“I don’t believe that.She gave up.They always give up,” I say, my tone hardening, even as sleep sneaks up on me and tugs me under.
“Not all of them,” Bastien says.
“All the ones I pick do.Maybe it’s fate telling me to quit on love.”
“I don’t believe that,” Lex says.
But I don’t hear what they say next because I slip into dreams.
When I wake, my bed is empty.Lex and Bastien must have gone back to the apartment or to help clean up campus.I have to find Ignatius, he owes me answers.Though that thought stops me because I also owe Ignatius a debt… one that I haven’t paid.
Maybe I should just leave.Run and hope he is too preoccupied to find me.
He might let me go for a while, maybe even let me have a few happy weeks.But he’ll come eventually and any time I manage to steal will be a lie.
No, I’m staying.If for no other reason than to find out why Lucy forced me to kill her.
What did Ignatius say?Interitus will have more to deal with than she realises.She’ll be… she can handle herself, I assure you…
I stand ready to demand—politely—answers from him, but I collapse on the floor.
Shit, my mind is clearly more ready than my magic-drained body.Blood erupts from my nose, gushing over the floor.Thick metallic liquid fills my throat and clogs my airway.I cough, and it pools in my mouth, lining my teeth with a tang that I’m sure serves to make me look more deranged.
I try and fail to stand, so I sigh and crawl along the floor, through the claret, smearing it with my knees.My body wants to work but now that I’m not in the midst of a battle and pumped with adrenaline, it’s struggling.It feels heavier than before—the demon magic, maybe?
“LET ME IN THERE.”Ignatius’s voice booms from the corridor.
I hesitate and glance at the doorway to the medical wing.There’s a window and through it I can make out the figure of a nurse.The voices rise but he doesn’t come in.I’m assuming the nurse must be taking her life in her hands and refusing to let him pass.We’re long past my reaping, so is he coming for me even after I helped him in the battle?
“If you don’t let me in—” he shifts into a sickening, sweet tone, “Arcadius, Chancellor.Good evening.”
Ignatius’s shadow slithers back as Chancellor Arcadius’s enormous frame swings into view.I retreat, moving faster than before despite the spasms in my muscles.I am not getting caught, so I draw on every ounce of strength I have left and haul myself back into bed and under the covers as the door swings open.It slams against the wall, making me jump.I close my eyes, pretend to be asleep or unconscious or whatever I need to, to not call attention to myself.
I open my lids a millimetre.
“OUT,” Arcadius booms at the nurse.
“Sir, I implore you.Please move to an alternate room, we have a patient in here that needs to sleep in order to recover.”
I don’t know what Arcadius does, but the room goes icy cold.I tug the duvet up under my chin, praying no one hears the rustle of fabric.The door clicks shut.I assume the nurse valued her life more than her patient’s and left.
Honestly?Same, hun.Same.If I could have run, I would have.
“You’re going to explain,” Arcadius says.It is not a question.His words are cold and potent with a fury that makes me shiver.I clench my teeth to stop myself trembling.
Ignatius clears his throat, feigning an innocence even I don’t buy.“Explain what, Chancellor?”
Arcadius’s laughter is a dark and violent blanket smothering the room.A hollow thud like the crash of a body against a wall echoes out.Metal clatters, and tools skitter to the floor.My blood chills to the same icy temperature as the room.What is going on?
Arcadius practically growls.“Don’t try my patience.You better have an explanation, Ignatius.She sent the biggest swarm of moths the city has seen into the heart of Ora.In one fucking vision, she erased the last forty years of vilification.Your failure made her a fucking pariah.You better have a decent explanation.”
Ignatius groans.Fabric slides against itself as he stands.I roll as quietly as I can onto my side to get a view of the pair of them and slowly open my eyes another millimetre.If I keep them shut tight enough to appear like I’m asleep, hopefully they won’t know I’m watching.
Arcadius looms over Ignatius.It takes everything I have not to gasp.Ignatius has always been this imposing presence in my life, terrifying and vicious.But watching him cower under Arcadius changes that.He seems small.
“I lied, Chancellor.For that, I’m sorry.”
“Why?”Arcadius spits through gritted teeth.
