“That day at the pond.And in the catacombs.And here under the willow.”I swallowed.“Was that just…part of the Trials?Was any of it real?”
“Yes,” Darion insisted, reaching for my shoulders.“It was all real, and it still is.”
“You were the thief in Orlik’s study,” I said, a statement rather than a question.Darion nodded, and the confirmation made me flinch.
“Why did you hide so much from me?”I asked.
“It’s complicated.I’m oath-bound by the Order of Emberlight.I’ll explain what I can, but first I have to askyoua question.Do you still want to complete the Emberlight Trials?”
“Yes,” I said emphatically.“I have to, now more than ever.”
“Good,” Darion said.“I wanted to be sure that hadn’t changed.I can tell you more when you finish the Trials.I’ve been bending the rules for you.”
“Why?”
He hung his head, eyes on the ground.“I couldn’t help myself.”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought that might be obvious,” Darion said.He looked up, his expression deadly serious.“I’m mad about you, Cas.I have been since the moment I saw you in that study.”
My pulse sped up as I looked into Darion’s eyes, which were filled with longing.I wanted so badly to kiss him again, but I wasn’t ready to forgive him yet.I cleared my mind of those thoughts and focused on things I needed to know.
“About that night in the study…what was so important about that book?”
Darion paused and looked around, then spoke in a soft tone.“The book has a list of known Emberborn and Orlik’s plans to capture and corrupt them.”
“Corruptthem?”
He looked around again.“We shouldn’t be talking about this out in the open.Would you be okay with going to my place?It’s not far.”
I wasveryinterested in seeing where he lived.So much about him was a mystery.But I also didn’t want him to deflect what I wanted to know.“You promise you’ll answer my questions?”
“I promise to tell you what I can.”
That sounded like a half promise.But I understood the responsibilities that came with being honor-bound.How many lies had I told in the service of fulfilling my mother’s dying wish that I protect my sister?I’d have to take what I could get.
“Let’s go,” I said.
Darion led me out of the cavern, and we twisted through the Underworld’s back alleys.Soon we came to a staircase that led to the Merchant District.We reached an unassuming home, neither lavish nor run down, made from stone and mortar.His house was sparse, with only a few furnishings and little in the way of decorations.A lute sat on a stand next to a comfortable-looking chair by the fireplace, and various books were strewn about.
“It’s not much, but it’s home,” Darion said.“Now, ask away.We should be safe to talk here.”
“You said the book contained plans to corrupt the Emberborn.What does that mean?”
“Very few Emberborn have been convinced to turn on their own kind through normal means: torture, blackmail, coercion.So the Crown devised something more nefarious.Nobody knows exactly how it works, but it results in their minds being corrupted.Once it’s done, they become subservient slaves.”
“Dust, that’s horrible.”
“One of the Order of Emberlight’s goals is to figure out how and where they do this corruption.We’ve wanted that book for a long time.”
“How did you justhappento be in the study at the same time as me?That seems like a remarkable coincidence.”
Darion looked down.“We knew you were robbing Orlik that night.The Order of Emberlight has eyes everywhere.”Darion looked back at me with a pinched face, gauging my reaction.
“So you were trying to set me up to take the blame,” I said, the words coming out hot.This confirmed one of my worst suspicions—that I was being manipulated.
“The Order wanted to deflect suspicion.I hated the plan, and I wouldn’t have agreed to it if I thought you’d get caught.But it was still wrong, and for that I am deeply sorry.It’s my biggest regret.”
