The name alone sent chills coursing through my bloodstream. An icy dread settled in my gut. Kingsley’s triumph and Stardust’s stricken reaction told me everything I needed to know.
This was not just a punishment. It was far worse.
As soon as the headmistress’s ward fell, Morrigan, Dante, and Orren surged into the room. Fury tightened their features as they took in the wreckage and Kingsley standing smugly amidst it.
Kingsley darted his gaze to me and gestured sharply. “The girl waits in the dungeons until the lashing.”
Nero moved, a blur of lethal grace, placing himself squarely between us. His trio closed ranks at his back, an unbreakable wall of muscle and menace.
“Fuck off,” Nero snarled. “Touch her, and I will battle you until one of us is dead.”
A tense and violent silence stretched between them. Kingsley’s gaze flickered to the three warriors surrounding Nero, calculating his odds.
He exhaled through his nose. “Then my guards stand watch outside her door.”
“Do send your entire troop into my tower.” Nero smiled coldly. “But they won’t walk out alive.”
Kingsley’s face flushed with rage, but he knew when he was outmatched. With a seething glare, he turned and stormed from the room, his cape cutting through the damp air behind him.
The moment the enemy professor left, Nero turned to his team. “Get her to the tower. Now.”
“Nero—” I tried, but Morrigan was already steering me toward the door.
“We’ll keep you safe,” Dante said, falling into step beside us.
“See that you do,” Nero replied, his voice low. His trust in them was absolute.
I wanted to dig in my heels, refuse to let him suffer for me. But his eyes held mine, a sharp, silent command to go. His hands were clenched, his entire body vibrating with the effort of holding himself back from crossing the room and reaching for me.
“Come on, Mistress Bloom,” Orren murmured.
I pulled the cloak tighter around myself, trying to ward off a cold that had settled deep in my bones. The three of them closed around me, a shield of muscle and loyalty, and led me away.
I glanced back.
Nero stood amidst the wreckage, rain soaking his hair and streaking down his face. He looked ravaged. Immortal.
Each step away from him tore at something inside my chest. I wanted to fight, to run back, to take my own punishment. But Morrigan’s hold was unyielding, Dante blocked my path, and Orren’s quiet presence offered no escape.
“Go, love.” Nero’s voice threaded towards me like dark silk in the downpour. “Everything will be fine.”
The tender lie lodged in my ribs, but I knew with cold dread that it wouldn’t be fine.
Chapter
Four
Bloom
Puzzle and Myth
Dante, Orren, and Morrigan led me through the Obsidian Wilds, a tight formation with me sheltered in their midst.
I walked with my head down, defeated. Each step was an effort, my legs heavy with dread. Though Nero’s cloak was wrapped tightly around me, I couldn’t stop shivering, a deep, inward tremor born not of cold but of consequence.
The anguish in Nero’s eyes as we were torn apart burned in my mind. He’d be tortured because of me. Because I hadn’t been strong enough to leave.
A small, broken sound escaped my throat—part sob, part surrender—lost in the muffling fog.
