Talen’s gaze is still locked on Weasel Senior, his smile smooth and polite, but there’s a glint of dark delight in it. He holds just long enough for the professor’s jaw to tighten, then turns to me, leaning in as if to brush my cheek with a soft kiss. Heat licks up the back of my neck, but his mouth finds my ear instead.
“Remember,” he murmurs,“If you want to survive, play along, not a word this is fake... to anyone.”
The pressure around my hand and mouth vanishes as soon as he moves, falling in behind Merrin without a backwards glance.
Weasel Senior lingers a beat longer, eyes twitching as they rake over me, before he also finally limps after the others, cane tapping against the stone, and I’m left standing there. Alone.
Whatthe fuckwas that...
Body locked, I just stand there, don’t move, can’t move. My mind’s a total mess—Ezzy nearly being killed, the kiss, Merrin's words, Talen’s voice in my ear. It’s all jagged shards tumbling over each other, too fast to grab hold.
He saw me interfere, then kissed me, then saved me. Again.
Why?What the hell does he want from me, why does he want me alive?
I thought I was closing in on answers, getting the upper hand. Now I’ve just traded my plan for more questions and a leash I didn’t agree to wear.
And Ezzy, no more lies. That’s what I swore. No more shielding her from the truth. She deserves the whole of it—the danger, the choice, the power to protect herself. I can’t take that away from her again.
But maybe I have to?
Because if anyone finds out, if she finds out, what Talen just did...
I know she helped me through the tunnels that night, and she hasn't said a word since, but still, something about that chatty mouth of hers makes me nervous. And I don't know what he would do if anyone found out.
But maybe, just maybe, if I keep quiet, they don’t need to find out. I can keep the kiss a secret.
Deep inhale, shaking the nerves from my hands, I turn back toward the centre of the mat. Ezzy and Finn are still in the far corner, but she’s not folded into him anymore. She’s sitting upright, too upright, and even through the pain twisting her features, I can see it. As clear as bloody day, shock. And beside her, Finn, mirrors the exact same look, same gape, same frozenwhat-the-fuck-did-we-just-seestare.
Shit, well, there goes that plan.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Convincing Finn and Ezzy to hold their questions was easy enough, the limp, the blood on her sleeve did most of the work for me.
I told him we’d get her to the Healers’ Wing first, that I’d tell them everything after. But when we reached the ward, I didn’t slow down. Just tossed out a line about needing to find Rowan and kept moving.
Finn barely looked up, too busy fussing over Ezzy, who was already getting frustrated, swatting at his hands. Their voices tangled behind me, fading as I rounded the corner into the main corridor.
Thank god they didn't stop me as it meant I had some time to think of a good bloody reason why Talen Veirmont’s mouth had been all over mine, without any of them getting suspicious.
She’d been hallucinating from being hit too hard?
No, that wouldn’t work, Finn had seen it too. And the cadets whispering by the door? They’d have it spread around the Citadel before sunset.
I walked faster, then slower, turning in tight circles like that might shake something loose. It didn’t. Not a single excuse that wouldn’t sound insane or pathetic or both.
Then Rowan came flying down the corridor toward me. Bone-white, whiter than usual, if that’s even possible, and strung tight with panic.
I told him she was okay, but he didn’t hear me. Just kept going, shoving past like he’d break through the walls if it meant getting to her faster.
He was so wound up that it got under my skin. My head was still a mess, and every lie I tried to grab on to slid right through my fingers.
Only upside? My Threads were drained. Protecting Ezzy had wrung me dry, it’s weird, I’d never felt them this empty before. Not even after Ryven.
Hopefully that’s good. Hopefully they’ll take long enough to recharge for Finn to make me a new duck…
The corridor curves again, and the noise hits first—laughter, warm and muffled, spilling out from the Healers’ Wing. Rowan slows beside me, tension finally starting to bleed off his shoulders.
