Chapter 55

Mara's POV

We left the First House with one stabilized network, one hostile relay, one cracked founder ring, and a map showing five more places Severin could turn into weapons.

Lucien called that an improvement because nobody had died.

Maeve disagreed when we reached Black Hollow eighteen hours later.

"You all look terrible."

"Warm welcome," Ronan said.

"I save warmth for patients who follow instructions."

She checked the founder line on his chest, checked Gideon's hand, checked my pupils, and then informed all three of us that we were medically irritating. I accepted the diagnosis.

Vivian was asleep when I entered the inner infirmary. The baby was not.

She