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I didn’t move. “You haven’t agreed to the memorial yet.”
“Agreed?” His brow climbed so high it disappeared into the shadows. “I thought you were making demands, Damien, not pleading for agreement.” He tsked. “How quickly you’ve fallen in my estimation. Seems you’re not the warrior just yet.”
My lips peeled back from my teeth. Drakos shifted the balance of power so swiftly, I asked myself if I ever had it.
“Permission is granted,” he continued. “Galen Teresi was the first son of Kronos to come through these doors in fifty years. His was a rare and marvelous power that would’ve turned the tide in this war. Instead, he’s lost to ignorance, carelessness, and a lack of training. A day of remembrance will be held if only so the students know and remember one thing: Olympia needs the academy. Without it, we’re silly little waifs laying our heads between the maws of demons.”
Silly little waifs. Finally, he brought her up so I didn’t have to. “Where is Aella Galanis? I’ve looked for her. Burst into her dorm half a dozen times. Those Sisypheans all claim she never came back from talking with you.”
“She was less than forthcoming answering my questions, so I gave her time to reconsider before we talked again.”
“Where is she?” I hissed, eyes narrowing to slits. “I want to speak to her. Now.”
“While she may be your responsibility, Galen Teresi was mine. No one speaks to her until I have the truth.”
“What is she saying is the truth?” I growled when he didn’t reply. “Tell me. I spent a week with her. At the very least I can confirm if your suspicions match mine.”
Drakos leaned back, considering me. “What are your suspicions?”
Smart man. Won’t let me see his cards until I reveal mine.
“There’s more to her than she’ll say,” I forced out. “She’s smart. Quick. She can hold her own in a conversation, but she could be from another dominion for the ignorance she displays of Olympus. I say things and she looks at me with true cluelessness. She led us on a desperate chase to the border, but when captured, she didn’t put up a fight.” I dipped my head. “That is until I sentenced her to come to the academy. The traitor’s noose or the mundane dominion, she’s not bothered about which she ends up in. But here... Aella does not want to be here.”
He hummed. “Then, our suspicions do match. She claimed her lack of knowledge was the result of leaving school at the age of ten.”
“Impossible. Ten-year-olds barely know their letters. If she didn’t attend village schooling, then she was privately taught.”
“A private tutor that left her woefully unprepared to survive in our world?” He shook his head. “Though, ignorance is not stupidity. Nor is it weakness. What was done to that demon after it killed Mr. Teresi...” Drakos let out a long, low whistle.
I mimicked him—leaning back in my seat and steepling my fingers. “Is there a question in there?”
“What is her power and why does she deny it? The report said she killed one of the guards transporting her in self-defense. Actually, self-defense was emphasized multiple times, but where it got vague were the details of the attack. How did she kill him?”
“He was torn to pieces,” I dropped easily. “No part of him was left intact besides his heart.”
If I expected a gasp, popped brows, or another whistle, I didn’t get one. “Interesting.”
“I thought so. It’s a power we need in this battle whether she wants to be in it or not.”
“I agree, but she goes so far as to risk hard labor by denying that power. She does not want to be here, with that I must agree. But how far would she go?”
I frowned. “What does that mean?”
“For a brief moment, I considered that last night wasn’t an accident. It was an attempt to get her what she wanted. Either death or expulsion from the academy—”
“Hold on. An attempt to get what she wanted? How?”
He went on like I hadn’t spoken. “But that would be a stretch. The girl carted around a tenebrae demon, carrying it dangerously close to her throat. There are less painful ways to commit suicide. She obviously didn’t know what it was—”
I shot forward. “Wait. Did you say she carted around the demon?”
“That is exactly what I said. Miss Galanis was fooled by the shapeshifter into carrying it past the warding spells into the academy.”
Pressure built against my eardrums, drowning my ears in a muffled world like the one I found at the bottom of Marsyas Lake.
“She was under attack by the dryads, and Mr. Teresi believed he was helping a student in need. When he got close enough to realize what she truly held—”
“It killed him.” I couldn’t tell if that was said by me. The pressure was building, and I was sinking.
Slowly, I straightened. “Thank you, sir. I understand the situation.”
“Do you? Wonderful,” he replied. “I intend to have the same clarity when next I speak to Miss Galanis.”
“No need to wait. I’ll tell you now.” No, I couldn’t mistake it. That growl was definitely me. “That traitorous liar got Galen killed. She will spend the rest of a long and miserable life wishing I exploded her in the poisoned mud. Do you have objections?” I was already across the room and strangling the doorknob. “I don’t give a shit.”
