THREE

“SINCE THAT’S SETTLED, can we talk about winning this war?” Connor sheathed his swords.

From the way Ren and Shay continued to glare at each other, I knew their rivalry was far from settled. But this uneasy partnership was the best I could hope for at the moment. At least they weren’t shredding each other’s flesh anymore.

I turned to face Anika. “No more secret meetings where I’m not invited. If you want wolf warriors, you include us at every turn. Strategy and execution.”

The hawk-faced man snorted but kept silent when Anika shook her head at him.

“That’s fine, Calla,” she said. “Shay had already insisted on that point before you arrived.”

I smiled at Shay, but he was still glowering at Ren. I wished he would look at me. If he could just meet my eyes, maybe he’d see how hard this was for me. How much I wanted to pull him aside, to be alone with him and explain all of this.

Anika turned back to the table. Large maps covered its surface.

“Logan’s informed us that the Keepers are going on the offensive,” she said. “Purgatory was just the beginning. We’re running out of time.”

“In what way?” I asked.

“Time to collect the pieces,” Logan said. “We’ll be expecting you, of course.”

He’d lit another cigarette and recomposed his nonchalant attitude.

“If they’re waiting for us at the sites, we don’t stand a chance,” Anika said. “Any element of surprise we can still hold is vital. We need to move on each of the sites quickly, one strike following immediately after the other. No waiting. No delays.”

“You need someone to run interference.” I turned in surprise at the sound of Ren’s voice.

Anika raised her eyebrows.

Ren shrugged. “Like Calla said. Shay’s leading the Searchers. I lead the wolves. Let us do what we do best: fight.”

Connor whistled. “You want to open another front?”

“Not another front,” Ren said. “Two teams. A decoy and the real team sent in after.”

“It would pull attention off the sites.” Adne grinned at her brother. “The stealth team would go in for retrieval while the strike team did the fighting.”

Ethan nodded. “That could work.”

“Any team drawing that kind of attack would suffer heavy casualties,” the hawk-faced man objected.

“Who are you?” I barked, frustrated by his constant sniping.

“Pascal is the Tordis Guide,” Anika said. “His team would be joining the attack that Ren’s proposed.”

She gestured around the room. “The group gathered here are the strike teams from each of the outposts. You already know the Haldis team, but Tordis, Eydis, and Pyralis have gathered at my request to plot our course. For this effort to succeed, we must work in concert.”

I gazed at the Searchers. Assembled in Haldis Tactical, the core team members looked weary but alert. It made sense: they were staring death in the face. We all were. I met Pascal’s scornful gaze and my heart ached for Monroe. The Tordis Guide clearly didn’t share the same empathy for Guardians that Monroe had encouraged.

“Pascal’s right,” Ethan said. “The decoy team would suffer heavy losses. But the way I see it, we’re not getting out of this war without heavy losses no matter what.”

“We need those pieces,” Anika said. “We can’t finish this without them.”

Pascal’s lips thinned, but he inclined his head.

Shay cleared his throat. “Ren’s right. I think two teams is the way to go here.”

“Agreed,” Anika said.

“But I have a request,” Shay continued, throwing a cold glare at Ren.

“And what is that, Scion?” The Arrow watched him, her eyes narrowing.

“The stealth team will be backing me, right?” he asked.

“Of course,” Silas piped in. “We know now that you’re the only one who can remove the pieces from their resting places.”

The Scribe winced when Connor fixed a stony gaze on him.

Shay nodded. “Then I want to pick my team.”

“Excuse me?” Anika frowned.

“I need to fight beside people I trust,” he said. “I’m not going into the sites with strangers.”

“We’ve been fighting this war much longer than you have, child.” Pascal’s face was mottled by rage. “How dare you presume—”

“Oh, put a lid on it, Pascal,” Ethan said. “I’ve seen this kid fight. You don’t want to mess with him. Let him pick his own team.”

“It’s not unreasonable for you to select your teammates, Shay,” Anika said. “But would you object to the Guides for each outpost weighing in on your choice? They’ll be taking heavy casualties in order to protect your team.”

“If they want,” Shay said quickly. “But I’m only talking about the retrieval team. And my companions are coming from Haldis . . . which no longer has a Guide.” He glanced at Adne, sadness shadowing his face.

I was a little surprised to see Ren put his arm around Adne when Shay spoke. She looked up at him with a weak but grateful smile.

“Do you really think you have the skill to make these decisions?” Pascal glared at Shay.

“Calla and I found Haldis on our own.” Shay bared his teeth at the Guide. “So yeah, I think I have the skill.”

Pascal spluttered at Shay’s words. Shay and I shared a quick, conspiratorial smile. It was amazing how almost dying from a giant mutant spider attack could end up being a good memory. But it was. And not only because we’d killed the beast and retrieved Haldis. That was the day Shay had become a wolf to save my life. I realized I held that knowledge close, treasuring its intimacy along with the joys of our first days running together through the wilderness near Vail. Before our world had fallen apart, and running for joy had been displaced by fleeing for our lives. After all that had happened, it seemed strange to think of him as once having been just human—though as the Scion he’d never been ordinary.

Shay caught me watching him and arched his eyebrow. A blush surprised me as its heat bit into my cheeks, but I answered his quizzical gaze with a smile before I looked away from him. I’d never been much of a daydreamer, but thoughts of Shay—particularly of the moments we’d shared alone—captured my mind a little too easily.