“Ms.Bamford.”
Dread settled upon Irene’s shoulders as she spun on her heels, slowly, and turned back to face Silas. The Headmaster had a crooked grin on his lips, an almost mischievous twinkle in hiseyes.
“I’d prefer that you stayed,” he said. “Observed. After all…as a new member of the Council…” Silas reached into his coat pocket, unveiling a shiny brass object. It took Irene a few secondsto realize what it was.A coin.“…it’s imperative you learnallof our interrogation tactics.”
Irene’s throat tightened. Even in the dim hazy light of the dungeons, the coin glinted. “What are you saying?”
Silas lifted his lips into a feline grin.
“Congratulations, Ms.Bamford. You are now part of Blackwood Academy’s prestigious Council.” Silas dangled the coin between his index and middle finger. Instinctively, Irene reached out, desperate to touch it, but before she could grab the coin from Silas, the Headmaster lifted his hand an inch or so, moving it just out of her reach. “You understand what accepting this means, don’t you?”
Irene kept her gaze anchored on Silas. She didn’t dare look anywhere else. If she allowed herself to face Masika, to see the terror and betrayal in her eyes, then she’d run the risk of falling apart. Her finely honed control fracturing into a million pieces.
There was no fighting this. Not here, at least. If Irene wanted to find a way to save Masika, then she’d have to swallow her shame and face the consequences. She’d have to stand back and watch her friend—her best friend—be tortured and ripped apart, all the while knowing it was her doing. Her fault.
My fault.
“Do you understand?” Silas asked again, dragging Irene to the present.
As the question lingered in the air, Irene allowed her gaze to drift to Masika once more. All Irene could hope for was that her friend could see the unspoken words behind her eyes, the tiny flicker of regret carefully concealed behind her apathetic façade.
I’m sorry.
I failed you.
I’m so fucking sorry.
But those words would never be spoken out loud. Lost in the distance between them.
Instead, Irene let her mouth curl into the faintest hint of a smirk. She let her face drop into calculated indifference. And then, with as much apathy as she could muster, Irene turned to the Headmaster of Blackwood Academy and said, “I understand.”
37
MASIKA
Masika had promised herself that she wouldn’t scream. Even when the inevitable pain came, even when they slithered into her mind and contorted her insides like the strings of a marionette, she refused to give them the satisfaction of hearing her cries.
But Masika was only human.
And once the first scream tore from her lips—she couldn’t stop.
38
AUGUST
“Where is she?”
August tried to shove the guard out of his way, but two others emerged, forming a barricade at the tent’s entrance. They each held curved shadow-drenched sabers in their hands, though their show of force didn’t rattle August. He knew that if he called upon his own shadows, he’d rip the three of them apart in a matter of seconds. He’d tear their souls out by their bloody throats. But using shadow magic had to remain his last resort, no matter how tempting.
“Don’t make me repeat myself,” August warned through gritted teeth.
“High General Hughes has requested the catalyst remain alone for the time being.” The guard’s top lip curled into a sneer. “No visitors. And that includesyou.”
August stepped closer, peering down at the guard’s scornfulface.
“I’d like to see you try to stop me.”
And there it was. The brief flicker of fear behind the guard’s performative act of force.
