“Isaac is missing,” Eli said quietly.
I gasped. “What? How?”
“He told his dormmates he forgot his cloak in the training hall last night. They found it odd because he was wearing it when he left. It freaked them out, so two of his dormmates went to a professor but the other followed him. He’s in a coma in the hospital wing now,” he said. “He was found in the corridor near the dorms. No sign of Isaac anywhere.”
Fear and anger crawled across my skin. Something was coming—whoever was doing this wasn’t even trying to hide it anymore with their hypnotism. Everson, Malakai—they were involved in this. They had to be. It couldn’t be a coincidence. They all knew.
I slammed my fist against the table, drawing the others’ attention.
“He isn’t the first,” I said, and rose from my seat abruptly. “Cody was.”
Blake wasn’tin Meridian or Griffin Hall. There was only one place left to look—his tower. Running, I brushed past students, knocking into some. I ignored their irritated remarks, panting as I took flight after flight of stairs. The décor in this part of the castle changed as I got into the chambers used by diplomats of The Falls. It was dimly lit with lanterns and decorated in rich purples and reds that contrasted with the elegant, plush furniture. The symbol of the raven was elegantly woven into the curtains' embroidery.
I needed Blake to tell me the truth—to know he didn’t know what was going on and that he wasn’t protecting Malakai. He told me to come to him if I wanted answers. I didn’t just want them, Ineededthem.
Nothing made sense and none of this was right. Something evil was happening here and if the Aurkai weren’t going to stop Initiates from vanishing, then I would.
Taking a breath, finally, a calm, soothing feeling slowed my mind.
What was this?
I stopped running, my limbs heavy, and my head woozy.
I don’t know how, but I knew—he was doing this to me. Anger broke through as I realized. I was sick of being manipulated!
Terrified, I tried to run. As I turned the corner to Blake’s tower, I heard footsteps.Blake?My head pounded as I looked around for what I heard. Then, I felt it—there was someone behind me.
“Time for a nap.”
I turned, my body feebly attempting to block an attack, but it was too late. A crushing blow to my head knocked me to the floor. I tried to stand up but my vision was fading. Someone grabbed my feet, and I shifted my torso to try to break free of their hold, but my strength was failing.
After that, there was nothing.
My dreams were floodedwith shadows twisting in my mind. The memory of that night surfaced like a plague unleashed from the darkest depths. It harnessed my waking thoughts and suddenly I was back in my childhood home. I was in darkness. I could see my kitchen but it was blurry. The shadows were stretching all around me.
A deep and painful cold had reached the depths of my heart. These shadows—were they mine? They couldn’t be, right? But this cold was coming from within, so frigid was my heart I wasn’t sure it would ever beat again. I wasn’t ready. I couldn’t face it.
I retreated from the memory, but I was swept away by another.
An unfamiliar memory.
A memory that was not my own.
I was in the Catacombs, but I didn’t remember how I got here.
Suddenly, a man whose face I couldn’t see was pulling me toward him.
“Adelyna, will you marry me?”
My face became inflamed, and my heart beat itself against my chest furiously. I was growing faint. What was he doing? Was this a competition to him? A rivalry he was determined to win?
“You know I want to be with you,” I whispered.
His eyes narrowed, an action so minuscule that I barely caught it but it was the most terrifying thing I’d ever seen. I could feel his power beating within him and I broke eye contact.
“Of course, I will marry you.”
A soft collective gasp sounded throughout the room. No one cheered.
