Changed by Fire (Phoenix Rising #6) - Harper Wylde Page 0,43

him for the final say, a habit that had grown worse since Councilman LaCroix had been killed. He’d often reigned with a cool head, unwilling to bend to Stepanov quite so vehemently.

“Given the unknowns surrounding the phoenix blood and the surge of power we saw Joshua exhibit this evening, I believe it is best for young Councilman Williams to be held in our hospitality for a few days while we run further tests on him, for his own good of course,” Stepanov decided, waving off Maldonado’s rising protests. “I shall put Ishida in charge of testing, and if it’s so important to you, Maldonado, dear friend, you may observe the proceedings and help when necessary.”

My jaw clamped, my teeth grinding together painfully as I forced myself to bow at the waist as though they weren’t giving me a prison sentence that came with a nice heaping side of torture.

Ishida nearly skipped to my side in his jubilant triumph, whispering in my ear as he grabbed my upper arm. “You’re mine now, just as it should have been back in that clearing. You will regret the day you ever sided against me and rejected my daughter.” His fingers dug in painfully, easily leaving bruises on my bicep. Ishida guided me down the stairs and through the parting crowd who cheered as Stepanov got the night back on track by allowing Rahal to brutally murder the remaining two rebels.

Their muffled cries seared into my memories, and I couldn’t help but debate whether they were a foreshadowing of what was to come for me.

I’m so sorry, Nix. I sent the plea out into the universe, knowing there was no one around to hear it.

Yet even as Ishida tossed me unceremoniously onto the cold concrete floor in the basement of the Lodge—making sure I slammed my skull on the unforgiving ground from the force of his shove—and locked the cell door behind me, I couldn’t lose hope that somehow, someway, I’d make it back to Nix.

Even if it was only in my dreams.

Ten

Theo

I slammed my hand into the desk, narrowly missing the keyboard in front of me. My coffee sloshed, nearly splashing over the purple tentacled handle of my mug, so I hurriedly slid my papers aside.

“Not that it would matter,” I grumbled to myself, as I sorted through them. “Each of them is more useless than the last.” Failure, failure, failure. The word seemed to flash in neon lights in my mind. At this point, I was surprised it didn’t illuminate the air above my head or show up flashing across my forehead for everyone to see.

I took a gulp of coffee, wincing as I realized it had gone cold. I couldn’t complain though, I needed the caffeine too desperately. I was exhausted, physically and mentally, but I hadn’t made enough progress to sleep. Ciarán had kindly set up an office for me, so I wasn’t keeping anyone awake in the wee hours of the morning. At the moment, however, I just wished I was curled around Nix, her warmth soothing me. My Kraken hissed his agreement in my mind. He wanted our mate. He didn’t care about my need to prove myself, my need to assuage the guilt that still rode me over what had happened to Joshua, Ryder, and Nix during our trial. I grimaced as I remembered how the ice had worked through me, burning my veins and my mind as I attempted in vain to keep my control fixed firmly around it.

Nix’s blood was so potent, I wasn’t surprised the Council wanted it. With just a little, I could use my secondary power and take down half of my family in one fell swoop. Imagining what Maldonado or Stepanov could do with that extreme power boost was enough to make me shudder. That fear was one of the reasons I was up at this insane hour. I’d been trying, unsuccessfully, to hack into the Council’s computers. Joshua had been risking so much to give us information, but there was only so much he was actually able to tell us. We needed records and information, and it was up to me to get them, but the firewalls—both magical and electronic—were continuing to outwit me.

I leaned back in my chair, pulling off my glasses to rub my eyes. Everything was so complicated now, things were changing, and it was pulling everything out of focus. I had always been the cool-headed leader. Even when my Kraken wasn’t the most powerful or the