The sun has barely risen, and I gape as my brother waltzes in, followed by Liam, Vance, Ford, Tatum, and a man whose name I can’t recall, but I believe he’s from the House of Aquarius.
“What’s going on?” I ask, my disbelieving gaze touching on each member of the Brotherhood—the half currently present, anyway. As Sebastian pulls me against his side, running a hand through his bedroom hair, Landon takes it upon himself to answer.
“No one can know about this meeting, Novalee.”
“I don’t understand. Is something wrong? Is Elise okay?” My voice gains an octave with each rapid-fire question.
“Elise is fine.” Landon folds his arms, the picture of authority and leadership, despite the chancellor owning that role, officially.
Sebastian’s words from a few weeks ago come back to me, as clear in my mind as when he first said them.
“Your brother is the puppet master in this.”
He all but admitted to keeping a secret.
Narrowing my eyes at Landon, I step away from Sebastian and cross my arms, matching my brother’s pose. “You need to tell me what’s going on.”
“We’re here to discuss strategy.”
“Strategy for what?”
Taking the lead, Liam clears his throat. “We’re here to discuss how we’re going to rig the auction, my sweet girl.”