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“Please don’t. I need this. Promise me.”
“Look…”
“Don’t make excuses. You can wait. Another slot will open in time. Oh, no. I feel a little sick.”
“Okay, doll. Let’s get you to bed. If you’re going to throw up, let me know.”
That okay was all I needed. I relaxed and walked with him to his room. 1
Chapter Eleven
Iawoke in one of his white shirts. Panicked, I felt the sheets next to me, but he wasn’t there. Last night’s events rushed back to me. Naomi. My heart pattered to the sound of the rain hammering down outside. What time was it? The sky had barely blued from behind the curtains.
Viktor rolled his shoulders back, stretching his arms out. I remembered now; he’d fallen asleep on the sofa in here. I’d forgotten he had one in his room. I flattened my hair, which had gone frizzy from tossing and turning against his sheets. I sniffed the collar of his shirt after getting a whiff of cedarwood. I even smelled like him.
“You are truly devastating in my shirt.”
“Oh, uh.” I flustered, attempting to push my hair back and detangle it with my fingers. I recalled him giving me a shirt to wear when we noticed some of Craig’s vomit had made its way onto my clothes last night. I buried my head in my hands. “Last night was awful.”
“I’ve seen worse. Naomi will come around. Don’t worry.”
I swallowed thickly. “I should go find her, but gah.” I tugged at his shirt. “If anyone sees me in this, they’ll think we slept together.”
He moved toward the bed. His white top hugged his muscles. I breathed through parted lips, then scrunched my nose. My breath smelled like whiskey. I didn’t want to talk near him. He sat on the edge, dipping the mattress. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about your sister. You don’t need to be a keeper to go to her. You can find a way into Salvius. The barrier can be disabled with the very object you’re tasked with guarding.”
“I won’t steal the Serpent’s Ring.” I didn’t ask how he knew about it but guessed Frederick had told him when he used it.
“No one would blame you. Edmund and Dora are gone and won’t return yet, and Maddox is busy with his new lover.”
“Ah, Felix. Oh.” I perked up. “Maddox actually found out something about the murderer last night. About the cloaking spell.”
His shoulders tensed. “What was it?”
“They are killing people to cloak themselves. Blood can be used to fuel powerful spells, or so I’ve read, and Maddox said he thinks that’s what they’re doing and there will be more killings yet. So the tracing ritual Edmund was attempting to do wouldn’t have worked anyway.”
“Did he say if he found a way to break the spell?”
“No. Only that he would let Edmund know.”
“Elle.” He hesitated. “I’ve been meaning to ask you something. What do you know about the vaults down below the?—”
Both our hands tingled. It was a magic quill from Maddox.
Downstairs. Now.
Viktor sighed. “I’m going to regret doing that joining spell with him, aren’t I?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “He’s not too much of a pain with sending quills.”
“Good.”
I eyed a green glass chess set over by his closet. “You like to play.”
He looked over his shoulder, his eyebrows raising. “Yes, I do. Do you play?”
“I have.” I shrugged. “I prefer to read or draw.”
“We should have a game sometime.”
