“He doesn’t know where she is, either.” I’m glad I can be honest.
“No?”
“No.”
He sighs, rests a hand on my shoulder, and gives it a friendly squeeze. It turns into an embrace as he tugs me forward, arms quickly wrapping around me. We hold each other tightly.
I know.My heart whispers what I can’t bring myself to say.I know I’ll have to start giving my trust completely.The Worldkeepers, Sorza, the Majors, Kaelis—they all want my complete trust…but how can I after all that I’ve lost?
“All right,” he says, finally releasing me. “Until you’re ready to let others help, what’re we doing about Arina?”
“I’ll stay with her tonight. Go and keep hunting for Silas’s family.”
“I meant in general,” he clarifies.
“We’ll do as we have been.”
“What if I need to leave? What if it’s for more than quickly stealing food from the kitchens?” He frowns, glancing to the cracked door. “What if I’m gone when you can’t be here?”
I think to the other night and how I ran off after she dozed. “Try to wait until she’s asleep and lock the door. She usually doesn’t get out of bed on her own, right?”
“Not usually, but sometimes…”
“Then it’ll be fine.”
“Clara—”
“I’m not letting anyone else I don’t completely trust be alone with her,” I say with a note of finality.
“Fine.” He sighs. “Figure out a lock for the door.”
After he leaves, I do—I fashion a simple latch on the outside with the help of the Three of Coins. Making such a tiny thing is perfect for that card. Then I settle in with my books, falling asleep on one of the sofas covered in blankets I’ve absconded with over the past few weeks.
I’m jolted awake as Gregor returns. I show him the lock and leave, groggy, dragging my feet to my room, where I freshen up before heading to the dining hall for breakfast.
Everything is relatively normal, until the doors to the main hall slam open without warning.
Prince Ravin strides in, his black hair immaculately coiffed. At his side is his wife, Leigh Strongborn. The woman wears a variant of Stellis plate, with a heavy sword on her hip as though she is prepared for battle.
And then there is Emilia.
Scars are etched across her like spiders’ webs. The skin around them is pulled taut, uneven. One runs from her hairline down across her face and to her neck. Another runs over her mouth, leaving her with a permanent scowl. The scarring continues past her neck and under the high collar of her plate.
But the scars aren’t simply gnarled and discolored flesh. Magic has been embossed into her skin in an unnatural way I’ve never seen before. The scars shimmer faintly under the light in the same prismatic way ink does before it dries.
Even her eyes look different, their golden hue a bit duller, as if a part of her very essence was stripped. But the cold fury I last saw in her stare remains. No…it’s become something more. She was already ruthless; now she’s monstrous.
A squadron of Stellis march behind Emilia, Ravin, and Leigh and then fan out, lining the perimeter of the room. It takes all my power to look shocked but not guilty. Not afraid. Yet my eyes meet Vaduin’s for a second, and even he has the glint of panic in his wide-eyed stare.
At nearly the same time, Kaelis rises from the table. He balls his hands into fists and then clearly forces them to relax.
“Ravin.” His greeting carries through the room, edged with a quiet threat. “If you wanted an invitation to my academy, all you had to do was ask.”
Ravin merely smiles slightly in response.
It’s Emilia who steps forward, every movement pained, and speaks. “Until further notice, Arcana Academy is undermycontrol.”
Chapter 37
