Page 96 of The Dark Mirror

A terrible chill swept over my skin.

‘Cade.’ I finally spoke. ‘Cade is a dreamwalker?’

Maria frowned. ‘Who?’

‘No. He sent me a vision in Oxford,’ I said to Arcturus. ‘He’s an oracle.’

‘Jaxon sees clairvoyance in fixed and distinct categories. We must not fall into that trap,’ he said. ‘It is possible that Fitzours can project visions like an oracleandpossess like a dreamwalker. Since both abilities are exceptionally rare, he must have relied on ignorance to evade detection.’

Now I thought about it, it was more than possible. I had often been mistaken for an oracle myself.

I hoped someone from my order would be a good ally. My chest tightened as I remembered Cade saying those words in Oxford.Birds of a feather, and so on.

He had been screaming the truth in my face, but Jaxon had taught me I was the only dreamwalker, and I had been fool enough to believe it. I had missed what was right under my nose.

‘Again,’ Maria said, ‘who are we talking about?’

‘Cadoc Fitzours. He was in my Bone Season,’ I said. ‘I saw him in Paris.’

‘Cadoc Fitzours.’ She grimaced. ‘Of all the self-important names, that one takes the cake.’

‘Do continue, Warden,’ Lesath said, dealing us a stern look.

We fell silent.

‘The next evening, Nashira set the stage,’ Arcturus said. ‘I was positioned in a building on the Île de la Citadelle to await Paige. Nashira wanted me to convince her that I had been a Sargas spy since the start of our alliance. The intention was for her to panic and instruct the Mime Order to move, driving it from a refuge that had eluded Scion for several months.’

I had done exactly that.

That was why Nashira had let me leave that night. With perfect accuracy, she had anticipated my reaction and thrown me like a grenade at my own people.

‘Fitzours would be in my dreamscape to guarantee my cooperation. He is adept in possession – I suspect he was trained from a young age – but even he could not keep indefinite hold of a Rephaite,’ Arcturus said. ‘I had to participate in the deception to ensure its success.’

‘I can’t imagine you doing that without a good incentive,’ Nick said. ‘Did they blackmail you?’

‘If Paige did not believe the lie, she would be imprisoned, tortured and mutilated. Nashira intended to force the Mime Order out by holding its Underqueen to ransom,’ Arcturus said. ‘I had no intention of allowing Paige to return to their custody. I knew I had to make her leave, no matter the cost. They stopped giving me alysoplasm, to ensure that she would be able to find me.’

I stiffened, knowing what came next.

‘The act began,’ he said. ‘I disrupted it only once, when Fitzours took drastic action to persuade Paige that I had betrayed her. He made to strike her, but I could tell that he had gravely misjudged my strength. The blow he aimed at her would have been fatal. I stopped him.’

Even with gloves, I will not dirty my hand.

‘So Paige was allowed to leave,’ Nick said, when Arcturus was silent, his gaze dull. ‘To scatter us.’

‘Yes. Nashira had a dreamwalker; she could afford to risk the other. Fitzours had offered his services in exchange for immunity from execution. She was also confident that Paige would return ofher own accord – either to free me, if she realised the deception, or to punish my betrayal. She had no fear of losing Paige for good while she had me.’

She knew me well.

‘Cade,’ I said. ‘Is he alive?’

‘Yes,’ Arcturus said.

‘Nashira always meant to kill me, steal my gift. What entitles him to immunity?’

‘Perhaps his loyalty. If he demonstrates that he is worth more to her alive than dead, she has no need to take his gift yet. For all intents and purposes, it is already hers to wield.’

‘Why on Earth would he trust her not to execute him?’ Maria said.

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