Under the warm sun, Vanessa lounged on a towel with sunglasses, a large t-shirt a former guest had left in the beach house, and nice sandals that she had forgotten she had. The waves broke on the shore with a calming pattern, lulling her back into a sleepless nap. But, before she could fully slip into the dream world once again, a car pulled up to the beach. It parked, and the doors swung open. Kendra sprinted out the back, calling Seth's name, and met him in an embrace next to her towel.

The rest of the doors opened, and Trask, Warren, and Bracken climbed out. Warren had received a haircut since she had last seen him and Trask looked as serious as his reputation suggested he would, but Vanessa only had eyes for the unicorn as the group approached her and the kids.

It had been so long since Clara, but those memories still evoked the terror of her childhood ghost stories. Unicorns have hunted her kind since the dawn of time—it was enough to set a woman on edge.

As Kendra and Seth caught up in the trading of joyful banter and the men finally arrived on the shore, Vanessa stood and removed her sunglasses. Bracken's hand wrapped around the hilt of his pearly white sword, and he narrowed his eyes at her. Ah. It seemed the feeling was mutual.

"Hello, Seth." Bracken's eyes stayed on her, the dismissal felt keenly. "So this is your blix?"

Indignation flared. One, to say she belonged to anyone. Second, to address a child instead of her. Third, to call her by her species instead of her name. She had prepared to get through this with respect and tolerance. But, he clearly didn't have the same conviction, and Vanessa usually wasn't one to be the bigger person on the sucky principle it made you morally better. Still, she was going to try. Whatever. It was the end of the world.

"I'm Vanessa," she corrected, her face betraying none of her anger.

"Bracken." Vanessa nearly smiled at the obvious apprehension in his face until he held out his hand in greeting. "Nice to meet you."

A handshake? One of the oldest tricks in the book? Offense raised Vanessa's hackles. She scowled. "You want to see inside my mind?"

Bracken shrugged, his hand not falling. "Seems appropriate."

"She's been really great," Seth said. "A great help."

Gratitude blossomed in her. He was a sweet kid. He truly was. Unfortunately, he had also made the same evaluation of Graulus so she was sure his word held no value to Bracken.

"Then it should be no issue to shake my hand," Bracken maintained.

The condescending little prick reminded her of everything wrong with unicorns. The holier-than-thou attitude, the smug smile, the insistence that they should be the magical police. Annoying brats who believed they were above the law. "Who's scrutinizing your secret intentions?"

"My kind enjoy a more reliable reputation," Bracken replied.

Vanessa raised an eyebrow. An incredibly bold assertion. "Your kind hunt blixes."

Bracken shrugged like it was no trifle about blix lives. "From time to time. Frankly, I wish blixes had more predators. Most of them deserve to be hunted."

For a keen moment, Vanessa felt the exact same indignation, fear, and dehumanization that had pushed her to join the Society. But, she wasn't eighteen anymore, and she couldn't be pushed around by some bold bigoted words. She searched him with her eyes and extracted all passion and emotion out of her words until she couldn't be accused of hysteria. "Debatable. But you do not deny that enmity exists between your kind and mine."

"I do not deny it."

"Then perhaps you can grasp why I don't want a unicorn as spokesman for my intentions."

Bracken lowered his offered hand. "Are you suggesting I might lie about what I see in your mind?"

Oh, the feigned innocence. He couldn't possibly imagine someone not believing that he was goodness and grace embodied. Vanessa crossed her arms. "It would be the quickest way to justify my destruction."

Bracken smirked. "So here you stand trying to insulate yourself against what I might discover. If you have nothing to hide, you have no need to object. I will tell the truth, and they know that."

"But I don't," Vanessa said. Unicorns killed and lied and stole indiscriminately from blixes. She knew this. He knew this. Her party doubted that.

"Vanessa could have tried to take the sword," Kendra said.

Again, a child came to her defense. Very sweet, but unreliable. Vanessa glanced at Warren. He watched silently.

Seth glanced at Kendra. "Who told you about the sword?"

