‘You will mind your tongue!’ he growls.
It’s me who chuckles without humour now, using my shoulder to wipe at the blood. I ignore the sting and curl my hand tightly around the hilt of my dagger. ‘Touchy subject?’ I huff.
‘Your insolence knows no bounds and I’m growing weary of it.’ He steps toward me. My stomach pitches and I know despite the brave face I have on, with the sheer amount of power he emanates, I stand no chance against him.
‘Why’d you do it?’ I blurt, determined to keep him talking because I have no plan on what I’m doing down here with him. Not after what I just saw. I just need to hang on until Nicks or Sebastian can get down here and face him with me. I needtime. ‘Why’d you kill all of them? The names, the people written in the book.’Lukas … Xavier.
He stops, his brows rising in surprise.
‘I know it was you. I know about the spell you use to sacrifice them. I recognised your handwriting from my acceptance letter and the ones on your desk.’
‘Well, well, well. Aren’t you clever?’ He starts patronisingly slow clapping. ‘There’s only been six people over the years that detected what I was doing. So, colour me impressed that two of them happen to be siblings.’
I try not to let my surprise show on my face, tamping it down by biting the inside of my cheek.
‘Is that why you killed Lukas and blamed the murders on him? Because he discovered what you were doing?’
‘I wish it were that simple. But no. You see, your brother was supposed to be my next host, only things didn’t quite go to plan when he found out what I intended to do with him.’
‘Why?’ The word comes out on an exhale. ‘Why him? Why do all this? Why destroy people’s lives and kill innocents?’
‘Because I wasn’t ready to die. I wasn’t ready to give this up.’ His arms gesture around us. ‘I built it. It was mine long before it became an academy. The magic inside it. The people. The power. It’s allmine.’
‘One of the Stars built the academy,’ I argue, disbelief evident in my tone.
‘A Star?’ He smiles through a sneer. ‘I suppose thatiswhat I was once. Before I foolishly followed my siblings down here and became this.’ He waves at his body, as if he’s disgusted by it. ‘Eons I survived.Eons!’ he shouts.
‘Do you have any idea how demoralising it is to watch yourself deteriorate? To grow old and start to wither because your body can no longer contain the sheer amount of power inside of it ? It isdebilitating! That’s why I chose your brother; I needed someone stronger – someone who could withstand my power for longer.’
‘That doesn’t make sense.Achatesbuilt all this,’ I whisper. Though, even to my own ears, it sounds more like a question. It feels like I’m finally putting the last puzzle piece into an empty slot but I’m hesitating to let go. Because I don’t know if I’m quite ready to look at the completed picture.
‘Yes.I did.’ He takes a step closer, slow and calculated.
For the second time tonight, time seems to freeze as realisation comes rushing down on me. As his words penetrate, I realise how truly screwed I am. I realise what I’m standing in front of. Not a man obsessed withpower and unwilling to let it go. No, this … this is a Star.TheStar that created Valmora Academy.
Achates.
Who did not die alongside his siblings like we were told in stories and history books. But who has been travelling from one body to the next, from host to host, until the sheer magnitude of his power decays them. Killing them from the inside out until he has to perform the spell again and find a new host. And Lukas was supposed to be next.
It all makes sense now and yet; all I seem to have are more questions. Tentatively, I take a step back, my self-preservation instinctsfinallymaking themselves known as I seek distance from him. A shockingly cold sense of dread courses through my veins when I realise I asked Tilly to get help, without knowing what I was asking Nicks to walk into once he gets down here.
I realise that I might not ever see Tilly again. I might never feel her warm embrace or squeeze her hand in silent comfort. I might never see Jed or Lillian … my parents …
Sebastian.
My heart aches at the thought of never looking into his deep green eyes again. Of never feeling his calloused hands gently caress my skin or hearing the comforting timbre of his voice.
I will probably die down here. Achates won’t let me leave knowingwhoandwhathe is.
So don’t make it easy for him. I tell myself.You heard what he said, his body is weakening. If he was supposed to discard this one for Lukas’s body months ago, that means he’s weaker than he lets on.
Maybe I do have a chance …
With one last ditch effort to not make my exit of this world easy, I feign tripping over the old woman behind me. Using my legs to hide the hand searching within her robes for the silver object I spied when un sheathing my dagger from her skull. My fingers fumble blindly, pushing away fabric until finally I feel the sharp edge of a blade as it nicks at my skin, biting into the flesh. I push down the hiss of suddenpain and focus on pulling it from the belt at her waist, feeling relief wash through me that my gut was right.
When I rise, it’s with a dagger in each hand, though the one I stole is only half the length of mine. Small and lightweight – perfect for throwing. So that’s what I do. Before he can react, I fling the smaller dagger forward with a quick flick of my wrist. It slices through the air with speed, but unlike last time I don’t stand around to watch if it finds its target – hopefully his forehead.
Instead, I turn andrun.
