“Promise me you will not get close to him,” he says, stopping her thoughts.
“But what about the debate?”
“Leave it alone, Starling.”
Wind sweeps between them. Claudia shivers. “I can’t do that. If I don’t win, I’ll never be valedictorian, and I won’t get the blessing.”
“You don’t need a blessing,” he says, his tone mocking. “You only need to uphold your bargain with me. I will give you all that I have once I am free.”
“You can’t offer what I want.” Her eyes turn watery. “I’m trying to see my mother again. Only a god could grant that.”
He grimaces. “Trust me. No blessing is worth the risk of getting close to a MacLeod. Let it go.”
She shakes her head, but his grip tightens so much on her waist that it squeezes the air from her lungs. A whimper escapes her lips.
“Promise me,” he growls.
She blinks hard, trying to hide the fear in her eyes. “I promise.”
“Good. Now go. I have nothing more for you.”
Her heart is pounding when she wakes.
Cassius MacLeod could be a killer. How did she not see this before?
But she can’t stay away from him, no matter what she promised Dorian. She has to win, consequences be damned. If he is a killer, surely he wouldn’t kill her before the debate. He’s too eager to humiliate her publicly. He wouldn’t deny himself the chance.
And if he tries to hurt her, she’ll run back to Dorian and let him handle it. He can kill Cassius with one sleep. Either way, Claudia wins.
Cassius has no idea who he’s dealing with.
He might be a killer, but so is she.
She stands and opens the curtains in her room. It’s still dark outside. Her timepiece says it’s three in the morning. She has hours until she’s expected in class, so she sets up her desk to read until it’s time to leave.
From her nightstand, she grabs a lit candle. When she crosses the room, the flame pulses in her mirror, and she catches a glimpse of herself.
Her stomach bottoms out.
She’s covered in blood. Dripping, soaking, shaking. It’s everywhere—in her eyes, her ears, her mouth. She takes a breath to scream, but the blood floods her lungs. Her knees give out and she falls to the floor, clawing at her throat, begging for air. Bishop slithers from his spot on the bed and rushes toward her. When she picks him up, the feeling of hot blood disappears.
She looks back at her reflection, and she’s clean.
Her face is stained with nothing but snot and tears.
And when she stands, there’s another diary entry waiting for her on the bed.
October 31st
I know now why Cassius cannot best me in class.
He cannot talk to Malevimus.
He cannot talk to the godsat all.
He told me tonight. There is some ancient curse on his family’s line. No one knows but me.
- Why are you telling me? I asked him.
