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“Don’t you dare,” I growled at her.
She stepped back, hands to her chest. She wore a crimson robe over her clothes, the hems and sleeves threaded with gold. She was one of them. How could I ever trust her again? Even if she had just saved us, she’d still betrayed me in one of the worst ways possible.
“Okay, okay.” Amelia held her hands up, dropping the hood. “I get it. I understand how you must feel. But trust me, I’ve realized my mistakes.”
“Trust you?” That had to be the sickest joke I’d ever heard. “After what you did?”
“He’s hurt. Just let me heal him.”
Caleb’s head was on my lap, his eyes struggling to open. His neck had a bright red ring around where he had been suffocated. He whimpered in a way that hurt me to hear.
“Fine,” I said. “But stay over there.”
Amelia lifted her hands and swirled, emerald and jade threads of mana floating around her wrists like coiled green serpents. She flicked her fingers, the threads weaving together and gliding off her toward Caleb, wrapping around his throat before they were absorbed into his body. There was a subtle green glow just under his skin before his eyes snapped open. He took a rattling breath and sat up.
“What? What just happened?”
“You passed out,” Amelia answered, her hands back at her sides. It was like staring at a ghost. My best friend had died in that hospital bed.
I was back on my feet and hurtling toward her. An ice blade formed in my fist. Her eyes opened wide, like a doe caught in the headlights of a speeding car. Caleb shouted at me to stop. But how? She’d betrayed me, lied to me—she was one of them.
And she was still Amelia.
I somehow managed to stop running without toppling over. She was inches away from me. I clutched the hilt of the blade, ice cracking in my grip from the pressure. The tip pushed against her stomach.
“Amelia…”
“I’m so sorry. I was desperate. I made a mistake. Let me explain myself. Please, Maddy.”
She was the only one who ever called me that. It could have been a tactful ploy for me to lower my guard. Memories of us as kids came rushing back to me. Playing tag in the park, getting picked up at the Beverly Hills mall after a day of aimlessly walking around, her support for me after my mother died.
“Fuck, Amelia. This better be good.” I dropped the blade, ice shattering and flying all across the smooth stone floor.
“It was Kyler. I met him when I first got sick. I really didn’t understand the power the paintings had, but I read somewhere that Kyler had found one. So I visited him in prison.
“And I went back. Five more times. Each time, he would feed me more and more lies. Sweet ones, unbelievable ones. I started to fall for him and for everything he was selling me. It didn’t help that every time I’d visit him, he would notice the steel spreading, starting at the tip of my finger, up my hand. It was reaching my elbow at my last visit. Just carrying that weight was exhausting, Maddy. And the thought of my entire body being consumed by it? I was so desperate. When he promised me a cure in exchange for the paintings, I knew I had to pressure you to start looking for them. I’m so sorry.”
Amelia wiped at the tears that ran down her flushed cheeks. Caleb was at my side now. I looked over my shoulder, Kyler’s body facedown on the floor. Blood spread from the knife wound in his back, creating a shallow pool around him.
“Why didn’t you tell me anything?” I asked her. “I could have tried to help you.”
“He warned me not to. He said that if I spoke to anyone about my involvement, the deal was off. I would need to join the Crimson Ring with the paintings if I wanted my cure.” She was clutching her hands to her chest.
“Are you still a part of the cult?” I asked.
She dropped her head in shame. “I went through the initiation. I’ll always be a part of it. It was the price I had to pay. I’m sorry.”
No matter how many times she apologized, I didn’t think I could ever forgive her.
“But I was with Kyler, and he was starting to spill their real plans. I knew the Crimson Ring worshipped Niazatos, but I wasn’t aware they were actively trying to free him. I realized my mistake—I knew I had to do something sooner or later. Then, when I walked in on him trying to kill you two, I realized sooner was now.”
“I don’t think I can ever trust you again, Amelia.”
“I know, Maddy. I know.”
“Guys, I don’t want to speed this up, but there’s a dead body and I’m sure alarms going off somewhere. We need to go and destroy the paintings. Now.” Caleb held the satchel with the painting at his side. He was right. This had to wait for another day.
