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After all the time we’ve spent traveling together and all the people he killed so coldly on my behalf, it feels strange to part with him again. We’ve only just been reunited. My brows pull together tightly but I keep my mouth shut. One thing I’ve learned with Elias is that it’s his way or nothing.
“That’s fine with me,” I reply, threading my fingers through Raine’s and smiling. Arthur’s lips quirk into a grin at my remark but Elias lets out a long breath.
“You’re insufferable,” he growls, his voice low. “Arthur, I’ll leave them to you now. I need to speak with Emerai.” He shoves his hands into the pockets of his black military pants and walks up the curved staircase. I fight the urge to watch him go.
Arthur smiles and waves for us to follow him. “Sorry about Elias, he’s always been rather arrogant.” We follow behind him as he leads us down the corridor beneath the balcony.
“Is he truly the Assassin of Fernestia?” Raine asks as we come out the other end and reach another set of massive stairs. They are straight, made of stone, and much wider than the curved sets in the foyer, facing the outer wall of the castle.
We ascend to the second story and find ourselves in a magnificent hall with high ceilings stretching to the other side of the castle. Maroon banners hang on pillars that frame lancet windows. They emit lovely ambient light, making me and Raine look like heinous murderers.
I focus on how dark the blood is on my hands, trying to place how many people’s last drops might be clinging to my skin. Arthur has hardly acknowledged our abhorrent appearances. We stop at two large doors before Arthur turns to look at Raine.
“Yes, he is. And you’d be smart to remember it. Elias is Dr. Cein’s right-hand dog and the headmaster’s favorite weapon. He’s hardly even human anymore. I’d stay far from his bad side.” He gives me a pointed look as he says the latter. “Whatever kindness he’s shown you up until now will most likely stop. That man has no heart.”
No heart. That can’t be true. He and I have a connection, one that seeps deeper than just our Shadows, no matter how much I despise it.
“Does he remain here at Alkrose?” I dare ask. I’m not sure whether I’d prefer his presence here or for him to leave and forget about me forever.
“Of course. He goes out on missions occasionally like he did for this operation, but he’s the destruction class instructor. You’ll have classes with him weekly.”
Raine groans at that but Amser warms in my chest. Gods. I can’t deny the relief I feel within my own heart as well.
“I believe the other Houses are outside at the moment, so now is a good time for me to show you two around. You’ll both be under my guidance here. The other Houses are beneath our Nova status, but you can still mingle with them. Terra, you will be pleased to know that Edgar is in our Shadow House as well,” he says with that same mild grin. I’m starting to think Arthur has no other expression than the placid and somber one he wears now.
“What? Really?” I blurt out. Hopefully that means I can speak with him tonight about why he’s so angry at me. He’s the only family I have left in this cruel world, so we can’t leave things as they are, especially when all I want to do is hug him and talk for hours about what’s happened.
Arthur leads us through the hallways, a maze of white marble floors and gray stone walls, as he explains the different regiments. Cosmos, Ekko, Polaris, Tauri, and Dvars are on the first and second floors of the main tower. The lofty House homerooms are appropriately labeled with small signs, and emblems hang above the doors.
“As I mentioned, you two are in a higher Shadow House than the rest.” Arthur continues to give me long, uncomfortable glances—not in a way that creeps me out. Perhaps it should, but Arthur is so handsome and familiar, someone whose attention you crave. He has a warmth that you’ve known before. “Terra, you are a Nova. Raine, a Solas. Typically we would have Solases stay in the Cosmos House, but Raine has been blighted with your Shadow already, so he will remain in the Nova House.”
“Wait, what do you mean I’ve been blighted?” Raine stops and glances out one of the lancet windows, gazing down at the grounds in front of Alkrose. Hundreds of people stand in a wide, uneven circle in the snow, a few in the center of it… fighting. The space in the center is marked with fresh, bright splashes of red.
Arthur holds his hands behind his back and looks down from the window next to us. His gray eyes are lifeless and tired. “There’s a long, scientific version I could tell you, but I’ll keep it basic. Novas are the elite Shadows—gods of the gods. Should you be near one during a moment of uncontrolled hysteria or intentional malice to mark you, you will be blighted. Cursed.”
My bones chill. “Cursed in what way?” I ask with bated breath. Raine doesn’t look at me, but his jaw is set with tension. His Shadow is fate itself, all-knowing. Is it really a leap to think that it’s whispering awful things to him right now?
“Blighted individuals don’t live long. Their powers are enhanced briefly, leeched from their Nova counterpart, but blighting is a death sentence no one has survived.”
The blood leaves my face and my stomach twists with horror.
Raine looks away and grits his teeth. “You speak from experience, don’t you?” His blue eyes are already starting to pale into a gray-navy hue, the crescent moon burning green in comparison—My blight, I realize.
Arthur doesn’t respond to him, and he doesn’t need to. The pain that lingers in his eyes conveys all the answers. His jaw is tense and his mild grin has faded into a reminiscent frown.
“Did Elias blight someone?” I ask, feeling my suppressed emotions trying to coil inside my chest.
Arthur’s jaw tightens at the question. “Yes. And he’s since learned to keep from blighting ever again. It’s the main reason we keep Novas separate from the others. We would run out of powerful Shadows to observe and mold into power-hungry brutes if we let you blight everyone by accident.” He tilts his head at me, his long onyx-colored hair resting just above his shoulders. “Worry not. Elias will teach the Novas how to prevent any further blights from occurring.”
Raine looks at me for a long moment, then shrugs. The motion stills my warring mind. “Just part of my story,” he mumbles mindlessly, like it doesn’t matter that he’s been sentenced to die.
The voice hidden beneath my Shadow cries out. I want to let her in, but I know she only promises pain. She’s crying and curled up in depths I’m not sure I’ll ever pull her out from again. I don’t feel anything. I don’t want to feel it.
The guilt.
“Right, well, let’s get you two to the homeroom so you can rest before the banquet this evening,” Arthur says as he resumes his steady stride down the hallway.
We walk for what seems like forever. The castle is going to be a pain in the ass to memorize. On the fourth story we approach large, black double doors that lead outside. They open to a marvelous stone bridge that pillars far above the frozen lakeside. The structure is brilliant—as wide as the walls in Barkovah were and surpassing the view.
