I didn’t give a fuck about his opinion, but I was trembling, despite the shadow and foliage I’d woven to coat myself. Morrigan might’ve healed me after the kidnapping, but I hadn’t fully recovered. And I was spent after weaving the blood threads to break the net. My legs felt unsteady, my vision blurring at the edges.
Nero was at my side in an instant, his strong arms wrapping around me. He conjured a cloak and draped it over me. The warm fabric carried his powerful male scent mixed with a hint of sandalwood.
Kingsley jabbed a finger toward us. “Well, Stardust? Ravencrux and his little...friendhave been quite thorough in violating the cardinal rule. What do you intend to do about it?”
Stardust rubbed her temple, then her gaze hardened. “What I intend is for the three of us to sit down and discuss this likeadults—assuming any of you remember how. Everyone else. Get out.”
I swallowed. Before I could even think to flee, Nero’s arm tightened around my waist. Our secret was now in the open, and he had no intention of letting me go.
“Bloom stays,” he said, his voice hard and final. “As for the rest…” He flicked his wrist. A wave of merciless shadows burst outward, sweeping Kingsley’s remaining minions up throughthe shattered ceiling. Their screams faded into a violent twister above.
“You have no right to banish my men!” Kingsley hissed.
“You’re fortunate I did not slaughter all of your pricks,” Nero replied. “But mark my word, they’ll pay for their sins.”
“And yet you’re the worst sinner,” Kingsley snorted.
“Stop bickering for a second!” Stardust’s voice cut through their argument. “Nero, you broke the academy’s most fundamental rule.”
“The rule is bullshit,” Nero said.
“He simply couldn’t help himself,” Kingsley sneered.
“And you, Kingsley,” Stardust snapped, “you never should have brought outsiders within these walls. That, too, carries consequences.”
“You’re going soft on him,” Kingsley said. “Or shall we pretend there is no history between you? That you weren’t the one who helped him build this place to shield?—”
Stardust’s gaze hardened. Kingsley swallowed the rest of his words, the silence that followed colder than any rebuke.
Stardust’s eyes flicked to me before settling on Nero. “Bloom must be punished.”
“No.” Nero’s voice was harsh, uncompromising. “She didn’t cross the line. I forced it.”
“No!” The word tore from me before I could leash it. Nero shot me a reproachful look, but this was where I drew the line. I would not let him paint himself a monster, a rapist, in anyone’s eyes, not even to spare me. “It was mutual. It was consensual. And I enjoyed it.”
“Fine.” Stardust sighed. “I’ll give you a choice, Miss Aurelius. Option one: you will be banished and never see Professor Ravencrux again. We will ensure it with a blood vow.”
My heart sank. The prospect of never seeing Nero again hollowed me out, poking a hole straight through my soul.
“Take this option, and you walk away unscathed,” she continued, her voice chillingly reasonable. “I understand you never wished to come to Reaper Academy. You would lose nothing. All you have to do is wash your hand clean of him. We can make it easier. We will erase your memory of these months. It will be as if they never happened. You could return to your old life, precisely as you were. No one will touch you.”
I swallowed, my throat tight. My gaze flicked to Nero. His face was a storm, but in the depths of his eyes, I saw a flash of raw vulnerability before the shutters slammed down. This would be my choice. He would have to abide by it.
“And the second option?” I asked, the words scraping out of me.
Stardust’s expression softened into something almost like pity. “You won’t survive it.”
Chapter
Three
Bloom
The Hard Option
“Let’s hear it,” I said, my stubborn streak surfacing.
Stardust’s sigh was weary, as if she was already mourning my choice. “You will be stripped to the waist and bound to the iron post in the courtyard before the entire school. Then you will receive fifteen lashes from an iron-belt whip, administered by the executioner. Should you survive, you will serve one month in the dungeon beneath Kingsley Tower. But if you emerge, you may remain at the academy.” Her gaze held a grim finality. “Commit the same transgression twice, and the punishment will be more severe. Though I doubt you would survive even this first sentencing.”
