The Guardian (Callista Ryan Series) by Alexandra Weiss

inside.
                  “Emeric, please, don’t do this,” a girl begged. Callie saw the girl standing in the center of a tense circle of people, including Shay, Emeric, the blond woman, and a red-haired woman whom Callie had never seen before.
    Callie noted with shock the sparkling silver color of the red-haired woman’s wings. The girl looked to be a few years younger than Shay, and wore brown braids which swung over her shoulders. She was tall compared to the other women in the room, though shorter than Emeric. Her back was to Callie as she faced Emeric. “Please. I haven’t done anything.”
                  Just then, Alex appeared in the doorway, as though having just flown in. He bowed his head in greeting, and then joined the circle. Callie edged forwards, trying to see more clearly. “I apologize for the delay,” he said briskly. He looked at the red-haired woman with a solemn expression. “Adeline,” he said then, by way of greeting.
                  “Alexander,” the woman said. Callie craned her neck, but could only see the wild red curls of this new woman’s hair, and nothing else.
                  “Well, shall we get on with it?” Emeric asked. “Shay, if you would.”
                  Shay stepped into the center of the circle, and the girl shied away at first. Shay paused, and then approached again, and this time the girl held still as though accepting her fate. Shay pinched the upper curve of one of the girl’s wings, pulling it outwards so that it unfolded. Shay peered more closely at the base of the wing, carefully lifting certain feathers this way and that, before replacing it into its natural fold. She then stepped to the opposite side and proceeded to perform the same examination on the second wing.
                  Once through, Shay circled around to the front of the girl and peeled open her jaw. The girl released a shaky breath as she opened her mouth, allowing Shay to see inside. The action reminded Callie of being in a doctor’s office, having a strep test performed. After a few moments of this, Shay stepped away, and nodded.
                  The girl let out an unexpected scream then, as though having been handed a death sentence. Callie gasped at the shock of it, and several heads in the room snapped to look towards the window. She managed to duck behind the wall just before any eyes found her.
                  After a moment, the voices continued. “You’re sure?” Callie heard Emeric ask. She slowly returned her face to the window to witness what was about to happen.
                  Shay nodded again. “The girl is definitely a Siren,” she said. “The bases of her wings have already begun to take on a silvery sheen; no doubt the will be covered within the decade. And her vocal folds show signs of increased oscillation from the call. She is no longer a Guardian.”
                  Callie frowned at the verdict. She couldn’t understand it, but from the girl’s reaction, it was the worst possible outcome.
                  “No,” the girl sobbed. “Please, I promise I won’t become one of them. I’ll be good, I swear. Please don’t make me leave with her.”
                  Alex’s fists clenched, his forearms swelling as the muscles protruded in his anger. Shay had stepped away from the girl now, and appeared disinterested in her pleadings. Emeric was emotionless, his body relaxed.
                  “I’m sorry,” Emeric said by way of answer.
                  “No!” the girl cried. “No, please don’t! It isn’t my fault. I didn’t mean to—I didn’t do anything wrong !”
                  Her sobs were wracking her entire body, and she was visibly quaking with fear. She had clutched onto Emeric’s shoulders in desperation, seeming as though she were about to buckle under the