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“Yes. You will need every bit of information, because you never know what you’ll come up against during an exam. The physical fighting is just as important as the mental game. Elias was at the top of our class, and his brains saved a lot of lower-ranked students during trying times. I have no doubt you can do the same if you put your mind to it, Terra.”
My eyes widen and I look at Elias. His face is impassive and hard, but there are so many emotions behind those gray eyes. I see a lake of misery.
“Don’t,” Elias warns Arthur and crosses his arms over his chest. His black tactical vest can’t keep his heart hidden—nor can his Shadow.
“You saved people?” I ask incredulously. There’s a softness to the question; the realization that the man I know him as now, the heartless Assassin of Fernestia, perhaps wasn’t always so cold and cruel. Not at first.
Elias’s jaw flexes and he grimaces, looking away from me and down at his intertwined fingers. How can he hold so much pain inside himself so flawlessly?
Arthur clears his throat and says, “Dark days are ahead of us at Alkrose, Terra. I think it’d be best if I started tutoring you in the evenings. One-on-one.”
One-on-one? My throat dries but I manage to nod slowly.
Elias leans forward and rests his elbows on the table and adds: “I’ll help Raine. He still hasn’t summoned his Shadow and he’s hopeless without it.”
“That’s awfully generous of you,” Arthur says with a taunting grin.
“Not as generous as you privately tutoring Terra.” They stare hard at each other, having an unspoken conversation with just their eyes.
I wrap my arms around myself at the chill that settles inside me. The Blood Crowns exam… What is it? What’s the test? They won’t tell me, but I’m determined to find out more about it.
I look up and meet Arthur’s gray eyes. “When do we begin the sessions?” I ask with the new motivation.
His sharp, alluring cheekbones catch the candlelight as he grins. “Tomorrow evening.”
22
Edgar
The infirmary is simple. Enormous, with vaulted stone ceilings and large arched windows that pillar it, but simple nonetheless, empty of life. Dusk has fallen by the time the nurse finishes her scan on my head. Apparently, some Shadows can analyze damage to bodies. A gift, she told me, belonging primarily to lower-class Shadows, but that ability seems more than priceless to me. Every army needs medical personnel, no matter how invincible they may seem.
I sit up in the metal-framed bed, taking a second to recall everything that led to this moment. Kallos placed some sort of containment on me—I can feel some of his Shadow curled around mine, keeping it closed off and away from my mind.
Everything seems a bit clearer now without Sully looming over my every thought. I’m hoping it stays away.
I let out a long sigh and rub my temples to ease the pounding headache I’ve been left with. I’ve never felt so worn down in my entire life. It’s as if I’ve been awake for weeks, not resting even though my eyes are closed.
Kallos finishes speaking with the nurse at the far end of the room and walks back over to me, taking a seat on the stool next to me.
“How do you feel?” he asks sincerely, but I can only focus on the stabilizer bars on his face, making it look like he’s smiling. He notices and says, “Finn was curious about them too.”
“Why are yours the only ones on your face like that? It looks like you’re always smiling,” I say with a monotone voice.
He folds his hands over his knee and looks over at the entrance to the infirmary as another person enters through the double doors. “It was punishment for my defiance when I was a student like you; a reminder of my actions.”
I don’t show him any emotion. “Why make you a professor then if you're so defiant?” I ask, spotting Corvus walking toward us.
“Because I still have much to lose,” he whispers sadly before straightening and smiling at Corvus.
I study Kallos with new eyes. Does he still have much to lose? Like what… or who?
Corvus takes the stool on my other side and dips his head to Kallos. “I wanted to check in on him. I hope it’s okay.”
Kallos waves his hand dismissively at him. “I have no arguments about the matter,” he says with a mild grin.
“Why do you care?” I ask Corvus, staring at him with assessing eyes. I haven’t said more than ten words to him.
“I’d never seen such a malevolent creature before. I like learning and studying things. My apologies if that’s a bit callous, but I think you’re someone who prefers the truth.” Corvus’s dark eyes are as calculating as mine and there’s something my Shadow likes about his presence. I do enjoy brilliant individuals—Vinnie would probably be interested in picking his brain as well.
