I felt like I was going to vomit, but Tate got what he wanted. Every bit of that food tasted like ash. Not only did the taste made me gag, but my stomach protested fiercely. It'd gone so long without food that it wasn't interested. 

   My knees trembled as I stood upright. Tate put the box back into the fridge. Slipping the key card into his pocket, he opened the door. I gritted my teeth and locked my legs. My muscles were stronger than yesterday, but my joints still felt like jelly.

   By the time I was past the bed, one of my knees buckled. I tipped sideways, planting a hand on the bed. Tate's expression didn't change, even as my cheeks burned slightly with embarrassment. I can't even walk. Leaving the door to shut silently, he reached forward, offering a hand. I debated before giving myself a mental slap. Get over your pride, Rox, he's just helping.

   I grabbed his hand. Tate pulled until I was upright. His other hand went behind my back -- not quite supporting, but hovering just in case I needed the help. I steadied myself before taking a step. He opened the door when I got there, keeping it open with his foot until we were through.

   The door beside ours opened before we arrived. Erlan heard us coming, because he wasn't surprised to see us there. His eyes slid over my hand gripping Tate's and his arm. Without commenting, the elf stepped aside.

   In the room, Zain sprawled out on the armchair. Jennifer and Karen sat on the bed. Caze sat on the edge of the couch. Gene was no where to be seen. Zain grinned as we came inside. "Look who's on her feet."

   Tate didn't respond. He helped me to sit down beside Caze. The shifter scooched over for me. Erlan looked at Zain, puzzled. "I thought you heard them open their door."

   Zain shrugged. Caze stared. "You have elf blood, so why bother pretending you didn't hear them?"

   "It's more fun this way."

   Jennifer crouched in front of me suddenly. I blanched. She studied my face. "I think you could use one of those walnuts." She slipped her hand into her pocket and produced a small walnut. If I didn't know the context, I'd be wondering why she was walking around with nuts in her pocket.

   Caze glanced at me. "What all is damaged?"

   "Oh, I don't even know," I muttered. "My nose was punched a while ago, I got shocked with electricity which marked my arms up, hit with a mall bench, scratched by that hybrid, and punched in the ribs multiple times."

   "And that's mild compared to what we were dealing with earlier," muttered Tate.

   Jennifer softly tossed the walnut to me. My hand came up too late. The walnut hit my thigh. Golden magic burst from it. Warmth spread rapidly throughout my body. A breath whooshed out of my lungs as I felt my ribs seal. One had definitely cracked. My nose popped as it shrunk down to its normal size.

   "That'll fix your wounds, but not your hunger or dehydration," said Jennifer. She stood back up. 

   "Thanks," I said quietly.

   "Can you explain what happened to you?" asked Erlan. 

   I looked around the room. Everyone was looking at me. Even Karen, who hadn't said a word yet. She watched me, almost forlorn. I grimaced. "There's not much to explain. She had me trapped."

   "And your arm?" asked Caze softly. 

   Right. None of them had seen the mark yet. It had been hidden under my sleeve. I refused to look at it, my jaw tightening. "It's not new. I've had the mark for roughly five months."

   Jennifer pursed her lips. "Since Dani Darhk was apprehended in Memphis, Tennessee."

   "Yeah."

   Karen exhaled. "What did she do with your magic? The mark's several times larger."

   My lips pursed. For some reason, I found it hard to look at them, as if Dani's actions were my fault. In a sense, they are. "She killed six Enforcers."

   Gene's eyes pinched and he turned away, shaking his head. There were some mutters across the room. Karen's hands tapped on her staff as it sat across her lap. "Six . . . I think you're lucky to be alive. It takes a lot of magic to kill six Enforcers."

   My temper suddenly ruffled. "Trust me, I know," I snapped. "I felt every second of it. And I have a question for you."

   She looked up, startled. "What?"

   "Why are you here?"

   Karen frowned. "That's kind of a stupid question, don't you think?"

   "No, it isn't." I grunted. Tate released my hand as I got to my feet. Jennifer backed out of my way. "You're not here just for transpiration. The Council wouldn't have taken a teenager if that were the case. No. You're here for another reason."

   Something flashed behind her eyes. Her hand tightened on her staff. "You don't know what you're talking about."

   "I think I do." My lip curled into a sneer. "It took me a while, but I figured it out. How Dani was able to hide herself at Simone's house. She covered her whole essence. I felt when she arrived -- just barely. But I should have felt it like I'd dipped my arm in ice water. Instead, I felt a mild chill. She'd dampened her magic using a spell. The same spell only your family knows how to perform."

   Karen's lip curled and she rose to her feet slowly. "You might want to stop talking, Reilly."

   "Why? Because you won't like what I'm going to say?" I took a step forward, my fists clenched tightly. "She's your family. You're related to Dani Darhk. And the funny part? You're closely related. Hell, you're named after her, Daniella."

   Light purple magic started to seep from her palm where it met her staff. I jabbed a finger at her. "Your magic, too. Hers is dark purple. Yours is light purple. Hell, she looks pretty damn similar to your mother!"

   Karen's nostrils flared. "Watch your--"

   "Mouth?" I interjected, seething. "The last time you said that, it didn't go too well. I whooped your ass. Made a fool out of you. So, Daniella, what are you going to do? Attack me?" I leaned into her face. "It wouldn't be the first time. Why not? I'm powerless, and you hate me. Just like how Dani hates me. Seems to run in the family."

   A hand caught my arm. A gentle pull normally wouldn't budge me, but I was off balance. I stumbled backwards. Tate's arm went around my front. "That's enough," he whispered in my ear, hair tickling me. "You've made your point." My hand automatically dug into his arm, my face still pulled into a sneer.

