Chapter 31 June
JUNE
How to push someone to take a life,” a light voice read over June’s shoulder.
June jerked, dropping her highlighting pen, and snapped her book shut.
A hand lifted the overhanging branch and a tall figure stepped into view.
He was smiling, that was the first thing June noticed.
He didn’t want to scare her. It helped a little.
The stranger’s skin was a pretty shade of bronze, the exact shade of autumn.
And no texture or blemish graced his angular face.
He did not blink for a very long time. All of which told her he was a dranaic.
But it was his headband, gold, which covered his forehead, that demanded her urgent focus.
“You,” June said in wonder.
“Have we met before?” Even his question smiled.
“Your headband.” June studied the long dancing ribbons among his locs. “You’ve been watching me.”
“Ah, I haven’t introduced myself yet,” he said. “I’m Taj Zuri.”
June recalled the name, often whispered around the Nefrasi estate. Some vampires spoke about him with a smile, recalling the silly antics he got up to. While others categorized him as a traitor along with Susenyos Sagad and Iniko Obu.
If he was here, it was for nothing good.
A familiar chorus of bones clinked in her mind. Warde was with Professor Andreyas for his induction lessons, but he must have sensed her anxiety, and he spoke as if he were right next to her. Directly into her mind.
Should I come? he asked.
Taj’s eyes remained open. They weren’t dark and dangerous like Kidan’s or wild like Samson’s.
No, June spoke back after a moment. It’s fine.
Be careful. Do not trust him.
I won’t.
Taj raised a curious brow as the silence extended between them.
Then he invited himself to join her, stretching his long legs beside her.
June shuffled aside, making him smile. He wore a too-tight shirt that revealed the outline of his stomach muscles.
It made June want to fetch him a jacket and fix her gaze on his shoes.
They were under a wawri tree that smelled like mint and cloves, its sap was useful for a hunger-curbing brew.
June had chosen to sit here because it still amazed her how Uxlay decorated itself in plant species that weren’t native to this country.
She could visit all the gardens without tiring, taking notes in her journal.
And it distracted her from Qara Umil’s face.
The way it shattered when she found out she’d failed Dranacti this semester.
The guilt ate away at June for so long, she considered dropping out.
But she had to stay until she figured out what to do with Kidan and the mask.
You cannot let her touch that mask. It wasn’t Warde’s voice this time. He never ordered her, never made her wish she could crawl into the ground and hide. June had two voices in her mind at all times. Luckily, she often blocked out the one that wasn’t Warde.
“So your book.” Taj’s gaze slid down to her book again. It was titled Moral of the Soul. “It’s about pushing someone to take a life? Care to explain?”
June’s whole body stiffened. Think. Think. “It’s for… Dranacti.”
At this, something in his face dimmed slightly. “Oh.”
“It’s all theoretical,” June rushed to say, large eyes wide.
“Of course.”
They slipped into an awkward silence, and June studied his shoes, boots laced up to the ankles. What did he want?
“I can help you, you know.” Taj offered an easy smile. “With Dranacti.”
Suspicion knotted inside June. “You’re Susenyos’s friend.”
“Proudly.”
“And he hates me.”
Taj leaned back on his palms and studied the blue sky. “The good news is Yos usually hands off people he hates to me.”
June swallowed, preparing to reach for Warde. “To what? Kill them?”
“No, that’s Iniko’s specialty.”
June must have made a sound because he chuckled. “A joke. Iniko’s actually quite gentle.”
Iniko Obu was probably as gentle as a lion. From her time with the Nefrasi she had learned Iniko was Arin’s favorite soldier, which meant she could kill with just a claw.
“It’s helpful to have a vampire on your side,” Taj continued. “You’ll have an interesting task ahead of you soon.”
That was true.
“Getting an article of clothing from a vampire?” June asked.
Taj cocked his head, chestnut eyes catching a shaft of light. “Prof doesn’t usually announce the task until the day of.”
Careful, Warde warned again, and June bit her lip. This was why June avoided talking to dranaics in Uxlay. They knew everything someone June’s age should and shouldn’t know. And it was a constant challenge to act like she didn’t know anything.
