Storm and Fury (The Harbinger 1)

Crossing my arms, I lifted an eyebrow. “Two things.”

Misha’s eyes narrowed as he leaned against Thierry’s desk.

“First off, we already had this conversation. You don’t need to warn me to be careful around him. It’s not like we’re going to be best friends or something. He’ll be leaving in a couple days.” A weird twinge of disappointment lit up my chest, and I didn’t even remotely understand that, because we’d only talked a couple of times, and we’d spent most of that time insulting each other.

“That’s a couple days too long.”

“Okay, and that statement leads to my most important question of the evening. What is your problem with him? And it can’t be because I’ve talked to him.” I paused. “Unless you’re secretly in love with me and you’re jealous.”

Misha’s expression turned bland. “You don’t know him.”

“You don’t, either. All you’ve said is that he’s a bad guy and his clan doesn’t trust him, but that doesn’t make sense. If his clan didn’t trust him, then why would they bring him here?”

Looking at the door, Misha dragged his hand through the mop of reddish hair. “Haven’t you noticed something odd about him?”

I’ve noticed a lot of things about him, but I kept that to myself. “Care to be a little more detailed?”

“His eyes.” Misha dropped his hand. “You might not have been close enough to see his eyes—”

“I’ve seen his eyes.” I cut him off, and his gaze sharpened. “They are a little different.”

“A little different?”

I frowned. “They’re a lighter blue.”

“And have you ever seen a Warden’s eyes that color before?” he questioned. “We all have the same eye color, Trin. That’s just the way we’re made.”

“Okay. The fact that Zayne’s eyes are different is odd, but what’s the big deal? Are we discriminatory toward light-eyed Wardens now?”

“Don’t be dumb,” he snapped. “There is no other Warden like him.”

“There is no other being like me,” I pointed out.

“It’s not the same. Far from it,” Misha argued. “Look, his eyes are like that because he... He’s lost a part of his soul.”

Out of everything I might have expected Misha to say, that wasn’t it. I leaned forward, nearly toppling out of the chair. “What?”

Misha glanced at the door before continuing. “I don’t know the details, but their clan raised a girl who was half Warden, half demon.”

“What?” I whisper-yelled. “How had I not heard about this until now?”

He blinked. “Why would anyone tell you?”

“Because I... Okay, I don’t have a good reason,” I relented, and I immediately remembered Zayne saying he wasn’t the only kid raised in his compound. Had he been talking about this girl? “Please continue.”

“The girl was Lilith’s daughter.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “Like the Lilith?”

Misha nodded, and I blinked slowly. Lilith was the mother of a lot of very dangerous demons—creatures that could take a soul with a touch. They were called the Lilin, and something was vaguely familiar about that. Several months ago, I’d overheard Matthew and Thierry speaking about those creatures. It had been right around the time Zayne’s father had died.

“I don’t know the circumstances around how, but he lost a part of his soul,” Misha continued.

Falling back against the chair, I had no idea what to think. “Are you saying he’s...soulless?”

He shook his head. “I’m not saying that, because if he was, I doubt he’d still be alive. His clan would have put him down.”

Put him down.

Like a rabid animal.

I shuddered as I gripped the arms of the chair. “Then what are you saying, Misha?”

“Why do you think he’s not the clan leader? He was the last leader’s son, groomed to take over, and he didn’t.”

I’d asked him that question and still felt like a nosy brat for doing so. “Maybe he just chose not to.”

Misha looked at me like I was half-stupid. “Doubtful. It’s obvious that the clan doesn’t trust him in that kind of role, especially since he’s still friends with that demon.”

“The half demon, half Warden?” I couldn’t wrap my head around that. I didn’t even know that inserting tab A into slot B between a Warden and a demon could produce a child.

“Lilith’s daughter,” he corrected me. “And he’s been known to work with demons.”

“Really?” I laughed at the absurdity of that claim. Not just because it was insane to think of a Warden doing that, but also because a demon wouldn’t get close to a Warden if they had a choice. This half demon, Lilith’s daughter, was obviously the exception and that was because she was half Warden too. “Where are you even hearing this nonsense?”

