Page 14

“Unfortunately, saving your brother is a priority only you and I share, but it does little to assist the North. In fact, until now, your brother has been nothing but a hardship to the Calvernon family. They lost their first son, and their second went against their wishes on a mission with odds stacked highly against us. Retrieving the data from Telvian Administration was a monumental risk. As far as our Northern counterparts are concerned, it was an unnecessary one.”

Raptors soared through my belly, twisting, turning, tumbling about, making me sick to my stomach.

Sasha watched me closely, observing my every move. “Rescuing your brother from the tower is an impossibility. Bellfire Tower has never been breached. I made you a promise to assist in whatever way I could, but you forget that I have little I can do without the resources the North provides me.”

I swallowed, my throat dry and scratchy. “So that’s it? We’re just giving up?”

“I’m sorry, child.”

I leaned back in my chair, jaw slack as my gaze came to rest on my open palms. The ointment had done wonders to heal the burns, but I could still make out the healing lines.

Did I really do all of it for nothing? Did I sacrifice my life— Wes’s life—for nothing?

No…no, I wasn’t going to accept this. I didn’t come this far just to be told we wouldn’t even try.

Absolutely not .

“No.”

Her brows drew forward. “Pardon me?”

“No,” I repeated a little louder, firmer. “You promised me that if I played along and did what you asked, you would save my brother. I’ve done my part, Sasha, and now I expect you to do yours.”

“Miss de la Puente, my hands are tied—”

“I’m not accepting that answer, Sasha.” I stood up, curling my hands into fists.

“With or without you, I’m going to recuse my brother.

Even if I have to do it alone. But if I go and die, I won’t be of anymore use to you, will I?

So you can either help me save my brother, or you can let me do it alone.

But you and I both know that if I go alone, I’m probably never coming back alive. ”

Sasha had the best freaking poker face in the world. She looked calm—relaxed—sitting at the table with her hands folded and perfect posture. Time ticked for several heartbeats—one, two, three—and then Sasha cleared her throat.

“Well then, I can see that you are quite determined. I can only imagine how all this may appear to you, but I warned you that day that you would need to do whatever I said in order to get your brother back.”

I arched my brow. “Yeah, I remember.”

“And you agreed, yes?”

I nodded, crossing my arms.

“To breach the tower will mean resources I do not have. But…our friends here in the North do.”

My stomach twisted with anxiety. Why did I get the feeling I wasn’t going to like where she was going with this?

“In order to convince the North to utilize those resources to save your brother, it will need to benefit them in the end. To do that, we need to offer them something in exchange for their assistance.”

I felt the nausea clawing in my belly, my heart picking up the tempo as an ominous feeling filled me like dark tar that weighed me down. “What are you planning, Sasha? What are you going to give them?” I had no clue what schemes she was concocting, but something told me I wasn’t going to like it.

Silence clawed at my senses, and I swore I could hear air swooshing around.

Resting her hands on the table, Sasha rose to her full height, which wasn’t much more than my own five feet and five inches.

Her eyes revealed nothing, but the lines of her face were hard, revealing none of the usual softness that they often held when she regarded me.

“I told you that human beings are motivated by wealth, power, survival, and revenge. The Calvernons will need to know that rescuing Jacob de la Puente will result in their survival, increased wealth and power, or revenge for the death of their son.”

“Well, how the hell are we going to do that? I don’t have a penny to my name. I’m sure as hell not powerful, and there’s no way I can guarantee their safety or grant them revenge. I have nothing to offer them.”

“That, child, is where you’re wrong. Rescuing Jacob holds the promise of increasing our chances of winning this war. As general of the REG, your brother will have intel that would take us years to obtain.”

“So we tell them that Jacob can help them win the war?”

“Yes, but it won’t be enough. Marissa Calvernon is a very unforgiving woman, and a mother’s wrath is not easily quelled.

She wants revenge against the de la Puente family, and the only thing that will satisfy her is an eye for an eye.

Raúl executed the First Son of the North.

She has every intention of having the First Son of Telvia share the same fate. ”

“Jesus…” The image of Chase melting as the flames consumed him resurfaced in my mind, causing the nausea to spike.

It was an image that still haunted my nightmares, and it took everything within me to beat the imagery back.

I couldn’t allow my brother to share the same fate. “So money? I don’t have any.”

“No, child, you do not. Nor would all the money in the world satisfy Marissa’s need for vengeance.”

“Well, what then?” My volume rose a few decibels. This was getting old, and I was hungry as all hell, and all I wanted to know was what I had to do to get my brother back.

Sasha clasped her hands elegantly in front of her. “You might not have wealth, child, or be able to guarantee safety and security to the North. But you have one card left to play, my dear, and it is a very good one.”

My chest tightened. The anxiety of not knowing what the hell I had just signed up for made it hard for me to take a single breath. “What are you promising them, Sasha?”

“You.”

And then my world collapsed.