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Raine doesn’t bother even trying to free his Shadow, just keeps his arms crossed and observes Corvus miserably failing to mount his crow for flight.
Kai and I exhaust every avenue we can think of to tempt ours out. Laphia has been silent since Martin’s death. That may prove to be a problem. Does it only wake up in dire moments? I might have to ask Kallos for some pointers later.
Edgar stares hollowly at the frozen lake. His lips move slightly, as if he’s speaking with himself—or worse yet, to his Shadow. Chills crawl up my spine as I watch him sit slumped over a rock like a shell.
Lucina steps beside me and crosses her arms in concern. Her hands grip her upper arms as if she’s cold. “He’s been like this since he was restored,” she says grimly. As I glance her way she shuts her eyes somberly.
I whisper, “Do you think he’ll come out of it?”
She draws in a long breath before opening her eyes and muttering, “No. I miss him so much already. We all do. But if this is the new him, we have to accept that.” Lucina offers me a sad smile before she walks to Edgar’s side and sits silently. He continues to whisper to himself.
I consider talking to him to see how he’s doing with all of this. I know he was at a different location and underwent an alternative process. As my feet start to move toward Edgar and Lucina, Laphia speaks loudly, the scratchy voice curling around the base of my neck like steel. Stay away from Sully. It is poison. It is rot.
I freeze and goosebumps rise across my arms like I’ve been dropped into a cold bath. Laphia may be cryptic but its message is clear—Edgar is dangerous.
A frown pulls at my lips as I look at him, sitting alone with his demons, unaware that those who care for him surround him. Lucina lets her head rest on Edgar’s shoulder, and he finally notices her and flinches—not even noticing she was there.
Kai sprawls out over the couch in the Cosmos homeroom and exhales loudly. I lie back on the couch across from him, hissing in pain as my sore muscles relax.
“You’d think we’d be in better shape after the trip across the country to get here,” Kai complains.
I reply, “You’d think that we wouldn’t have to go through impossible classes and then exercise like we’re in the military for three hours after lunch. We don’t have another class today, do we? I was hoping to catch Kallos this afternoon.” I lift my hand and stare at the mark of the cosmos and stars on my palm. The ceiling is lit with purple and blue clouds of astral lights, stars twinkling intermittently.
“Hmm, I think we have one more—a night class.” Kai lazily pulls his book up from the floor and flips to our schedule. When he slams the book shut, I nearly have a heart attack.
“Gods, what class?” I sit up and shoot him a glare.
Kai’s covering his face with both palms. There’s only one class that would make any of us cover our faces like that.
“Sex ed,” we say simultaneously and with the same dreadful tone.
“There’s a silver lining,” Kai says sarcastically.
I frown hard at him. “What?”
“Kallos is the professor.”
I press my palms into my face. “Godsdamn it.”
16
Terra
I’ve asked myself “why” a billion times already and still come up short of an answer, so I just accept that this is happening even though the majority of us are already adults and have vast knowledge of intimacy.
Sex ed is on the first floor, past the indoor gardens that line the west side of the castle. I let my eyes browse the enormous windows and the plants that thrive inside. I would say it’s beautiful, but every single plant is a shade of red. The vines are a deep maroon crawling up the panes like veins. There are leaves of softer reds and bright roses, poppies, and smaller flowers I don’t recognize.
Raine glances over as we pass the gardens and leans in close to whisper, “Morbid fucking Fernestians.” I find myself nodding and pulling my gaze away from the blood-red room.
The classroom is filled with people I don’t recognize, all dressed in the same tactical gear we wear but with different colored cloaks. Raine and I are the only ones to bear white. The rest are beige, purple, red, and blue.
I let out a breath of relief that no one I know is here. This is going to be so difficult to sit through. I take a desk in the back and slump in the chair with my hood pulled up. Raine takes the seat to my right. Light murmurs fill the room as we wait for the professor.
The empty seats to either side of me pull out just as the professor walks in. I eye him carefully as he struts confidently across the room, long golden hair tied back in a ponytail, golden eyes. He has three black bars on either side of his mouth, almost like stitches. Even though his mouth is firm and flat, it gives the illusion that he’s smiling.
I recognize him as the head of House Cosmos. His cloak is gilded, unpatching of the Cosmos House color, black. His face is composed of sharp features and he has a beauty that most men don’t. A golden god of a man. Where Nekane and Elias are rugged, he has a soft, angelic appearance. He’s lovely to look at. I wonder why his eyes aren’t gray like most of the Fernestians’.
He takes a seat at the head of the class and his eyes land on the person next to me. I’m curious enough to look.