“I’m not the only one who overhears stuff. I heard Matthew and Thierry discussing it months ago, apparently when all of this went down. And it’s not nonsense, Trin.”

I started nibbling on my thumbnail. “He doesn’t seem like he’s missing a part of his soul.”

“And how does one seem like when they’re missing a part of their soul?”

“Evil?” I suggested. “And Zayne doesn’t seem evil.”

Misha met my gaze. “Isn’t that evil’s greatest achievement? It often hides itself in innocence?”

Well, he kind of had a point there.

I had no idea what to think about Misha’s warning. Maybe a part of Zayne’s soul was missing. Maybe he couldn’t be trusted to be clan leader, and maybe even more crazily, he’d worked with demons.

Misha was right. Evil often cloaked itself in innocence.

I should be careful around Zayne, especially given the risks, but the truth was, what Misha had shared only made me more curious about him.

* * *

Thierry showed up shortly after that, and he wasn’t alone. He’d brought a whole crew with him that didn’t just include Matthew, whom I wasn’t surprised to see. It was the last one who walked through the door that shocked me.

Nicolai.

I glanced at Misha with wide eyes. Hadn’t he made it clear to Thierry what this conversation would entail? Misha looked just as confused as I felt.

“Can you close the door, Nicolai?” Thierry asked as he crossed the room and sat behind his desk. Matthew joined him, standing to his right. “Misha told me that there is something you needed to share that can’t wait until after the banquet.”

“Yeah, but...” I trailed off as Nicolai sat in the chair next to me.

“I don’t believe Trinity has met Nicolai.” Matthew stepped in smoothly, his red hair falling forward, brushing his forehead.

“No, we haven’t met.” Nicolai smiled in my direction. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Same.” My confusion was nearing epic levels as my gaze swung back to Thierry. “I don’t understand...”

“It’s okay. You can speak openly in front of Nicolai.” Thierry smiled faintly.

Misha’s brows rose.

I had no idea what was going on. “Um, I’m not sure—”

“You can. Nicolai understands that what he hears in this room cannot go beyond it.”

Nicolai nodded. “Of course.”

“What do you need to tell us?” Mathew prodded.

I glanced at Misha, who was frowning so severely I thought his face might crack. “I saw...” I took a deep breath as my heart started pounding. “I saw a ghost outside of the Great Hall tonight.”

Nicolai’s head swung in my direction. “Excuse me?”

I stared at Thierry, having no idea what to say.

“Trinity can see ghosts and spirits,” Thierry explained rather calmly, as if he were telling Nicolai I was able to walk backward while patting my belly and rubbing the top of my head. “That’s all.”

I got the unspoken message there.

“You can?” Nicolai was staring at me, and I didn’t need to look at him to know that.

“Yeah.” I sank down in my chair, feeling like a strange insect under a microscope.

“I’ve never met someone who could do that.”

Feeling about seven different kinds of self-conscious, I gave a close-lipped smile.

“Yes, I imagine you haven’t,” Matthew murmured.

My wide eyes swung to him, and he winked. I had no idea what was going on, but I knew in an instant that something was, and something big had changed for Thierry to go from they must not know anything to revealing one of my abilities to Nicolai.

Nibbling on my thumbnail, I glanced at Nicolai, and yep, he was still staring at me.

“Please, Trinity, continue,” Thierry urged.

I tugged my gaze away from Nicolai. “The ghost—the man? He was killed by a demon,” I said. “And it wasn’t a Raver demon.”

Tension poured into the room as Thierry said, “Tell us everything.”

And I did, telling them what Wayne had shared with me.

“How can you be sure it was a demon and not an animal?” Matthew asked. “There are bears in these mountains.”

“The only animal I can imagine doing that to him would be a chupacabra, and the last time I checked, they weren’t real.”

“Chupacabra,” Nicolai repeated, shaking his head.

Matthew leaned forward, planting his hands on the desk. “How long ago did he pass?”

“I’m not sure. He was too confused to tell me, but I first saw him the day they arrived.” I glanced at Nicolai. “And he disappeared before I could talk to him, but I don’t think it’s been that long. Maybe a few days.”

“Long enough for a demon to have discovered the community.” Matthew looked at Thierry.