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Wilder turned to Audra. ‘Thea and I saw a camp on the outskirts of Aveum just a few days past,’ he told her. ‘Wraiths ran loose, using their darkness to curse innocents into shells of their former selves, into mindless soldiers… At the head of it all was Artos’ dungeon master from Harenth.’

‘Ignoring the fact that the word of a fallen Warsword isn’t a great improvement… He could be acting alone,’ Audra pointed out, though her tone suggested she believed no such thing. The fact thatshehad been the one to call the meeting told Wilder she knew much more than she ever let on, and always had.

‘It’s possible,’ Wilder allowed for the sake of argument. ‘But we were also present in Harenth when Artos had two shadow-touched folk in his possession. They were tortured for information, even when it was clear they were more human than wraith. It wasn’t right, what was happening there.’

‘What became of the shadow-touched prisoners?’ Gus asked, his needles still clicking together in front of him.

Wilder allowed himself to take a breath to gather his strength. ‘I killed them,’ he said.

The entire shadow-touched side of the table recoiled.

‘It was a mercy,’ Thea cut in, her hand covering his. ‘One had already succumbed to the darkness. Whether he was cursed or something else, we don’t know. But he was too far gone to save. And the other…’

‘It’s alright, Thea,’ Wilder said gently.

‘No,’ she told him firmly. ‘They need to know why.’ She faced each shadow-touched at the table. ‘The second of your kin was in so much agony, there was no end to it in sight. They meant to torture him to death. Wilder stepped in and offered him peace, an end to the pain. And he took it.’

Torj’s voice sounded from the far end of the table. ‘That’s why you killed the one Cal and I shot from the sky…’

Wilder dipped his head in confirmation.

But Gus’ eyes were wide with accusation. ‘You’re killing shadow-touched folk? You’re —’ His shadows burst to life around him.

‘Easy, cousin,’ Dratos warned.

‘Easy? You want me to calm down when he’s just admitted to murdering our kin —’

‘It’s not like that,’ Thea argued.

But Gus was incensed, his shadows multiplying. Instantly, Cal and Kipp were on their feet, brandishing their swords.

‘Stand down,’ Cal ordered, his jaw set in determination, even as Gus’ shadows whipped around the perimeter of the room.

‘No! Not when you talk so casually of —’

‘Gus!’ Dratos shouted. ‘There’s an explanation.’

Darkness swelled in answer and a glass shattered.

The group erupted in anger – everyone suddenly on their feet and shouting at one another. Weapons were drawn, more glasses knocked over, shadows surging.

And then a crackling noise filled the air.

Bolts of lightning danced across the tabletop.

‘Enough,’ Thea commanded, bracing herself on the table’s edge.

Some jumped back from the electrical current. Others froze in place, staring in awe.

‘Enough,’ she said again, her magic pulsing in emphasis.

Everyone’s eyes were on her, Wilder’s included.

She was formidable.

Slowly, Dratos reached for his younger cousin and pulled him back down into his chair. ‘Hawthorne wrote to Anya and me. We knew of this,’ he said gently. ‘Hawthorne did what he could to end their suffering. I would want the same were I ever in their position. Do you understand?’

The tension ebbed away from the others gradually. Though Wilder’s chest ached, he grounded himself with the weight ofThea’s hand on his as everyone took a breath and sank back into their seats.