‘Because you’ll take away the pain,’ Xavier states, devoid of … anythinghim. ‘You’ll make them stop.’ My heart fractures.
‘What did you do to him?’ I ask, disgusted. ‘What have you done to myfriend?’
Bartollo doesn’t answer me though; instead, he finally turns to Xavier. The hold Bartollo has on Xavier’s chin shifts as he brings both hands torest on either side of his victim’s face. What looks like affection dances across Bartollo’s expression.
‘That’s right.’ He nods. ‘I can take away the pain. But you see, I was counting on you, Xavier.’ Bartollo’s voice deepens, losing the warm and placating tone. ‘You had a job to do and you failed me.’
Xavier’s eyes lift. There’s a small divot in between his brows as confusion takes over. ‘I tried—’
‘Trying isn’t good enough,’ Bartollo interrupts, tutting at him as he pats his cheek. And then in one quick second, far too quick for me to react, Bartollo grabs hold of Xavier’s head. One hand near his jaw, the other at the back of his skull. With a viciously fast twist, a sound that will haunt me for the rest of my life reverberates through the tunnel.
A sharp crack.
Xavier’s lifeless body hits the floor with a thud, his limp head bouncing against the stone. His last moments, the last vestiges of light in his eyes are stolen from me as his face is tilted away from my sight.
My stomach drops. Time fractures. My breath stills. My chest spasms, and then I scream.
‘No!’
My voice is raw, cracked open. Bile rises up my throat. My legs stumble forward, desperate to run to him and shield his body with mine. To scream at him to wake up. To tell him it’s okay and that I know he was just scared and grabbing onto whatever hope he could find. That I forgive him and it’s not his fault. That I didn’t want this ending for him. But Bartollo’s voice halts me mid-step.
‘Ireallydidn’t want to do that. His mind was quite exhilarating to be inside of.’
Inside of? ‘W-why … ?’ My words get stuck in my throat as my eyes shift from Xavier to Bartollo and back. ‘You were in his head?’
‘It’s just a little trick that keeps me from getting my hands dirty, but it seems this time, I’ll have to.’ He scowls down at Xavier, using the toe of his polished shoe to tilt his chin up.
‘Don’t touch him!’ I snap and now, I do lunge forward. Unable to stop myself, I run toward Xavier. Bartollo controlled his mind. He somehow got inside of his head and manipulated it. I want to cry. No. I want to tear him apart.
Bartollo’s hand snaps out before I can reach Xavier and a surge of ice-cold air slams into my chest and sends me sprawling back several feet. ‘You cry for him even after he betrayed you?’ he asks, as if he cannot fathom the notion of my grief.
‘He didn’t betray me. That wasyou. Xavier was myfriend,’ I bite back, hating how my voice quivers. I clamber back to my feet.
‘Friends don’t exist in this world, Miss Nocthare. There are only those who need you, so they keep you close. And when they no longer need you …’ he glances at Xavier’s lifeless body again, ‘… they discard you. Unless you get the chance to do it first.’
‘Maybe you’ve just had shitty fucking friends,’ I snap, anger bubbling to the surface, heating the sorrow in my veins and turning it to rage. ‘Let me guess, you killed all of them too.’
A faint smile tugs at his lips, but his milky eyes remind cold, detached – hollow, like there’s nothing behind them but a predator. ‘You speak so brazenly. Do you have no self-preservation?’
‘Must have left it in my other robe,’ I snap. My hands shake at my sides with barely contained rage.
‘Have you always had such a smart mouth?’
‘Yeah. Got it from mybrother,’ I let my words hang heavy in the air, hoping he feels the weight of them.
His eyes narrow as if the mere thought of Lukas displeases him. ‘Ah, yes. Your desperate endeavour to prove his innocence. Mr. Davis told me all about it. Tell me, what did you find while snooping around down here?’
Something I hope Tilly is relaying to Nicks as we speak, because I refuse to believe she hasn’t made it out. I refuse to lose another friend down here.
‘Enough to have you imprisoned by the Council. More so now that I watched youmurdera student.’
A sharp laugh erupts from his throat, chilling me to the bone. Why is that funny?
‘The Council?’ He chuckles again, slowly regaining his composure. ‘I created the Council. Iamthe Council. I am untouchable.’
‘No one is untouchable,’ I say. ‘Not even a thief like you. Tell me,Headmaster, how many sessions a week are the healers working on your deteriorating sight now?’
He reacts before I can blink, sending a slash of wind so sharp it slices across my skin like a blade, cutting into my cheek. I feel my flesh split open and blood start to trickle down to my jaw.
