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‘Respectfully,’ he said, ‘what help haveyougiven us?’

Carter turned to Sala. ‘Did you know about this, Beatrice?’

‘I did,’ Sala said. ‘Our instincts may oppose this alliance, but I believe we can lever it to our advantage. Jaxon claims these creatures’ blood enhances our abilities when ingested. Is that true, Underqueen?’

‘Yes,’ I said, after a pause.

‘Then we can use it to strengthen our forces against Scion. Perhaps it could even allow my amaurotic soldiers to tap into the æther.’

It was such an extraordinary idea that it rendered me speechless. Nick looked as disturbed as I felt.

‘Beatrice.’ Ekundayo looked stricken. ‘You think we should give amaurotics the keys to the æther?’

‘It may not be possible,’ Sala said, ‘but if so, it would only be a temporary measure, Kafayat. We will need every possible advantage over the Second Inquisitorial Division.’

‘I’m not convinced it would give us one,’ I said. ‘Even if it worked, you would need … a lot of ectoplasm.’

‘Perhaps the same amount the Suzerain provided to forge Senshield,’ Jaxon said. ‘During my time as a double agent in the Westminster Archon, I observed her providing her own ectoplasm to power the guns. Perhaps your Ranthen companions would do the same.’

A double agent. The brass neck on him. He must be framing his entire sojourn in Scion as the act of a rebel. Only a thin strand of self-control kept me from leaping across the table and shaking him until his teeth rattled.

‘The Ranthen would never agree to give their ectoplasm to jack up thousands of soldiers, and I can’t blame them,’ I said coolly. ‘I imagine they’d be insulted if I asked.’

‘Then don’t ask. They deserve no respect or quarter from us,’ Carter said, losing her patience. ‘You baffle me, Paige. It wouldbe one thing if your alliance with the Ranthen was to glean information on these creatures, but the more I listen to you, the more I think you have sympathy for them. The Rephaim have taken everything from us. Even your Ranthen stood by and watched while Ireland fell. Why shouldn’t we take from them in return?’

Her obvious displeasure stung.

‘The Ranthen had no part in the Dublin Incursion,’ I said firmly. ‘I value my relationship with them, Antoinette. And if you think we can take anything from them by force, you are mistaken.’

A few glances were shared around the table. Jaxon smiled like a cat with the cream.

I didn’t quite know why, and it chilled me.

‘I understand your position, Underqueen,’ Sala finally said. ‘We do have other allies, including the Domino Programme. Its agents stand ready to sabotage the empire.’

Many looks of mistrust lingered on me. Even with my sixth sense buckled down, I had my primal instincts, and I was starting to feel scrutinised in a way I didn’t like.

And Ireallydidn’t like the way Jaxon was smiling.

‘While most of Domino is amaurotic, it employs many voyants as civilian personnel, including our new sibyl,’ Sala said. Verca nodded. ‘It has also given us a great boon. We recently learned of a data storage device that contains priceless intelligence from deep within Scion. The data was collected by a deceased Domino agent and brought here on her behalf by a courageous member of the Council of Kassandra. Once Domino has decrypted the data, we suspect it will expose numerous vulnerabilities within Scion, aiding our resistance. Thank you for your service, Jaxon.’

I looked slowly down the table.

‘Of course,’ Jaxon said. ‘Anything for the cause, Beatrice.’

The pennies dropped, one by one, as if into that well. Each one sent cold ripples through my being.

Jaxon had spent at least a month in the Archon, working alongside Burnish. When Nashira had dispatched him to France, Burnish must have asked him to take the stolen data away from London.

Burnish had been living on borrowed time. She could only have been utterly desperate, to give the cache to a man like Jaxon. So she had told him how to contact Cordier, her sister, who knew where I was staying…

Now I was back in the flooding quarries of Paris, too weak to climb any farther, the water rising to devour me. A silver-haired man lifted me into his arms, saving my life.

I know you, I whispered, seeing his eyes in a strange face.

No, darling. You never did.

I saw it all then.