“It’s fine.” My face heats, and I’m grateful for the darkness. “Thank you.”
He nods, not meeting my eyes, then turns to continue across the causeway.
When we reach the tower, he leads us through the entrance on the fourth floor. The interior smells like salt and old stone, and then I’m thinking about Oliver, remembering the night we came here for the Forge Party at the beginning of the year.
“Some doors only open for the worthy ones who know the right words.”
It sounded like he was talking about the rumored ghosts that haunt the tower.
But he wasn’t talking about ghosts at all, was he? He was talking about the passages, right there in front of everyone, and none of us understood.
“Avery?” Tobias stops on the stairs, and his hand lifts like he might reach for me again, then falls back to his side.
“I’m fine.” The lie comes automatically. “Just... memories.”
He nods as if that explains everything, then leads us down the spiral staircase to the third floor, pushing open the heavy door that leads inside.
Old furniture from when the tower was a functioning lighthouse fills the space. A faded couch with stuffing coming out in places sits near the wall, and a stone table scarred with decades of carved initials is in the center, surrounded by chairs that look like they might collapse if you breathed on them too hard.
Tobias moves to the window and stares out at the dark water. The moonlight catches his profile, illuminating the sharp line of his jaw and the tired hollows beneath his cheekbones. He looks younger from this angle. More fragile.
His shoulders are rigid, and when he finally speaks, he doesn’t turn to face me.
“Before we do this, I need to explain something.”
My stomach tightens, and I stop breathing for a second. “Okay.”
“I haven’t been avoiding you because I don’t want to help.” His hands grip the windowsill, as if he needs support. “I’ve been avoiding you because Helen’s been monitoring my movements since we arrived on the island.”
I lean forward, wishing he’d show me his face. “Why would she care about you talking to me?”
“I don’t know.” He finally turns, and his haunted eyes are watching me carefully, as if he’s scared I’ll run. “But she warned me to keep my distance from you. She said you were of particular interest to the investigation.”
Of particular interest.
What does that mean? Why would the Council care about me? I’m no one important. I’m just Oliver’s emberlinked partner, the girl left behind when he disappeared.
“Do you think she knows about my memories being wrong?” I ask, barely above a whisper.
“If she does, she didn’t tell me.” He crosses the room toward me, and each step is slow, like every inch closer is another rule he’s breaking. “But I’m going to help you. I owe you that much.”
I tilt my head, confused. “What do you mean by that?”
“The Forge Party in the Obsidian Caves. The hellhounds.” He stops talking, years of pain and regret crossing his face. “You were right there next to me, and then you weren’t. I tried to find you, but then one of thosethingscame at me, and it was a secondaway from killing me. So, I fire traveled out of there… and you almost died because of it.”
My lungs tighten, and for a second I’m back in the caves, remembering the screaming, the red eyes in the dark, the panicked crowd, and being separated from Tobias.
I knew he and Helen left. Everyone did, and most of us understood why, since the Council isn’t full of warriors. They’re politicians, scholars, and witches gifted with unique magic that they use to maintain order in the supernatural world. They have others do their dirty work—witches like Kieran who are trained for battle, or the shifter guardians that witches created centuries ago to protect us from vampires.
And the look on Tobias’s face isn’t one of a person who made that choice easily—even though we barely knew each other at the time. It’s the look of someone who’s been drowning in guilt, replaying it every night since.
“Then make it right.” I hold his gaze, my eyes wide, my heart hammering. “Help me now.”
“I will.” He exhales and nods once, like I’ve given him an order he’s grateful for. “But whatever we find, we keep it between us. If another Council member finds out, they have the power to make us both disappear.”
Like Oliver, Callie, Professor Thaddeus, Logan, and Jade.
How long is this list going to get?
