Cyrus waved his hand and his magic, as dark and red as spilled blood, poured forth as if seeping from a wound. “Speak then.”
Cal watched as the portal widened enough to reveal what appeared to be a pile of dirty rags, but as it spoke, he realized it was a man. A man covered in filth, as if he had not been allowed to wash, but his hair and beard were as well-groomed as could be managed. A man who clearly took pride in his appearance despite his circumstances.
The man spit the gag from his mouth and rubbed his throat. His voice croaked from disuse, but Cal could not make out what he was saying. Whatever he said seemed to amuse his uncle.
Cyrus pursed his lips but waved away whatever it was the man said, “Do not concern yourself. From the looks of it, you are not long for this world, though I am impressed you lived this long. You always were stubborn. I look forward to meeting those pretty little sisters and learning all their secrets soon. This winter solstice will be like no other. I have a meeting, or I’d stay longer. I do so enjoy these talks.”
Cyrus’s magic wrapped around the prisoner again, gagging him.
Chains rattled as Cyrus walked away without looking back. Cal strained to see who his uncle was talking to, who he kept prisoner, where the dungeon might be, anything that might give him a clue as to what his uncle might be up to, but Cyrus disappeared through a portal and, in doing so, closed the portal Cal had opened. The prisoner had felt vaguely familiar, and a thought niggled at the back of his mind, gone almost as soon as it was there.
He knew his uncle was a cruel man, the evidence of that cruelty was embedded in his mind and flesh but kidnapping and imprisonment was a touch beyond the abuse he had suffered. It was clear he didn’t know his uncle as well as he thought he did.
The flutter of wings startled him from his dark thoughts. Horacio cawed and tapped at the window; it was well past the time Cal usually let him out to hunt.
“Sorry, boy.” Cal unlatched the window, the autumn air cooling his flushed cheeks as his familiar nipped his finger with affection and flew into the night sky. He stared out across the forest where the distant lights of Calami lit the horizon. He would sell his soul before he ever let his uncle touch either Marudas sister, and he knew Icarus felt the same.
What did the Winter Solstice have to do with his uncle’s plans and how did the Marudas sisters play into it?
Chapter twenty-one
Seren Marudas
Itseemedphysicallyandmentally impossible to have as much energy as Roxie Laurier had despite the hour or the day’s burdens. Seren stared at her sister’s friend as she waved her hands dramatically imitating a first year who had apparently been traumatized by a conjured spirit in Professor Callahan’s elementals class. Irritation flared in her, familiar and insistent. Professor Callahan was obnoxiously kind and patient. It was possible it irritated her more that the woman wouldn’t allow her to dislike her. It would have been easier to explain away her persistent negative association with her.
“You were there, Seren! Tell them!” Roxie shoved an elbow into her arm earning her a glare.
“It wasn’t all that exciting. We were just using different elements to do basic conjuring. Elise used fire and conjured a low-level demon in a bad mood. There. Are you happy?”
Roxie let out an exasperated sigh. “Hardly. You didn’t even try. What’s wrong with you?”
Before she could answer, Bella reached out across the table and touched Seren’s hand that was resting on her magically warmed cocoa. “You do seem more withdrawn than usual. Is everything all right?”
Seren rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. I just got behind on coursework and it’s a lot.”
Bella nodded, her blonde hair bouncing with the movement. Disappointment lodged itself where it didn’t belong, burrowing deep inside her. Despite everything and the distance between them, she would have thought her sister would recognize the lie for what it was. Apparently, nothing had truly changed for them.
Her skin crawled, and she jerked her head towards the sensation finding Lily watching her carefully as she sat next to Ara. She tilted her head slightly and popped a chocolate into her mouth, never taking her eyes off Seren. The way her amethyst eyes watched her reminded her that the blood witch knew and saw things other people didn’t. The truth was that Lily knew her better than her own sister.
“Well, go work on it instead of bringing the rest of us down.” Roxie huffed.
“Someone needs to cancel out your insufferable energy,” Lily said.
Roxie’s mouth fell open, and she waved a hand lighting on her chest. “Moi?”
“Yes, you. I’m fairly certain you didn’t even take a breath for five minutes during your story that you didn’t even witness,” Lily corrected.
Roxie grinned. “Good thing I have you now to keep me honest.”
Lily rolled her eyes, but Seren saw the faint deepening of color on her cheeks. This incessant flirtation of Roxie’s had somehow started to wear down Lily’s walls and while Seren should have been happy for her friend, she was mostly irritated. Lily could absolutely do better than Roxanne Laurier who could flirt with a wall.
Seren stood from the table, the chair scratching on the worn wood of the floor. As soon as she was up her cup disappeared. Apparently, the vestus were quite eager this evening. Dipping down to grab her bag she noticed more grooves in the floor. She remembered Ara and Roxie saying the teachers were up to something in the dining hall each night, but she hadn’t noticed the evidence for herself before. Another thing to add to her list of questions for him.
“Don’t go, Renny. Roxie was just being Roxie,” Ara said as if that explained it all.
“Yes, Renny, please don’t go. You are such a ray of sun—” Seren snapped her fingers and Roxie’s words seemed to fill her mouth as she struggled to loosen her jaw. Her eyes flared wide with panic before understanding dawned on her and she placed her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands, looking at Seren with what could only be described as a pout.
Ara laughed, a delightful and lightly melodious sound. “I told you not to call her that.”
