His brow furrowed. “Elira—”
“Please. I need you to wipe Kyra’s memory. Just the last fifteen minutes. And I need you tonotlook too deep while you do it.”
He recoiled slightly. “What? Why?”
“I’m asking you not to ask,” I said, voice steady. “Can you do that for me?”
He studied me for a long moment—eyes hard, jaw tense. Then finally, with a reluctant exhale, he nodded.
“Yeah,” he said. “For you… I can.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Thorne.”
Chapter 25
Elira
The scent of antiseptic and iron hit me the second we stepped inside.
White stone walls. Harsh light. Rows of beds lined with tightly tucked sheets. The infirmary was a little too clean. A little too quiet. It hummed with sterile order that made my skin itch.
And the kicker? It was right next door to the Shade Tower.
I scowled.
“I spentdaystrying to find this place when Finn was sick,” I muttered. “Turns out it was here the whole damn time?”
“It’s warded against outsiders,” Leo said with a shrug. “No signage. No way in unless you’re brought here.”
Thorne didn’t look at me. He was focused on Kyra, who now lay unconscious on one of the cots, her head lolled to the side. Leo stood nearby, arms crossed, brows furrowed. Maddie lingered behind them, stiff with the aftershock of what she’d done.
Thorne raised his hand, fingers hovering just above Kyra’s temple. A flicker of power shimmered through the air like heat above a flame.
I watched the shimmer of magic around Thorne’s hand fade into her temple. Whatever memory he’d taken, it was gone now. Hopefully.
Something made the hairs on the back of my head stand on end, like I was being watched. I shifted awkwardly on the spot,casting my gaze around the room. Leo leaned back on the wall beside me.
“I’m sorry about Kyra,” Leo said finally.
“No biggie,” I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. When I pulled my hand away, I saw dried blood on my fingers.
“Are you sure you don’t need a bandage?” he asked, frowning.
“It’s just a scratch,” I replied, shifting in place. But a low ache pulsed behind my eyes, and my limbs still trembled faintly from earlier. I wasn’t okay—but I was alive. And that was enough for now.
Across the room, I noticed someone watching me. A boy with floppy brown hair and hazel eyes. When he realized I’d caught him, he quickly looked away and fumbled with a chart.
“Who’s that?” I asked.
Leo followed my gaze. “Don’t know. Think he’s a medic from the village. Some of the families send their best and brightest up here hoping the King’ll keep them on.”
“So, like a medical trainee?”
“Sure. I don’t keep track of everyone who walks through the infirmary,” he said, shrugging.
I laughed. “Right.”
