My father listened without interruption as I laid out everything the herb seller had told me, Rhys standing quietly at my side, adding careful confirmation where his own observations along the road supported what I'd gathered. By the time I finished, his expression had settled into the particular grim focus I recognized from every serious crisis he'd navigated throughout my childhood.
"A compromised beta," he said slowly, turning the information over. "And a foreign agent, operating with enough freedom to be spotted repeatedly without ever being caught. This is considerably more advanced than simple sabotage, Elena. This suggests months of careful positioning, possibly longer."
"Which means," I said, "that whatever Thornveil intends for Blackthorn, they've likely already achieved most of
