Page 115 of Iridian

I released them,she said. I swallowed the bread. “You really were in charge of them.”

“Of course,” said Madeline. “There’s nobody else who has the power or the knowledge to command an army except for me. Only IDD directors are trained in that area, and since you took Hill out, it was a no-brainer. I was in charge and I foresaw the whole thing from Headquarters.” The way she looked at me, her unblinking eyes wide…I held my breath. And she said, “I chose not to engage in the fight. Would have been useless, anyway, don’t you think? And the soldiers knew it, too.”

I shook my head again and again as that specific memory reared its ugly head—of Helen Paine shouting toattack,yet none of the soldiers standing in formation had moved. None had even shot their guns or called for spells.

“That wasyou,” I breathed, and I don’t know why I hated that so much.

“It was,” Madeline said. “Like I said—there was no point in killing soldiers when the results were obvious the moment Flora was torn apart. They were incredibly valuable to Selem afterward, anyway. They helped in clearing the civilians, arranged transportation for them and the surviving Council members to Headquarters. They handed over Agent Martins, and let them into the building, too.”

My heart fell all the way to my heels.Cassie. The reason why we’d gone to the Council so soon in the first place. She’d been captured and beaten half to death, tied to a chair, and they’d sent us her picture.

“Is she okay?” I asked in a breathless whisper, so damn guilty that I hadn’t thought to ask about her first. Cassie had been my friend, my only true friend.

“She is. Healing in the infirmary, last I heard,” Madeline said.

“Which was when?” How long had I even been out?

“About three hours ago.” My heart slowed down the beating instantly and I took another bite absentmindedly—just the relief giving me a false sense of relaxation for a moment.

“And when did the fighting end?”

“Just last night. You…” She put her cup down, shook her head at me once. “You’ve exceeded my expectations, Rosabel. You’ve truly outdone yourself. I have never in my life been more proud.”

That’s what she said—those exact words. Those words that I thought I’d die to hear my whole life, and I waited now, breath held and hands fisted. I waited to feel…something.

Maybe a sense of accomplishment?

I felt absolutely nothing.

So, I ignored the words easily and instead said, “Radock and the Mergenbachs have taken over Headquarters?”

“They have,” Madeline said, not surprised in the least by my change of subject. “They’ve declareddemocracy,believe it or not. They’re planning elections for the new Council—elections,” she repeated and even laughed a little. “The people are going to choose the new leaders now. They want balance.” She shrugged. “I suppose we could try. I don’t think we ever have before.”

“And the IDD?”

She looked up at me, those old, curious eyes.Greedyeyes.

“Well, they know as well as everyone that the IDD is very much needed. Without it, none of us could ever dream of order on any level.”

I nodded. “As an independent institution.” Something the Council would collaborate with, but not control.

Madeline arched a silver brow. “Independent,”she repeated.

“Yes,” I said. “Andyouwill stay far away from it from now on.”

I braced myself. This was Madeline Rogan, and power was her oxygen. There was no doubt in my mind that she’d betrayed the Council the moment she saw that they were not going to win. And she did it just so she could make claims after. She gave command of the IDD soldiers to Selem because she wanted something out of it—possibly wanted to run the IDD again. She thought she was more than capable—and I agreed. Physically, old age had yet to leave a mark on her.

But she would never,evertake that position again. No matter what she did or how she planned to go about it, she wasnotgoing to be in charge of the IDD, and now I was going to feel her wrath, so I prepared myself. Prepared to push back against her arguments, threaten her if I needed to.

Except…

Madeline raised her hands in surrender, crossed a leg over the other, and smiled. “Done.”

Every thought in my head died a quick death. I blinked and I waited for her to start laughing or tell me that I was being silly or something—anythingbut her silence.

“Done,” I repeated when she refused to say anything else.

“Done. I am retired, am I not? I am not fit to be in charge of the IDD anymore. I will stay far away from it.”

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