old man had left Han everything he owned—his cabin, his distillery, his fishing gear, his dog, and the library of books he’d never read.