   Karen seethed. Her hazel eyes bored into my face, promising pain. For a second, if her eyes were dark, I could see her face as Dani's. The same narrow shape. Her magic swirled around her arms dangerously. Then, after a second, it disappeared, surprising me.

   "I may be her family, but I'm not her," she finally said through her teeth. 

   A darker atmosphere fell over the room. I lifted my chin. "Why are you actually here?"

   Karen's hand was white on her staff. With a visible effort, she released it and brought her hand to her front. "You might be here to protect us, but I'm the last line of defense." Her lips pressed. "I'm here as a gauge for the Council. I'm nothing but a test for Dani."

   Tate exhaled suddenly, rustling my hair. "Oh, my god. You're bait." He sounded horrified.

   Bait? My head swiveled back to Karen. She nodded grimly. Some blood had drained from her face. "Dani's . . . she's schizophrenic. She's self-medicated her whole life. She turned to dark magic . . . and just lost it. The Council is using me to determine if there's any humanity left in her. I'm her only niece. She's always hated Mom, but she's had a soft spot for me forever. I'm the person closest to her. And, well, if she kills me, then the Council knows that Dani is past the point of sanity. Then they'll engage the personalized plan for her capture and execution."

   Jesus. I stared at her, finally feeling some of Tate's shock. Believing that Dani was mentally ill wasn't difficult. But believing the Council was using Karen as a gauge? They were waiting to see if Dani was crazy enough to kill her own niece. That was sick. 

   No one spoke until Zain whistled softly. "Well . . . I didn't see that coming."

   "It doesn't make any sense," Jennifer muttered. "Why would the Council send you here to die?"

   "Because this team is a front," said Erlan. Everyone looked his way. The elf met our gazes individually. "Think about it. The only information the Council needs is about Dani. We were not given instructions to gather information on her allies. The Council doesn't care about her allies -- at least, we're not the ones they've tasked to track them. We're here for Dani specifically. I think we're the bait. Dani figures it out, comes to find us, and kills us. It's just a way for Dani to run into her niece. It's all been orchestrated to get Daniella in Dani's way."

   Something clicked in the back of my head. I exhaled. "That's why." My hand gripped Tate's arm tightly. It was still over my front. "That's why they didn't want to put me on the team."

   "You don't think it was about the fact that you're uncontrollable?" Karen asked, but her tone wasn't harsh. She was genuinely curious.

   "Or the fact that I'm a child? No. I think those two factors played in, but I think the main issue with my being here is that I am the only person capable of taking her down." Something lifted in my chest, making it expand. They actually think I can kill her. That's why they didn't want me here -- they want Dani to fall into the trap of killing Karen. And I could stop that.

   Tate straightened. "You have a point. You're a variable in this plan, Roxie. This team . . . you're all right. I think it's a front to get Daniella to Dani. The Council is expecting her to kill you." He focused on Karen, his tone softening.

   Her lip pulled nervously. "I am, too, actually."

  "How could they do this?" Jennifer suddenly swore. She started to pace across the room. "This is nothing like the Council. They have to have another plan. Dani killing her own niece cannot be the primary plan."

   Jennifer was an Enforcer Informant. I suspected that she was finding it hard to believe that the Council was anything but peace-loving and benevolent. Tate had an answer.

   "Because they're panicking." He shook his head. "How long has it been since you have seen them, Caze? Erlan?"

   Both shook their heads. "Two months," said Caze. 

   "Four weeks," said Erlan.

   "Well, to a bright, it's obvious to tell that they're falling apart." Tate grimaced. "The scent, the noise. The signs were clear. I just thought it was because Roxie and I barged in there without warning."

   Zain straightened up, setting her feet on the floor. Her posture said we finally had her full attention. "So, you think that they don't know what to do."

   Tate nodded. Zain frowned. "What I don't get is why they haven't sicced the Enforcers on Dani yet."

   "Because the Enforcers aren't a match for her," said Karen. "It'd be a massacre. Besides, we now know that she has allies. Killing her won't stop all of them. We have to uproot her organization, not just take out the leader. The Council must know that."

   "What are we going to do?" asked Caze. His bicep flexed as he rubbed his scruff. "Are we really going to keep going? They've set this up to have Daniella killed. Are we seriously going to follow through with that?"

   Karen's murder is the trigger for the Council's plan. They are banking on her death. My gaze switched to her. The Karen I knew had faded. In her place stood a nervous, ghostly figure of a girl. Her posture hadn't changed, but her eyes betrayed how she felt. She was not nearly as confident as she was pretending to be.

   And that I could understand.

   "No." My voice was soft. "We aren't."

   Karen -- no, Daniella -- looked my way, surprised. I met her eyes firmly. "We're not going to escort you to your slaughter."

   "That's what I'm here for," she replied. "That's what the Council has ordered me to do."

  "Screw the Council." My jaw worked. "They've done nothing but sat on their asses. They've known Dani wasn't exiled for five months. Do you see any progress? Besides what we've done?"

   She shook her head. "They've been preparing in that time. I'm the trigger for the activation of the plan."

   "Too bad. We're going off the track they've laid out for us." I shook my head. "What kind of leaders set people up to die?"

   Jennifer's jaw clenched at my words. The others shifted uneasily. They weren't happy with what I was saying. I didn't expect them to. 

   "Want me to be real?" My lip curled. "I wasn't exactly honest, either. I'm not here to help you. The whole reason I tracked you guys down was to use you for the information. I don't care about helping the Council. You guys were just the method to the end goal, for me." At Jennifer's accusing gaze, I snorted. "Tell the Council if you want. I honestly don't care. My point is that the Council is way behind on the uptake."

   "You want us to go off our orders." Jennifer's voice flattened.

   "Yup."

   "And do what, exactly?"

   "What else?" I arched an eyebrow. "Go after Dani and her goons ourselves, of course."