Page 156 of Axis of Fire

“No,” one of them answered immediately.

“Those four looked different.”

Relief flickered through me.

Small.

But real.

“Were you already here because of Airis?” I asked carefully, trying to steer the conversation somewhere safer.

And hopefully lower Gwen's willingness to commit assault.

“So this is our security detail?” Gwen arched a brow.

After I nodded, she reluctantly lowered the pole.

“I'll ask again,” Tarven said.

“What were you doing here?”

All four of them looked tense.

Ready.

Like they expected a threat to appear at any second.

“I came looking for clues.”

I held up the brooch.

“And apparently I wasn't wrong.”

Lars frowned immediately.

“Airis couldn't have missed something like that.”

“You're right.”

I cut him off before he could continue.

“It wasn't here when we arrived earlier.”

That made Tarven's eyes narrow.

“There's an inscription on the back.”

I turned the brooch over.

“Looks like Urpis.”

“You were talking to someone while we watched you,” Tarven said.

My pulse stumbled.

Just once.

“But nobody was there.”