Sebastian did a double glance at me, no doubt recognizing that I was possibly about to lose control. “Go back to the common room and wait. We got this.”
I didn’t argue.
I sprinted down and out of the infirmary ward, past Pia and Kohen, not stopping until I was back in the common room, immediately pacing around the space in angst.
Venay was dead.
Dead.
We fucking killed her.
How was I going to explainthatto Archer?
My breathing quickened into shallow, deprecating inhales. I clutched my chest, focusing extra hard to draw air into my seized lungs.
Sure, we got some of the information we’d been needing, but now our only resource was dead. The only person besides Beaumont who knew what was in Cicily's journal—gone.
Pia and Kohen barged into the common room without warning, slamming the door behind them.
“What happened? Why’d you run out of there like that?” Pia panted. It was obvious the two of them ran back here as well.
“We—We—Venay—She’s…dead.” My words came out scattered through my hyperventilation. I grabbed at my scalp, fisting my hair in my hands as I fell cross-legged on the floor.
“Dead?” Kohen repeated. “You guys killed her?”
“No. Well, yes. But not on purpose,” I sputtered while roaming over all of the panicked thoughts consuming me. How would I explain this to Archer?Oh hey, Dad, by the way, your wife was cheating on you with Cyprian fucking Beaumont, while plotting against us and Lumosia. Oh, also, she’s dead. Sorry.
Either Pia or Kohen spoke to me, but I couldn’t tell who or what they were saying. We weresoscrewed. So unbelievably screwed.
Slumped in front of the fireplace I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to figure out a plan for what to do now. My back burned from the flame, but I couldn't move.
Minutes passed, then without warning, Sebastian was crouched in front of me, his presence pulling me back to reality. “Are you okay?” He put a hand on my knee.
Before I could respond, my eyes rose towards the commotion at the entryway.
“Did you do that on purpose?” Kade shoved Sawyer into the common room before slamming the door behind them.
Sawyer furrowed his eyebrows. I knew he wanted to, but he refrained from pushing back. “No. But after hearing what she said, I saved us all some time. We would have killed her anyway.”
“We could have gotten more information out of her first.” Kade’s fists clenched by his sides as he sucked in a deep breath, likely to keep himself from losing his shit.
“Can someone tell me what's going on?” Kohen stepped between them. “Maeve’s been pretty much nonverbal since she got here. What went down back there?”
Sebastian pulled me to my feet, directing me to the sofa where he sat beside me. “Sawyer grabbed the wrong vial.”
“It seems that I poisoned the bitch.” Sawyer performed an open-palmed shrug. “She deserved it, though. She was working with Beaumont, just like we suspected.”
“She wiped the journal,” Sebastian added. His hand still lingered on top of mine, his thumb gently rubbing my knuckle. “Which really fucking sucks because apparently it had information about Beaumont’screaturesin there.”
“What kind of information?” Pia asked.
“I guess my mother saw how to make them. Venay was unenchanting the journal for Beaumont to read. It seems that she copied some down before she wiped it, though.”
Pia put her hands on her hips, tapping her heel on the floor. “That doesn’t make sense, though. Why would she help us find it if she didn’t want us to see what was written? She could have just lied and never even mentioned it.”
“She made a blood bond with Seb’s mom.” Sawyer took a seat, kicking his boots off. “There was information about helping him in there, and since Seb was in danger, she would have broken the bond by not helping us find it. But since we saved Seb and found the journal at the same time, she was able to wipe it when we brought it to her.”
“But wouldn'tthatbreak the whole keeping Seb safe thing?” Kohen asked. “Her unenchanting the journal to share its contents with Beaumont?”
