Page 9 of Iridian

“Who else was there in the Regah?” she asked instead.

“Grandmother, let go of me. Please, just let go. I need to leave.” I needed to go to Silver Spring or The Diamond Club to look for Taland. I needed to leave right now.

“Who else?” She leaned forward, her eyes dead and dull once more. “Answer me, Rosabel.” And the hold of her magic tightened around me.

Fucking hell…“Taland and Seth Tivoux. Aurelia and Zach Mergenbach. Three of the Devil’s men—Hakim, Bes, and another I don’t know the name of. Hill came at the end.”

“How long did it last?”

“I.Don’t. Know,” I said through gritted teeth. “Let me go.”

“I can’t do that, Rosabel,” she said. “What kind of a spell did you use to break the screen?”

“What do you mean,you can’t? We made a deal, didn’t we? You said?—”

“I said I wouldn’t let you go if you didn’t tell me. I never promised that I would if you did,” the bitch said, and by now I was fuming at the ears. “Tell me what kind of a spell you used.”

“No,” I spit. “I am not telling you a single thing anymore.”

For a moment, she just looked at me passively. “I don’t think you understand the gravity of the situation, Rosabel.”

“No—it’syouwho doesn’t! I was there, Grandmother. I understand just fine.” My voice rose—I couldn’t help it and I didn’t care. She wasreallynot going to let go of me, and now I was starting to panic again.

“The Council is on their way.”

I stopped.

The entire fucking world could have stopped spinning just now.

“What?” I breathed, sure that I’d heard her wrong because no fucking way…

“The Council is on their way here.”

My lips opened but no sound left me.

“They insisted I take you to them, but I told them that you weren’t capable of staying awake yet, that I would take you to see them later. They must be in a hurry because they decided to come to us instead,” Madeline said, and I couldn’t even believe my ears.

“Grandmother,” I whispered again, and it sounded like both a pleading and a warning.

“Hill is missing, Rosabel. Alejandro Ammiz, too. When the IDD went into that house, they didn’t find anyone you mentioned exceptyouin the front yard, alone. I had to come personally to bring you back here instead of leaving you in a jail cell.”

“The Mergenbachs,” I whispered. “And-and-and Seth, they…” But Radock had been there, hadn’t he? And I bet whoever worked for Selem had taken Seth and the Mergenbachs out before the IDD arrived. Of course, they did—and leftmethere. I wasn’t one of them, was I? I was an outsider.

Tears in my eyes, angry ones now that I didn’t care enough to hold back.

“They weren’t there, only the ruins thatyouleft behind, apparently,” Madeline said. “I wonder how much more power you could have used with that bracelet.” This last sentence she said under her breath, like she was thinking out loud more than talking to me.

“Taland,” I said and squeezed my eyes shut to get rid of those tears faster. “I need to see Taland.”

“How silly of you, Rosabel. To go and fall in love with your target?” She sighed. “Regardless of how things turned out—you shouldn’t have. I always knew you weren’t capable of doing a spy’s work. You’re way too honest. Youfeeltoo much, and you are not very good at keeping yourself under control.”

“I did! Hill saw me himself—it was my ability to control myself that got me that fucking job in the first place!” She was there, too, and she knew this.

But Madeline raised a perfectly manicured finger and shook it in front of my face. “Your ability to control yourexpressionsgot you thatfuckingjob, Rosabel.” That was the first time I’d ever heard her cussing. “Controlling your emotions is a completely different thing. You could never force yourself to let go of something or to believe something you know is a lie. You could never manipulate yourself, not even when it suited you. Never—I’ve been watching you since you were a little girl.”

Fucking hell, this woman.

“I know you mean it as an insult, Grandmother, but that’s a compliment to me.” I didn’t want to manipulate myself, close myeyes when it was convenient. Pretend I wasn’t aware of things to make it easier on myself. Ichosenot to do that, despite what she thought.

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