The sting from Irene’s slap was enough for Masika’s senses to refocus. She opened her eyes, properly taking in the chaos unraveling in front of her. Soot streaked across Irene’s nose, the bottom of her hair slightly singed. Her dress had been ripped at the hem, a deep crimson stain slashed across her knee, though there wasn’t a wound in sight.
“You look like shit.”
Irene laughed, but there were tears behind her eyes. “Right back at you.”
Somehow, despite everything, Masika managed to find a tiny sliver of strength. She pushed herself onto her feet, gripping one of the iron bars of the cell when her leg buckled beneath her.
“Can you move?” Irene asked softly.
Masika shrugged. “Definemove.”
Irene threw Masika’s arm over her shoulder, grunting as she helped drag her out of the cell.
“So…care to explain what exactly is going on?”
“Well,” Irene huffed. “The Demien Order and the Resistance have both stormed the gates of Blackwood, and the school is essentially on the brink of a cataclysmic afterlife war.”
Masika opened and shut her mouth. She had a million questions, but all she managed to utter was “Right. And…where arewegoing?”
“Uh—” Irene chuckled nervously. “I haven’t really thought that through quite yet.”
They were turning a corner when the patter of footsteps stopped them in their tracks.
Irene sucked in a sharp breath.
“Shit.”
Everly Hawthorne was standing before them, blocking their path.
Her eyes flitted between Irene and Masika, brows furrowed. The brief flicker of confusion in her gaze quickly vanished under sharpened fury. She clenched her hands into fists, flames shooting out of her knuckles. “What are you doing?” Each word slipped out of her with a punch of air. “Put her back in the cell.”
Irene placed her arm protectively in front of Masika. “Get out of the way, Everly.”
“Oh my God.” Everly let out a cackle. “Are you fucking kidding me? Did you honestly think you could get away with this? That Headmaster Silas wouldn’t notice? That he wouldn’t rip your soul out of your throat for this betrayal?”
“I don’t give a damn about Silas,” Irene said through gritted teeth. “And if you had even a fraction of a brain cell left in that skull of yours—you wouldn’t either.”
Everly’s nostrils flared. “You filthy traitor—”
She raised her arms, poised to strike.
But Masika moved first.
She hadn’t even felt herself summon her magic. It had simply been there, waiting for her.
Masika’s arm sliced down in one clean swoop.
Everly stood frozen for a suspended moment, eyes wide, mouth parted.
And then a blossoming line of blood appeared on her neck, severing her head cleanly from her body. It fell to the floor with a sickening thud, rolling over to Irene, who continued to stare at Masika with a strange mixture of shock and admiration.
Masika let out a shaky breath.
“I really,reallyhate that girl.”
And then Masika passed out and collapsed into Irene’s arms.
44
