My heart misses a beat. Edith never showed up.
Neither did Nils. Or Father.
Suddenly, a glass shatters on the floor.
Then the screaming begins.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVENEDITH
“Are you sure you have everything this time?” I ask Nils as we leave his house. We didn’t get far from Odin Hall before he realized he forgot something.
He rubs the back of his neck, laughing. “Sorry about that.”
“It’s fine,” I say, eager to get going. Nils is taking his time. He seems like he’s in no rush to get to the Unity Dance, but I can’t wait to see my family and friends. “I just don’t want to be late. We should hurry.”
The creepy statue of Egill watches while we cut across the quad.
I squeeze the stems of the wildflower bouquet, feeling a little queasy. No one else is around, and I can hear the low thump of music from inside the gym even though the doors are closed. Looks like the Unity Dance has already begun.
“I’m just a little nervous,” Nils admits. “In case you couldn’t tell.”
He must be worried about what Dorian will do to him at the dance.
I bump his shoulder with mine. “Don’t worry, it’ll be great.”
“Right. Yeah.” Nils nods, but he still seems uneasy.
When we reach the gym doors, he stops instead of going in.
I pause, confused. “Is everything okay?”
“It will be soon,” he says, sliding a knife out of his pocket.
“Nils?” I stumble back, suddenly dizzy. “What are youdoing?”
He doesn’t come after me. Instead, he calmly slices open his palm and smears blood over the doors in the shape of a strange symbol. Not a symbol, a stave. I blink a few times, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing, but my mind feels sluggish.
“There,” Nils says once he’s finished. “No one will be leaving the dance now.”
What the hell is going on? He turns to face me, his expression darkening. His eyes glint the same way my dad’s used to. I back away from him slowly, my head spinning.
I try to run, but my knees give out.
Nils catches me. “It’s all right, I have you.”
The flower bouquet falls from my hands. My limbs feels weak.
“What did you do to me?” I ask, panicked. “Why do I—”
“Lupine,” Nils says. “I hid some inside your bouquet, in case you recognized it. You didn’t even notice, did you? You should really be more familiar with one of your only weaknesses.”
His words don’t make any sense. I’m only half-aware, unable to move, as Nils picks me up in his arms. Since when is Nils strong enough to carry me? Everything is moving fast and slow at the same time. The dizziness is getting worse, the ground seeming to spin more with each step he takes. I have to close my eyes against the sudden swell of nausea.
When I open them again, we’re outside the seer school.
No one is around—everyone is at the dance. I try to scream, but I can’t. I can’t even form words. My mouth feels like it’s stuffed full of cotton balls. I fight to keep my eyes open, but my eyelids grow too heavy.
The world goes dark.