Bracken turned to Seth. "I did. We can start conversing more openly. I've learned to sense when Nagi Luna has directed the Oculus toward us. It required some practice. I'm accustomed to her mind reaching out to spy on me, but the extra subtlety and power granted by the Oculus confused me for a time. Regaining my horn helped. I only mastered what to look for as we undertook our recent road trip. Ever since Civia was murdered by a blix," he shot Vanessa a meaningful glance like every blix shouldered the responsibility for everyone's actions. She didn't judge Warren for the actions of Genghis Khan. Admittedly, however, the blix was probably Torina and she did have some connection there. "Nagi Luna has essentially lost interest in us. She has only peered at us twice today, briefly, and without concern."

"So we're free to speak right now?" Seth asked.

"As long as I'm with you," Bracken said. "I'll warn you otherwise. By the way, where is Vasilis?"

"In the trunk of our rental car," Seth said.

Bracken frowned. "Maybe not the ideal place for one of the most powerful weapons in the history of the world, but I suppose it would be conspicuous on the beach."

"Vanessa could have tried to steal Vasilis," Kendra repeated.

"She could have tried," Bracken agreed, "but I'll assume she is clever enough to know she couldn't have succeeded. The sword can only be given to a friend, never taken by an enemy, even in death."

"I had no idea," Vanessa asserted sarcastically. "I'm very naïve."

Realistically, why would she be a traitor to the cause at this point? If Vanessa wanted to help the Society, she would simply leave and find Graulus. That would be leagues better for her own survival in every conceivable way. But, no, she was with a ragtag group of rebels on a last-ditch effort to go out swinging. What the hell was Bracken's problem?

Bracken extended his hand again. "For good or ill, let's get this over with."

Vanessa raised her eyebrows. Hell no. "First, why don't we judge you based on your success in protecting the Eternals. How many of them survived your assistance?"

"None," Bracken said, his tone hard, his extended hand closing into a fist.

"How do we know you're not some rogue unicorn the Sphinx turned?" Vanessa accused. He wouldn't be the only one. Vanessa knew of Ronodin as she was sure Bracken did. "We sure don't have any rescued Eternals as evidence. What assurances can you provide?"

"Bracken is no traitor," Kendra said. "The Fairy Queen vouched for him."

"To you, personally?" Vanessa asked.

"Yes," Kendra affirmed.

Okay. Fine. That was a little hard to get around.

"Enough with the animosity," Warren interrupted. He turned his eyes on her. "Isn't tonight going to be long enough already? Please, Vanessa, just let him make sure. Think about your past. We'll all sleep easier."

Vanessa locked eyes with Warren. To be honest, fury heated her blood. No one ever believed her. They were going to rely on some unicorn to prove her loyalty? What about her secret of the Sphinx? Saving Kendra from Torina? Saving them in the Dragon Temple? Finding the location of the Translocator? Accompanying Seth and his friends on a suicide mission? Had none of those sacrifices mattered?

And what was that—everyone would sleep easier? Did no one trust her? Even Warren?

She thought of her past. She felt like Sisyphus. When could she stop rolling the boulder? When would she finally crest the hill and enter into a world of belief and trust?

Sure, she had tried to kill them all at one point. But, that should just show how committed she was to her work. How lucky they were that she was utilizing her skills for them now.

But, Vanessa sighed and broke Warren's gaze. Whatever. Exhaustion lowered her hackles. It was the end of the world. She needed to conserve her energy.

Vanessa took Bracken's hand. His skin was cool to the touch. He stared into her eyes for a long moment, which was incredibly unnerving. They were icy blue and beady like a gerbil.

"Just relax," Bracken said. "Think about your relationship with the Sorensons. Think about your current goals as they relate to our present mission."

She did as directed. She consciously kept her mind's gaze limited to Kendra and Seth, but she knew as well as he did that Bracken could find whatever he wanted to.

He released his grip.

"Well?" Vanessa asked. She kept her demeanor placid, but inside her heart beat against her chest like a hammer.

"She used to love the Sphinx," Bracken reported.