“Yes.” Cyrus leaned an elbow on his knee, reaching out to grab my thigh. I faced him, and his eyes were cerulean blue. Strong, empowered. “Trust me, Adora.”
“Trust you?” I scoffed. “Why didn’t you fight harder for me?”
“You left with the Heathens last night,” Augustine threw into the air.
My gaze darted to him. “Yeah, I did leave with the Heathens,” I admitted openly. “Surprisingly, it’s because of the Heathens and Fallon as to why I’m sitting here. How could I trust any of you after seeing you just stand there while my back was being carved?” I looked at Cyrus. “Augustine may not know, but you saw what Kane did to Phoenix. You know what Kane is capable of. I could have died, and none of you did anything.”
Augustine leaned closer, planting his elbows on his desk, intimidation seeping from his cold eyes. “The question is why would the Heathens get on their knees for you?”
I leaned forward, gripping the arms of the chair. “I. Don’t. Know.”
Because Stone loves me, my heart screamed, like it was the only person in class who knew the answer.
Augustine leaned back, smoothing out his tie again. “Kane is convinced you tried to kill him, and he was acting in self-defense.”
I laughed under my breath. “Self-defense? I’m sorry but did it look like I was the one holding a dagger to Kane’s throat last night?”
The wrinkles between Augustine’s brows deepened. He was getting agitated. “It wasyourdagger, though, wasn’t it?” he asked, making sure the room was aware. “Do you have an explanation for how it got there?”
I looked down at my lap, plucking lint off me with a smile. “I always have my dagger on me.” I looked up at him. “I never know when I may need it.”
“You have an answer to everything,” he said.
“Lie not and you’ll forget nothing,” I replied.
“I wanted to give you the chance to be honest, but it seems you will hold on to these lies by the skin of your teeth. Last night, you embarrassed us. For that, you’ve left us with no choice but to expedite the wedding to prevent any more surprises. I refuse to put the town in jeopardy because of your actions, and it seems waiting even one more day is a risk. One I’m not willing to take. You are marrying Cyrus at this very moment. In this room.”
“No,” was all I said, my head shaking, trying to find words that would convince him. “How can we be so sure this wedding is what saves the town? What if it’s something else, like the Shadows? Why are we not focused on them?”
“Cyrus is your match. The magic you two will summon and spill back into the coven will give us strength to vanquish the Shadows.” Augustine’s face took on a victorious expression. Like he’d won a game that I never wanted to play. “There will either be a marriage today or an execution. These are your only choices.”
“Execution?” My eyes found Cyrus. He looked just as scared. “For what?!”
“Attempted murder, trespassing, treachery ... infidelity. Pick one.”
“Whoa...” Cyrus held up a palm. “Wait a second.”
“I did none of these things!” Another lie, another shocked laugh. “You won’t execute me. You believe the only way to save this town is to marry Cyrus. Why order this then threaten me with my death?”
Augustine grinned.
I could have smacked it off his face.
“Not you,” he said. “Stone Danvers.”
And there went my heart.
And my breath.
And my voice.
My strength.
Just ashes.
Tears pooled in my eyes, but the anger inside me held them back.
“He saved my life last night, and you want to threaten his because of it?” I turned my burning gaze to Cyrus, then back to Augustine, fingers curled around the arm of the chair. “You and I both know these charges are ridiculous and cannot be proven, and yet you’ll still burn an innocent man out of spite?”
