nothing wrong,” I demanded as I leapt to my feet, my nostrils flaring with each agitated breath. “You’re supposed to be protecting him!”
Folding her arms over her chest, the Councilwoman tipped her head back to allow a better angle for her to peer down her nose at me. “I am protecting him, my dear. It seems he’s been sneaking off for rendezvouses with a Conduit that is now considered rogue. If he were to leak any of the demonic intel he possesses to you, it could be lethal. Not only for him, but to all of mankind.”
I took one threatening step forward before better judgment rooted me where I stood. “That’s a load of crap and you know it. I’ve risked everything for my calling and now you’re going to doubt me for failing to listen to a group of people that have lied to me from the very beginning? I tell you what, the Gryphon can root around in my head whenever the mood hits him. Why don’t you ask him what kind of person I am?”
She chewed on the inside of her cheek as if fighting off a victorious grin. “The Gryphon has been imprisoned for his refusal to cut off your powers. Congratulations, girl, you made the Protector of the Divine an outlaw.”
Cold sweat dripped down my back between my shoulder blades. I was painfully aware that the tips of my toes rested at the very edge of a precipice that, if I dared lean into, would swirl me into a downward spiral of violent rage that there would be no coming back from. With every ounce of willpower I possessed, I clung to the last thread of self-control that was holding me back.
“Remove him.” The Councilwoman barked with a flippant flick of her wrist.
The guards roughly seized Caleb’s upper arms and began the inner glow that would transport them all out of here.
“Celeste! ” Caleb’s voice rose with desperation. “I showed ya the past so ya would realize it’s not the Council ya’r fightin’ for, but all the innocents that get caught in the midst of this battle. Remember that! I lov—”
I lunged forward to grab him , but caught only air. Caleb and his captors were gone.
“The new solita ry suite waiting for him will ensure he cannot attempt this again.” If the Councilwoman noticed the seething steam radiating off of me, she made a point to ignore it. Instead, she soothed a hand along her tight bun of feathers to confirm none had dared slip from place. “Now, we have a much more pressing matter at hand. It has come to the attention of The Council that you are in possession of an artifact not meant for you. We demand that you hand it over at once. I assume you know to what I am referring?”
Heat prickled up my spine to the top of my head. “Oh, I know exactly what you are referring to. But, I don’t do demands.”
“You have no idea of the power that item possesses or the harm it could cause!” A hot flush reddened her pinched face.
Despite my rage , I forced a casual tone of indifference. “Sometimes the most amazing discoveries are made by tinkering with things ya ought not be.”
T he Grand Councilwoman took a brazen step forward, smack dab into the center of my personal space. “You think you have this all figured out.” Her face twisted in a mask of pure hate. “But, hear this, you insufferable child. From this point on you will get no aid from the Council. Before we will ever consider your pleas to return to our fold you will deliver the discus. Plus, you will make a public apology for your insolence and take a blood oath that you will adhere to our rules from that point on. This matter is not up for negotiation or debate.”
With s low and deliberate steps, I closed the remaining distance between us. Fear sparked in her avian eyes as my hot breath assaulted her face.
“ Before this is over,” I whispered softly, “you and I will have a confrontation. Count on that. Now get out of my house before I decide that moment needs to be now .”
Her gaze scanned my face , trying to decipher if I was bluffing. I
Folding her arms over her chest, the Councilwoman tipped her head back to allow a better angle for her to peer down her nose at me. “I am protecting him, my dear. It seems he’s been sneaking off for rendezvouses with a Conduit that is now considered rogue. If he were to leak any of the demonic intel he possesses to you, it could be lethal. Not only for him, but to all of mankind.”
I took one threatening step forward before better judgment rooted me where I stood. “That’s a load of crap and you know it. I’ve risked everything for my calling and now you’re going to doubt me for failing to listen to a group of people that have lied to me from the very beginning? I tell you what, the Gryphon can root around in my head whenever the mood hits him. Why don’t you ask him what kind of person I am?”
She chewed on the inside of her cheek as if fighting off a victorious grin. “The Gryphon has been imprisoned for his refusal to cut off your powers. Congratulations, girl, you made the Protector of the Divine an outlaw.”
Cold sweat dripped down my back between my shoulder blades. I was painfully aware that the tips of my toes rested at the very edge of a precipice that, if I dared lean into, would swirl me into a downward spiral of violent rage that there would be no coming back from. With every ounce of willpower I possessed, I clung to the last thread of self-control that was holding me back.
“Remove him.” The Councilwoman barked with a flippant flick of her wrist.
The guards roughly seized Caleb’s upper arms and began the inner glow that would transport them all out of here.
“Celeste! ” Caleb’s voice rose with desperation. “I showed ya the past so ya would realize it’s not the Council ya’r fightin’ for, but all the innocents that get caught in the midst of this battle. Remember that! I lov—”
I lunged forward to grab him , but caught only air. Caleb and his captors were gone.
“The new solita ry suite waiting for him will ensure he cannot attempt this again.” If the Councilwoman noticed the seething steam radiating off of me, she made a point to ignore it. Instead, she soothed a hand along her tight bun of feathers to confirm none had dared slip from place. “Now, we have a much more pressing matter at hand. It has come to the attention of The Council that you are in possession of an artifact not meant for you. We demand that you hand it over at once. I assume you know to what I am referring?”
Heat prickled up my spine to the top of my head. “Oh, I know exactly what you are referring to. But, I don’t do demands.”
“You have no idea of the power that item possesses or the harm it could cause!” A hot flush reddened her pinched face.
Despite my rage , I forced a casual tone of indifference. “Sometimes the most amazing discoveries are made by tinkering with things ya ought not be.”
T he Grand Councilwoman took a brazen step forward, smack dab into the center of my personal space. “You think you have this all figured out.” Her face twisted in a mask of pure hate. “But, hear this, you insufferable child. From this point on you will get no aid from the Council. Before we will ever consider your pleas to return to our fold you will deliver the discus. Plus, you will make a public apology for your insolence and take a blood oath that you will adhere to our rules from that point on. This matter is not up for negotiation or debate.”
With s low and deliberate steps, I closed the remaining distance between us. Fear sparked in her avian eyes as my hot breath assaulted her face.
“ Before this is over,” I whispered softly, “you and I will have a confrontation. Count on that. Now get out of my house before I decide that moment needs to be now .”
Her gaze scanned my face , trying to decipher if I was bluffing. I
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