The air grew thick with his skepticism, seeping into the very stones of the hall. I felt the resolve of the council waver, the unity I had just rallied them toward quivering like a poorly stitched seam.

"Thorne," I said, my voice measured yet laced with steel, "your concerns are heard and shared. But fear will not win this war for us. We must face the unknown with the strength of what we do know-and that begins with the intelligence provided by Paul and others who have encountered the Black ...