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connections made her a natural convert to Endor’s cause. And so “Operation Swan” was born.’
    ‘You’re saying Edie agreed to leave home and go undercover among a bunch of terrorists?’ Lucas frowned. ‘Just like that?’
    Ashton didn’t lower his eyes or alter his voice. Yet this time there was something effortful about his calm. ‘Edie was . . . persuaded . . . it was in her family’s best interest. The Inquisition had proof of her contact with a terrorist operative and this, in addition to her coven ties, would have been enough to put her away for a good number of years. Her associates at Cooper Street would also be vulnerable. By agreeing to work as a double agent, she was ensuring their continued safety, as well as that of the country at large.’
    ‘I get it. She was blackmailed.’ Lucas meant to sound impassive too, but the bitterness rose in his throat. ‘And what was your role in this, Dad?’
    ‘ The Chief Prosecutor tasked me with preparing the legal case against Edie. I did not find out that it had been used to pressure her until later. When I did, I voiced my objections. Edie was an intelligent and capable young woman. But her background was murky, to say the least, and her character wayward. Whatever the ethics, it was a risky gamble.’
    ‘It was for Edie, yeah.’ His face was hot.
    ‘Lucas.’ His father’s eyes looked tired, almost grey. ‘I regret I did not object more strongly, and that events turned out as they did. But we were at war. It was a desperate, dangerous time. We all make our decisions without the power of hindsight.’
    In those days, Ashton had been an ambitious young inquisitorial lawyer. He was also a widower. Two years prior to Edie Starling being brought into the Witchcrime Directorate, his wife’s mind had been invaded by an Endor witch, and her body bound to a poppet crafted with fae. Camilla Stearne had been forced to drive her own car off the road, to smash it into a twist of metal and flame. Lucas thought, as his father meant him to, of all the other families whose lives were left in ruins by Endor’s campaign.
    He swallowed. ‘It was your war too,’ he said to Jack Rawdon. ‘When did you find out about this?’
    Rawdon gave a small, apologetic shrug. ‘Only after Glory applied to WICA. During Operation Swan, I was part of an anti-Endor task force that involved all branches of the security services, but communication was not always as . . . open . . . as it could have been. Especially where WICA was involved.’
    He glanced quickly at Ashton and Commander Hughes. ‘I suspect the fact that Edie was not a professional agent, and had no establishment or institutional ties, made her, in the Inquisition’s eyes, easier to manage.’
    You mean easier to isolate and manipulate , thought Lucas. Almost as if he had read his mind, Rawdon said, ‘But you should know, Lucas, that in spite of the element of coercion involved, Edie showed a natural aptitude for undercover work. I’ve seen her files. In her contact with her handler she seemed, if anything, to relish the challenge.’
    ‘A challenge that probably got her killed.’ Edie had left a note to her abandoned family: I love you, but it’s better if I go. Forgive me. Lucas remembered Glory’s face when she told him, and his heart lurched.
    ‘Well. That’s the question,’ said the Commander. She had spent most of the conversation tilting back on her chair, idly tap-tap ping a pen against her teeth. Now she snapped upright. ‘Operation Swan was initially a short-term assignment. Edie was asked to gather intelligence on a top-level Endor leader who was trying to enter the country. After this was achieved, she told her handler that she’d heard whispers relating to a potential attack on British interests overseas, and requested permission to follow the lead. She volunteered, in fact. It was only then that she left home.
    ‘For three months, Edie Starling worked undercover in mainland Europe, from where