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Turning, I see Anex in the doorway. He gestures for his guard to leave. Once the door shuts, he looks at me with expectation. The movement is instinctive, I touch my forehead and bow. “Thank you for meeting me.”

“I’m not used to taking demands,” he says, walking around the table and settling in the only chair. “Especially from the Banished.”

All of this is expected. Anex, for all his power and control, can be petty. Especially if he doesn’t have the upper hand. Knowing I’m treading on thin ice, I get to the point.

“Things… things did not go as planned,” I admit. “You asked us to train Imogene for Rex, in an effort to prepare your son for his position as heir and although we tried…”

His blue eyes watch me carefully. “You became Indulgent.”

“Yes.”

A smile quirks the corner of his lips. “As much as I want to say that you should have been stronger, that The Way should have provided you with the strength to resist temptation, I believe I unintentionally set the three of you up for failure.”

I blink, trying to process his words. “Excuse me?”

This time he laughs. “I knew the Regressive streak was strong with her, but I didn’t realize Imogene is a siren. She beckons men into foolish, emotional,physicalreactions. She is impossible to resist. You fell for it. Elon. Silas. Even Rex, who, to his credit, noticed it sooner than I did. He requested her. My son, who has spent his life in Indulgences, teaching himself how to resist the depravities of the outside world, succumbed to her seduction.”

Imogene. Of course, he would blame her for all of this. Not himself, not truly, just her. The Regressive in our midst.

“Then why not Banish her instead of us?”

He leans back in the chair, fingers tented in a contemplative pose. “You were my brightest teacher, Levi. Why do you think so?”

“Because she is a lesson. An example.”

“As were you, yes.” His eyes hold mine. Swirling anxiety fills the cavity of my chest. “Imogene is the worst kind of Regressive. She came by it naturally—born into it from her mother’s betrayal, but she plays the part so well. A lion in sheep’s clothing. A toxin in our water. A poison among our innocents. She is dangerous inside these walls and out. Banishing her is an impossibility. Reeducation is a risk, but at least a warning to the other women she may have tainted with her ideas.”

“Then what?” I ask, fearful for the woman that opened up my soul.

“Only one person can eradicate the evil inside of her.”

His smile tells all.

“You.”

“Yes, Levi, me.” He licks his bottom lip. “In a few short weeks she will become my mate. I will reclaim her. Filling her with my seed—giving her my blessing and light. She will become whole again. I will save her and bring her personally to Enlightenment.”

His plan… It sounds righteous and true. It sounds like the perfect embodiment of The Way. There is nothing I can do but nod, because if I open my mouth, I may scream. But I am here for a purpose. I have a plan, and Anex may have just given me the path back in.

I swallow back the sour taste rising in my throat. “I want back in. I want Elon back in.”

“And why would I allow that?”

“Like you said, we fell victim to a powerful and dangerous woman. We were weak. Confused. We lost our Way.”

“I didn’t come down here to listen to your groveling,” he shifts, the metal chair creaking under the movement, “tell me what it is that you think I want to hear.”

“You and I both know there is no Redemption for the Fallen. You kept Silas here to train them for your next endeavors. Yes, you need an example for your followers, but not just an example of punishment—you need an example of Redemption. Elon and I can come back as proof that the Fallen can emerge and regain their rightful position.” When he doesn’t respond, I add, “Hope is a much better motivator than fear.

“Possibly, but who are you to come to me with demands.”

“Well, that is where I can get the one thing you’ve been desiring and is out of your reach. The person you truly want to punish.”

His eyebrow raises. “And who is that?”

“Imogene’s mother.”

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