Shimmer: The Rephaim Book 3 Read Online Free Page A

shouldn’t have to demand anything.’
    Calista shakes her head. ‘Can’t you see the mess you’re in? I never accepted that you betrayed us, but now you turn up here with them pushing for an Outcast-style attack—’
    Jude springs up next to me. ‘Betrayed you, yeah? What do you actually know about what we did last year? Know for a fact? Any of you?’ His eyes rake over the Rephaim on both sides of the room. He waits. Nobody speaks. ‘Then back the fuck off. I don’t remember being tight with you guys’—Jude gestures to the Sanctuary side of the room—‘or you’—to the Outcasts.
    Calista shifts her weight and something about the movement catches my eye. Her trackpants are oddly loose around her left calf, like there’s something different about that leg.
    ‘And I sure as hell don’t remember deserting my sister a decade ago.’ His voice wavers but he doesn’t look away from the sea of faces. The chapterhouse simmers with recrimination but both sides wait for him to continue, lower their swords a fraction. I feel pride—and a prick of regret that they don’t respond to me like that. ‘Whatever we did last year brought us back together again, so don’t expect an apology from either of us any time soon.’
    For a steadying moment, I fit back in my skin.
    ‘And we’re not talking about it anymore until we get Rafa back,’ Jude adds.
    ‘And Taya.’ Malachi—still glaring.
    ‘And Taya.’
    The only sounds in the chapterhouse are boots on stone, clinking steel.
    ‘You are in no position to make demands either.’ The skin around Daniel’s eyes is taut: a hint of the old rivalry between him and Jude that I’ve heard so much about.
    ‘I don’t give a shit what position I’m in. That’s where we stand.’
    They eyeball each other.
    The cold gets the better of me. I shudder and instantly regret it. Daniel breaks eye contact with Jude. He waits a beat and passes his sword to Malachi. Then he comes over and picks up a blanket from the floor, offers it to me. I hesitate. Is this a test? What message will I send if I take the comfort he’s offering? I shiver again. Dammit.
    ‘You’re freezing,’ Daniel says, matter-of-fact. ‘You’ll be no use to anyone if you fall ill.’
    I vaguely register that Rephaim can get sick. It makes sense: I’ve been sick. I take the blanket, wordlessly throw it around my shoulders and wait to feel its warmth. Daniel returns to Nathaniel’s side.
    ‘Nathaniel,’ Jude says. His bare arms are covered in goosebumps, but he shows no sign of feeling the cold. ‘What’s your call?’
    The fallen angel is statue-still, his chiselled face impassive. ‘The Council and I shall meet. Then we shall send for you.’ He gestures to both groups. ‘All of you.’
    I tighten my blanket. ‘How long’s that going to take?’
    ‘As long as necessary. It will give you the chance to shower and eat. Brother Stephen will show you to the guestrooms.’
    ‘We don’t have time—’
    ‘Gabriella.’
    I bite back my next words.
    ‘This is not a skirmish with a handful of Gatekeepers. What you are asking for is a full battle against Zarael and his entire horde. We do not attack, Gabriella. If you had not been robbed of your past you would know and understand this, as you always have. We have authority to defend ourselves when necessary, but have no commission to seek out demons for conflict. I do not risk Rephaite lives lightly.’
    ‘What about defending Rafa and Taya? What about not wasting the opportunity of knowing where Zarael and his horde are for the first time in over a century?’
    He makes a show of looking around the chapterhouse. ‘Have you called the lost Rephaite?’
    I falter. ‘Jason?’
    ‘Yes. Have you phoned him?’
    ‘Not yet.’
    ‘Please do so now. He is at risk every second he is not here.’
    Which means Maggie is too. Oh god, Maggie. No matter what I do, I can’t keep her safe. And I have to tell her about Simon and the Butlers. I touch my phone in