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Velis coils against my thoughts and mutters, Leave the boy alone. Amser will retaliate if you hurt him.
I roll my eyes. Terra’s Shadow is the cause of so much unwarranted trouble. I wait beside Nekane as the headmaster releases the Houses and directs them to meet in the mess hall for the banquet. I need to inform him of my unfortunate circumstances with Terra.
Nekane pulls the purple hood of his cloak up as snow starts to fall and the wind picks up. He narrows his red eyes at me as he whispers, “Trouble getting here on time? I heard from Kallos that you took down Barkovah last night. What was the holdup? Emerai and Dr. Cein nearly sent reinforcements.”
I keep my expression impassive as I straighten, ignoring the blood on my white cloak. “I ran into complications.”
Nekane raises a brow at me, his red eyes searching for information.
“Two complications,” I clarify. Terra and her fucking dog.
“Elias, I’ve known you for six years and this is the first I’m hearing of the Assassin of Fernestia having godsdamn complications.” Nekane crosses his arms and glowers at me. I am not forgetful of our history. Six years of unrelenting torture, training, and brainwashing, yet our friendship still stands in some fucked-up, contorted way.
I shrug, trying to keep my temper reeled in the best I can. “Well, I wasn’t expecting to find my Shadow Mate in that shithole, Navasik.”
That gets his attention. Nekane grabs my arm. “Your what? You’re joking, right?”
I grimace at his grip. “Have I ever made a joke?”
His face pales and he looks up as Emerai struts toward us. “No—I suppose you haven’t.” He releases my arm and shakes his head. “How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know. I’m hoping to speak with Dr. Cein regarding it and how he would like to proceed.” Nekane nods thoughtfully but doesn’t bother responding as Emerai stops before us. We both give him a curt bow.
“Headmaster.”
Emerai grabs a fistful of my hair and lifts my head. “What the fuck were you doing out there, Elias? Do you have any idea how exasperated Dr. Cein is about your delay? You were given direct orders and your delay alone practically threw off the entire operation.”
I stare into Emerai’s eyes indifferently.
“He had complications.” Nekane laughs beside me. He always was Emerai’s favorite, probably because of how sadistic they both are.
“Explain,” Emerai mutters, his eyes narrowing. He looks shockingly similar to Nekane. If I hadn’t been at Phase One with them when they were initially captured, I’d think they were brothers. Their dark hair is the exact same shade and length. Their only significant difference is their eyes: Nekane’s are haunting red, while Emerai’s are dark blue.
“I found my Shadow Mate, sir. I brought her with me; she’s in the Nova House as we speak.”
He looks at me, calculating what to say. “Was she the woman that stopped you from killing Kallos’s new brat?”
Nekane scoffs. “I was hoping you’d kill him anyway. Cocky little fucker, that one is.”
You and me both. “Yes—she is the Time Nova. The other Crescent Shadow we’ve been searching for.”
Emerai doesn’t give away what his thoughts hold, only looks at me with cold eyes. “I’ll contact Dr. Cein and let him know the circumstances. Keep her close, I don’t want her Shadow getting too attached to anything else for the time being.” He releases the vice grip he has on my hair and straightens his golden cloak. The sun brooch at the center gleams with his power funneling through it. I surpass Emerai in strength, but Cein recognized my inability to show better judgment when it comes to holding order. Emerai is his perfect puppet master, pulling all the strings while the doctor is away.
“Yes, sir.”
He turns to head to Alkrose for the banquet, but he stops and glances back at me. “You haven’t bred her already, have you?”
My pulse spikes and I have to school my expression into indifference. Yeah, I watched Raine fuck her on her knees while I was tied up like an animal. The very thought makes my teeth grind. “No, but her blighted has. She’s on herbs, so we don’t need to worry about that.”
Emerai barks out a harsh laugh as he resumes his stride. “Well, at least he’ll be dead before long.”
Nekane looks at me with a borderline concerned expression. “Let me guess, she wouldn’t let you kill him either.”
I level him an annoyed look because he can already see the way she’s ruining my reputation as the heartless one. “No—I most certainly did kill him. She reversed time and undid it.”
My old friend laughs as he grabs my shoulder roughly. “I like her already.”
The mess hall is a loud, expansive room. The arched glass ceilings above allow natural light to flutter in, but the sconces add a warm glow to the ambiance. Walls made of stone as gray and cold as my heart hold all the students of Alkrose within them. It’s a room that contains many grim memories, a place I despise yet also call home.
