“I am not the female,” Tegan spoke suddenly. Salem looked over at her as she wiped her face on a towel. “Why does he want me?”
“Lust,” Agatha said simply. “He craves you.”
Salem felt the heaviness in his heart as his daughter simply nodded at the Sister’s words. “They still need the female?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” the Three answered as one. Salem and Marcus exchanged a look, and Marcus clenched his jaw.
“It’s definitely not Tegan?” Michael asked, walking to the edge of the mat. “Do you knowwho?” The Three remained silent. “You are theSisters,” Michael said in frustration. “You’re older than anyone, how can you not know?”
“Michael,” Salem’s quiet reprimand was enough to curb his son’s outburst. Turning, he looked at the Three. “We are all on edge,” he said by way of apology. “The waiting is…nervous.”
The Three looked at him, and then one of them stepped forward. “The wait is almost over. They come, and they come in numbers we are not prepared for.”
The Akrhyn in the room stood silent, too wary to move, this was the most open a Sister had ever been.
“Sister,” one of the Three cautioned, but the Sister shook her head in rebuttal. “Weareold,” she said with a gentle smile to Michael, “but we do not know all. The Ancients allow us to see, but they don’t always allow us toknow.”
“Sister,” the other Sister said sharply as she exchanged a glance with the Sister who stood beside her.
“You may be the one,” the Sister carried on as she spoke to Tegan. “We do not know, but the fact your womb is scarred, it is doubtful.”
Tegan ran her hand over her stomach and felt a flicker of fear as she looked to Tove, who was looking back at her with worry.
“Sister!” the one who had spoken first said in anger. “Enough.”
The one who had spoken bowed her head, but she did not step back.
“It isnotenough,” Cord said as he walked further into the room from where he had just portalled and had heard the last words. His eyes met Tegan’s, and he felt the small pull of the bond. Leonid and Lucas were with him, and Tegan’s eyes flicked between the three, checking they were okay. Her father was in a suit, looking every part the regal male he was. Lucas was in his Dark Cast robes, while Cord was in Sentinel fatigues, black pants, long-sleeved black T-shirt. One so majestic, one so formal, one so casual, but all imposing. “These are unprecedented times, Sisters. We have been on the back foot for so long. Whatever aid you can give, please.” Cord looked over his shoulder at Leonid. “We need an advantage.”
“The Father forgives you,” the Sister who had stepped forward said as she studied Leonid.
“TheFathermay still strangle him while he sleeps,” Leonid said with a snort as he walked over to Tegan, his hand resting lightly on her shoulder.
The Three smiled in unison as Agatha looked to Cord, who had Lucas at his side. “You are not alone, Mark of Velvore. Your Ravens are with you, your Mentor, your Alpha, your Father.”
“We are all here,” Cord said in sudden understanding. “It will be here?”
“Yes,” the Sister who had broken away from the others nodded.
“When?” Tegan asked quietly.
“Two days,” one of the Sisters said with a slight shrug to the Sister who had reprimanded the other one.
Cord looked at Salem and the others. “Two days is not long,” he murmured.
“Is she here?” Tove asked. Her head was down, her stare on the floor. “The female?”
“Yes.”
Tove raised her head and gave the Three a sad knowing smile. “It’s me, isn’t it?”
Marcus stepped forward on instinct, but Salem caught his arm, holding him back, as he watched the Three. The Sister who had stepped forward stepped back beside her sisters, the line once again a unified front.
The Sister who had cautioned the other two closed her eyes briefly before she addressed Tove. “We believe it could be.”
Tove felt Leonid at her side, even as Tegan slipped her arm around her, their support silent but strong. She nodded in acceptance. “I will never let it happen,” she assured the Three, and they dipped their heads at her words.
“Two days,” Cord repeated. He looked to Tegan for a long moment before he turned to the Sisters. “We need to remove and replace the members of the Great Council.”