“But I’ve never had to take sides.”
“Until Brianna,” she said weakly.
“It was all I could do. The best place for her. No one there will want any harm to come to her. Their entire goal revolves around her.”
“And then why,” she asked, “if they want you so bad, if Morgan is so terrible, why don’t you join them?”
“I don’t trust them.”
“You don’t trust them?”
“I won’t tell you why. I can’t tell you, because there’s still a chance—” I couldn’t finish. I couldn’t tell her how close we were to harm, how there was no guarantee of keeping either of us out of Morgan’s hands completely. I couldn’t tell her about the Division’s interpretation of the prophecy, that they wanted me because they planned to use the second heir to the name for the foretold union. I said, “They don’t want me for the right reasons, Emily. And I don’t want you to trust them either.”
She’d lost her determination again, her hands fisted to stop the trembling.
“They will protect her. It’s the safest place in the world for her right now. And by this afternoon, we’ll be with her.” She nodded and I turned her to look directly into her eyes. “Don’t trust them, Emily. Stay with Brianna.”
She agreed to do as I asked, but I couldn’t help reminding her again as she laced her shoes and found her jacket. I didn’t tell her why, that if Brendan or any of the others were somehow able to penetrate her mind in a way I couldn’t seem to do, Brianna would know. Brianna could stop them. But as I glanced around the room, I thought maybe I’d wasted my breath, because Emily didn’t trust them at all. She’d been told her whole life they would kill her sister. And now I was forcing her to ally with them, to stay under their protection. I shook my head.
Emily stepped beside me and stared at the shattered dishes strewn across the room, assuming I was shaking my head at the mess she’d made. She glanced at me, silently questioning whether she needed to pick it up, and broke my contemplation. I found the receipt among the chaos and signed for the charge. She’d just cost Mr. Smith a pretty big tip.
We left the hotel to much warmer weather. Emily squinted against the sunlight, and her hand slipped beneath my arm to wrap loosely over my wrist as we navigated the crowd outside the valet stand. Several taxis waited for guests checking out, but we walked past them, opting instead for a random cab passing by several blocks from the hotel.
“Where to?” the driver asked, barely glancing at us as Emily slid into the back seat.
“Harper’s Park, please.”
His eyes met mine in the rear view mirror and I could see the corners wrinkle up with a knowing smile. Harper’s had a reputation, it was a famed makeout spot for the city kids with no place to meet up. I wagged my eyebrows at him and draped an arm over the seat behind Emily.
It was only then that I noticed her staring incredulously at the exchange. I grinned and shrugged my free shoulder as if to say, Cloak-and-dagger, baby. She rolled her eyes.
We drove through the city in silence, Emily studying every car at every street, tensing each time we were passed. I couldn’t tell if she was anxious to finally be this close to Brianna, or if it was the Division.
I touched the gold satin of her jacket to get her attention. “Will it help if I tell you she’s fine?”
“No,” she said. “I just have to see for myself.”
“A few hours,” I promised, and she took a deep breath.
When the cab pulled up to the curb at Harper’s, I drew Emily out behind me and slid my hand through the side window as if I were passing a folded bill to the driver. “Keep the change,” I said offhandedly, using my sway to convince him the bill was actually there.
Emily was inspecting the park during the exchange, and when I straightened to let the cab pull away, I slipped a hand on her lower back and ushered her through one of the gates. It was far from a casual stroll, but we kept pace with the other park inhabitants so as not draw any undue attention. Birds chirped, picnickers lounged, and a few cyclists spun past as we silently made our way across the park. Sunlight dappled the walkway, broken only by the shadow