Micah could never completely relax, not even when he was in his suite of rooms. He was still at the conclave home base, which meant anything could happen at any time.

The other conclave members wouldn’t visit his private space, just like he would never visit theirs, but there was still the possibility of them noticing things, and he didn’t have the energy to face any of them right now.

He sighed and checked the time. He had a meeting with them in only a few minutes, and he wasn’t looking forward to it. Still, the reason for the meeting made him smile.

The fallen heroes were finally rising. It was something he’d been working toward for years, and he was glad the time had finally come. It put him in an awkward place, and his life would be forfeit if the conclave found out what he was doing, but he was convinced, and he wouldn’t back down.

One way or another, the conclave would change, and the conclave members who’d twisted the conclave’s mission and made it what it was now would pay.

Even though Micah was happy about what was happening, he wasn’t looking forward to listening to the other conclave members screaming and yelling for an hour. They were pissed after the video the fallen heroes had sent to the heroes, and they’d want revenge. The problem was that no one knew where the fallen heroes were located, and Micah hoped things would stay that way. Mordred and his people needed to stay safe if they wanted to be able to help when it came to the conclave.

Micah pushed himself out of the comfortable armchair he’d been sitting in with a sigh. It was one of the things he’d miss when he had to leave, and he had no doubt he would leave eventually. Hopefully Micah would be able to move his furniture and his things, but if he couldn’t, he’d deal with it. He’d always known this time would come, and he’d made sure not to leave anything he couldn’t abandon in his conclave rooms.

After visiting the bathroom, he headed out. The conclave always met in the conclave room, where they also held the trials against traitors and the general meetings when something big happened, and this was big. They’d talk to each other before doing so with the heroes, but Micah already knew what would be said. He’d been working with the other conclave members for a few hundred years, even though he was the youngest of them. He knew all of them as if they were part of his family, and he supposed that in a way, they were.

No one could choose their family, and this wasn’t any different.

Sometimes Micah wondered if he was the only one who could see what was happening and what the conclave had become. Was he really the only person who wanted to change it back to what it had been before?

But it was useless to ask himself that question, especially now.

He left his rooms and headed toward the conclave room for the meeting. Once it was over, he’d contact Mordred and let him know what had happened. The meeting had been called because of the video the fallen heroes had put out there, and Micah was curious. He already knew most of the conclave would want the fallen heroes to be killed. Unfortunately, they were a bunch of bloodthirsty people, especially when their power and authority were in question.

He could hear the yelling even before he reached the room. He sighed heavily, but even though he wanted to turn around and go back to his rooms, he forged forward. Running away from this meeting wouldn’t help. If anything, it would make things even harder.

Not all conclave members trusted each other. They all had a similar weight when it came to power and authority, but with Micah being the youngest, he usually had to go along with what the older members wanted. More than that, it was a majority problem. The conclave had seven members, and while only three were truly bad, the others often went along with whatever those wanted to keep the peace, as well as what they’d gained by becoming conclave members.

They’d gotten used to being rich and having power over heroes and most of the supernatural world. They didn’t want that to change, and it was easier to ignore problems and act as if nothing bad was happening. That made Micah angry, and he’d thought about leaving the conclave several times, but he was needed. He was a traitor, and he didn’t care. He gave every bit of information he could to Mordred and the fallen heroes, and they used it to save lives. Micah could never be sorry about that, but he knew how much danger he was in every day. Something was going to break, and he suspected it would happen soon, especially now that the fallen heroes were finally moving forward.

When he entered, he barely managed to hide his wince. Verne was in the middle of the room, screaming that this—whatever this was—was unacceptable. Micah had no idea what he was talking about, although he could easily imagine. Verne’s face was red, and if he’d been mortal, he might have had a heart attack. It would have been too nice a death for him, but Micah almost wished for it.

Half of the conclave members turned when they heard him. Elmer looked him up and down, his expression telling Micah what he thought of him. Not that he’d needed that to be aware that Elmer despised him.

“I apologize,” he said. He checked his watch. “I thought I was late, but I see I’m not. Did you start the meeting without me?”

Johnson cleared his throat. “Kalliope isn’t here yet, either.”

Elmer snorted. “Probably because she doesn’t know how to check what time it is.”