After a moment, Taj said, “It’s a shame you joined Dranacti this semester. No Gala this season but it’s still my favorite task. If you wish, I can save a piece of my clothing for you.”
June lifted her lashes. He watched her intently, with all his focus aimed toward her like he was memorizing every angle of her features. She quickly looked away.
It was more than obvious Taj Zuri wanted something from her, probably the location of the Nefrasi hideout. June wouldn’t betray them like that, but it didn’t mean Taj couldn’t help her. He seemed quite chatty.
“Okay.”
Taj’s lips stretched into a handsome smile, making her wonder what she’d said to earn such a reaction.
“And in exchange?” she asked carefully. “What do you want?”
“I have questions.”
“I can’t tell you where the Nefrasi hideout is.”
Taj didn’t lose his temper. Though she waited for it with bated breath. Sometimes, Samson would act calm before he sent his metal arm through someone’s chest.
Instead, he lifted a thick brow, making the headband covering his forehead shift upward. Quickly, he pulled it down before it revealed his skin. “That’s fine. Tell me about this book.”
The book had a ribbon and June played with it nervously. “I’m curious about what makes people want to kill.”
“Dark.” His tone was teasing. “Are you thinking of killing someone?”
A jolt went through her at how casually he asked about such a thing. “Of course not.”
Taj’s eyes lingered on her face. June hoped it was neutral. She hated how her face gave away everything she was feeling and it hurt her jaw to look so serious. Smiling was more natural.
“What would make you kill?” she asked, glad to aim the spotlight on him.
Taj was quiet for some time. “Not sure. I’ve never taken a life.”
“Never?”
“Never.”
“But you’re a vampire.”
“A failed one according to Arin.” Taj smiled but it wasn’t like the one before. It strained a little. “I don’t kill.”
Wind caught June’s cheeks and ruffled her skirt, the hem kissing her ankles. Her mouth opened and closed. She couldn’t find words.
He could be lying but there was a gentleness to him. It was in the way he’d smiled when he greeted her so he wouldn’t scare her, didn’t try to intimidate her into sharing information. He must be strong too. To live as long as he had without taking a life.
After a moment, June said, “I’m glad. You walk the earth as the Last Sage wanted, then. Taking blood but never killing.”
Taj’s shoulder was a few inches higher than hers, nearly brushing her short sleeve. He lowered his head, chestnut eyes expanding.
“What do you know about the Last Sage?”
Nerves shot up June’s spine from his sudden proximity but she reined in her heartbeat. “What everyone knows.”
“Hmm.”
This close, Taj’s eyes became liquid, almost transparent, capturing the setting sun. She’d thought him beautiful before but something else was pulling June to him. He seemed like the sort of person who was attuned to suffering and didn’t want to cause any more of it.
June broke their intense gaze quickly. In the distance, the spires of the Arat Towers pierced the purple and red sky.
A cluster of caleri flowers was blooming at the corner garden.
The oil from the dark leaves was useful for vampires with sun sensitivity like Arin.
June would have to make her a new batch soon.
June dared ask one more question.
“But what if killing one person would end the suffering of many others? Would that push you to kill?”
“Moral philosophy is hell, isn’t it?”
June nodded.
Taj sighed deeply. “It depends.”
“On what?”
“If I love this person or not.”
June touched her butterfly bracelet. Tears threatened to blur her vision. “You do. You really do.”
Taj Zuri didn’t answer her. A deep furrow sat between his brows and he remained quiet, thinking. It wasn’t a question that had a simple answer. If it did, June would never have run away. She would never have left her sister behind.
And the nightmares and his voice inside her would have stopped terrorizing her.One person or the rest of the world—that was the question June had to answer.
A deep exhale left Taj, his whole body sinking into the earth, his fingers stretching in the dirt.
“I’ll do my best to save everyone. Die trying everything under the sun. ”
A small smile touched June’s lips. Die trying. It seemed like the only way to go. After another moment, she shut the book.