Of course, Rix’s older sister was a God Hunter.

  “Are Sugaru compelled to kill Gods or something?” I cupped my head in my hands as I rested my elbows on the table.

  “Oh, she’s not Sugaru.” Trent grumbled. “She’s just one of the hunters that the Primus sends out to track down Godlings.”

  I swallowed as I looked up. With what little I’d been told about Rix’s older sister, I’d known she had killed my kind, but I hadn’t realized it was something she’d done as a Nephilim. I’d assumed she was part of the Sugaru, like Rix.

  I couldn’t keep the nervousness out of my voice. “And you trust her?”

  “She’s chaotic and likely to kill someone rather than negotiate, so not really.” Trent sighed. “Which is why having her around is going to be problematic. She’s always had a fascination with Whisper, which we’ve used to our advantage in the past, but nothing ever goes smoothly when she’s around.”

  I nodded slowly. “So Whisper has been working with you for a while?”

  “Technically, he worked for Tres.” There was a hint of sadness in the older man’s voice. “But I’ve known him all his life.”

  “Okay…” I thought about asking about the emotion in his voice but decided against it. “Is that why you trust Whisper so much?”

  “Whisper is…” Trent took a deep breath. “Complicated. He’s part of Tres’s bloodline and the Grenium, but he loved being undercover. There’s a part of the rebel lifestyle that he’s embraced, but I know that he’s someone that we can trust.”

  I knew Whisper was some sort of godsired because he’d known how to operate inside a Mantle. I’d heard that he’d been a part of Tres’s personal guard as well, but I’d never heard the story about how he became one of the most wanted men in the world.

  “How bad is it going to look if we have two criminals running Gar for us while we’re at the Cathedral?”

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  Trent laughed. “We just have to make it very clear that Lyssa is there as an enforcer and not the governor.” He waved his hand. “A few good stories about how Whisper was only part of Sipher’s organization to help bring him down and we can ease a lot of minds about having him in charge.”

  “And you think he can keep Lyssa from murdering everyone?” I eyed my teacher.

  “I think…” Trent shrugged. “Whisper can keep her to only murdering the wrong people.”

  “That doesn’t sound very reassuring.” I sighed. “How often are you going to have to go there?”

  “Who knows?” Trent shrugged. “It all depends on how often I’m needed to mediate between Whisper and the families.” He nodded at the wall behind me. “Which is why having her negotiate for your classmates to move their families in would be very helpful.”

  “I get it…” I sank back into my seat. “I just don’t feel good about it.”

  “Think of it as a way for her to prove her loyalty.” Trent offered.

  “Or a way to set me up for disaster under my nose.” I grumbled. “Why are you so ready to accept the Primus meddling in our lives?” I leaned forward. “Don’t you want revenge for what they did to your wife?”

  Trent’s countenance darkened. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before he spoke. “Yes, I’d like revenge. But I can’t beat Kire and to throw myself at him would just get, at best, only me killed. At worst, it would get all of you killed as well.” He nodded at the wall behind me. “Part of being in charge is knowing when to set aside a personal grievance for the sake of those you are supposed to care for.” He paused. “I don’t plan to forget what Kire did, but for the moment, the best way for us all to survive is to take the olive branch that they are offering, because we’re lucky we survived that first round of attacks.”

  “Was there something else?” I felt like Trent was holding something else back.

  “Nevah told me that the Primus asked him to deal with the other Gods who have been corrupted by the Demons.” The older man let out a big sigh. “I’m not supposed to be investigating that anymore.”

  “So you’re supposed to do what? Ignore a problem if we run into one?” I shook my head. “You’re not seriously—”

  “It wasn’t a request.” Trent cut me off. “It was an order. We’re going to go get Rix, Pixie, and her sisters, then go back to the Cathedral.” His voice softened. “If we run across any Cultists or Bandits, obviously we can defend ourselves, but he made it very clear that we aren’t going to be receiving any protection from any of the freelance hunters while we’re outside of the Cathedral Ward.” He stroked his chin. “I thought about sending you all back home, but honestly, I don’t trust you to stay out of trouble and Miel has to go get Pixie anyway.”

  I swallowed. “So… what are we doing now?”

  Trent stretched as he stood up. “For now, we’re going to get the others up, then we’ll see about getting this RV loaded up.”

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