“It’ll be all right,” Orren said, his voice a soft murmur meant to comfort.
I wanted to ask them about Hera’s Whip, but the leaden dread sitting in my stomach was answer enough—it was nothing good. I lacked the strength to chase the answer at the moment.
The forest began to relent, the twisted trees giving way to the manicured edge of the academy grounds. Ahead, the imposing silhouette of Ravencrux Tower speared the gloom, a blade of dark stone cutting into the sky. Even from this distance, I could feel its resonance, a familiar thrum of power woven into the very rock. Nero’s signature.
Before we crossed the final stretch to the tower, Morrigan stopped. Her gaze turned back the way we had come. “She’s safe now,” she said. “I need to go back. Nero will need tending.”
Dante gave a single, grim nod. “Go.”
My eyes slid to Morrigan, and the memory surfaced unbidden—her hands moving over the sculpted planes of Nero’s back in his study. His healer, he’d called her. A siren. A sharp, hot needle of jealousy pressed beneath my ribs. She was returning to him. To touch him. To offer a comfort I was now forbidden to give. Would he, in his pain, lower his guard for her? Would her siren’s pull become a solace I had ripped away?
The rules of this place tightened around me like a noose.
There was no win for me. Only varying shades of loss. If Nero turned to another, I would have to witness it. And I was still not safe, as the hunters seeking redheads still prowled the shadows. Had my choice to stay been a catastrophic mistake? And because of my decision, they were going to whip him.
Another broken sound escaped me before I could stop it. Dante’s hand closed around my elbow, his grip firm and warm.
“Do not let the doubt in, Carrot,” he said, his deep voice cutting through my spiraling. He had seen my look of devastation. “Trust your gut. You can always trusthim.”
“And you can trust us, Bloom,” Orren added. He’d showed me his fierce loyalty from day one. I clung to it in the absence of Nero.
As we crossed the warded threshold into the tower’s grand hall, silence descended over the gathered students, followed by a surge of unkind whispers. It was a walk of shame through a gallery of judgment, their eyes sharp with envy and curiosity, lips twisted in disgust.
Then Sindy was there. My roommate shoved through the onlookers, a flash of defiance in the gloom.
“Shut the fuck up and mind your own business!” she snapped at the nearest cluster of faces.
Dante barked, “Move. Or I’ll fucking move you.”
A visible ripple of fear passed through the crowd. The whispers died, and a path cleared before us, wide and wary.
We made for the stairs, Orren staying so close that his shoulder brushed mine, as if he expected my legs to give way at any moment. They nearly did. A deep, trembling exhaustion had settled into my bones. Each step upward was an effort.
On the sixth-floor landing, Sindy had the key in the lock in a heartbeat. I all but fell through the door into our room.
“Shut the door for now,” Dante commanded from the hallway. “I’m going hunting, but the hellhound will come to guard the room.”
The door clicked shut, and my legs gave out. I slid down to the floor, my back against the solid wood, utterly spent. The cold of the stone burned my skin, but I lacked the will to move.
Sindy sank down beside me. For once, she didn’t pry, didn’t ask for the story. She simply offered her presence in the quiet. After a moment, she rose, pulling me up with her, and guided me to my bed.
“Do you want a bath?” she asked gently.
I shook my head, the memory of Nero’s bath flooding back. I didn’t want to wash away his scent.
“Clean clothes?” she tried again.
Another shake of my head. I pulled his cloak tighter around me, burying my face in the collar where his scent lingered, faint sandalwood and the dark, distinctive essence that was his alone.
“I’ll make tea, then,” she said, and retreated.
I wanted to curl into a ball and sleep, to fall into oblivion and wake to a world put right.
Sindy returned with a steaming cup of sunflower tea, placed it on the bedside table, and gave my shoulder a light squeeze. I managed a nod of thanks, the gesture all I could muster. The warmth of the cup seeped into my hands, a small anchor in the stillness.
“You don’t have to tell me anything until you’re ready,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere. But you should know, Sebastian and I searched everywhere after you vanished. We finally thought you’d just left on the bus with the others.”
“A group of bounty hunters took me,” I whispered. “They tortured me. Threw me into an old well. They meant to kill me, but they didn’t succeed. Nero—Professor Ravencrux—and his men found me. They brought me back. I… I stayed with him.” I took a shaky breath. “I slept with him. And long before today, there was already something between us.” Sindy simply listened, her expression free of judgment. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. You warned me about the consequences of sleeping with a professor, but in the end, I just couldn’t help it.”
