Bala had called the meeting, and I sat beside Mary Stam as he addressed our new coalition from behind his desk. The room was dimly lit, sunlight slanting through half-closed blinds and casting striped shadows across the polished wood. Behind his heavy oak desk, Bala stood tall in his army uniform, the fabric crisp and dark, the same one he had worn the first time I saw him.
"You need to understand these aren't ordinary families," he said, choosing his words carefully, avoiding any names. "All I'll ask is that you do what I tell you. No questions."
Mary glanced sideways at me. Just a flicker, dark eyes meeting mine for half a second. Riya's warning burned in my skull like fresh ink: Mary Stam is bound to the house of Veyron. Was she sitting here as an ally… or a spy planted in our midst? I couldn't read her.
