Chapter 61 Kidan
KIDAN
Kidan woke up in a clean, hard bed. The endless echoes of her memory were all repressed and contained.
She wasn’t in Adane House. Gradually, the scent of rosin wax and polished wood tickled her nose.
To her left was a set of eleven violins, propped up like wooden toys.
She’d been here before, a long time ago.
Qaros House. This was Slen’s bedroom.
Pushing herself up, the first thing Kidan noticed was the lack of pain.
Her hand… was back to its usual brown color, no black threads climbing along her palm, eating at her bones.
A deep well of sadness settled. Kidan couldn’t go back inside Adane House again.
Not until the law affecting Yos was changed.
I did this to you. I’m a vampire again.
What did that mean?
Kidan glimpsed her image on the mirror across the spacious room.
The bruise along her neck, where Samson’s metal fingers had imprinted, was fading.
She winced, reaching for her shoulder, but the skin had healed, leaving a small scar.
Her hand dropped. The pain was gone but something else had shattered inside her and she didn’t know what to consume to repair it.
There was a look to her brown eyes, a defeat she didn’t like. The last time she was in this house, Ramyn Ajtaf was alive, looking frail after Koril Qaros had intimidated her.
You look like her now.
The door cracked open. Kidan whipped around for a weapon, grabbing the closest object on the bed stand—a tail comb.
“Kidan?”
Slen.
Kidan slid the comb beneath the blanket, her grip still tight.
The dim light switched, illuminating the two more clearly. Slen was fully dressed, laced-up boots to her signature jacket, while Kidan felt small, fragile for the first time. Quickly, Kidan got out of the bed. On her feet, she felt stronger.
Slen’s gaze dropped down to the tail comb in her hand.
“Oh,” Kidan said, her cheeks warming. She rested it back on the bedside.
“Samson has left,” Slen said, not addressing their awkward position. “I doubt he’ll return to Uxlay with so many of us witnessing what he did.”
Kidan’s throat constricted. So he was finally gone. To Drummond North. That was where the Nefrasi estate was.
Slen was quiet for a moment. “Susenyos should be here soon. The Sicions are removing the silver shards from his body.”
Kidan briefly looked to the floor, letting her nerves calm. She couldn’t stop picturing the scene again, analyzing every angle. Susenyos’s body dropping like stone, his chest peppered with silver.
“And Taj?” she asked.
“He’s awake too.”
Good.
“How did you know?” Kidan asked. “To come.”
Slen walked to her violins, tracing the strings so they thrummed out a chord.
“I know because Makary House fought to have Samson released early from Drastfort. They wanted him to distract you from the votes.”
A pulse jumped in Kidan’s ear, ringing for a long while.
To distract her… all the things Samson had done—killed Etete, tortured Susenyos, and nearly killed her, weren’t just a distraction, they’d been true and utter hell.
The betrayal must have been plain on Kidan’s face because Slen flicked her gaze away. “I just found out tonight.”
“I don’t believe that.” Kidan’s eyes narrowed. “I thought the 13th listened to you.”
A vein tightened along Slen’s forehead. A new bruise shone along the side of her face, just by her chin. A dark purple that couldn’t be more than a day old.
Feeling Kidan’s questioning gaze, Slen spoke. “I was attacked by a vampire from House Rojit two days ago. Your supporters.”
“What?” Kidan’s voice rose, sensing the accusation. “I never told them to do anything—”
“I believe you,” Slen said, her flat eyes filled with intention. “The same way I didn’t tell the 13th to release Samson.”
Kidan’s mouth shut just as it’d opened.
The 13th and the Dirt Diggers seemed to have their own agendas and if they weren’t controlled, they would only cause more chaos.
“I’ll talk to them,” Kidan said forcefully. “They won’t hurt you.”
Light crossed Slen’s granite eyes before she blinked, and darkness returned. “This is bigger than us.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to see that.” Kidan walked to the window, parting the curtains to see night had fallen.
Had she slept the whole day?
In the glass, she saw a ghost. Warm brown eyes and a handsome face. Finger bones crinkling. Kind beyond belief. She’d used fire to melt countless objects, forging them into weapons and she’d done the same to GK, taken his dead body and infused it with vampire blood.
But she could fix everything now. Because one good thing had come out of all of this.
The Nefrasi hideout—an estate in Drummond North.
GK was out there, and if Samson left, they wouldn’t have much time.
“I know where GK is,” Kidan said slowly. “I’m going to bring him back.”
Though she expected it, Slen’s silence hurt.
“Come with me,” Kidan couldn’t help but ask.
Slen’s reflection climbed on the window. Kidan studied her long enough for the hairs on the back of her neck to stand.
“You know I can’t do that,” Slen said. “Don’t tell Yusef either. Samson knows your weakness. He will use us against you like last time.”
A sad smile touched Kidan’s lips. Maybe Slen wasn’t completely lost yet.
A part of her still cared. Why else would she have saved Kidan from Samson?
The events of the day had unveiled something for them both.
Petty rivalries between lessons and house masters didn’t matter at all if they weren’t safe.
And how quickly they became unsafe, forgetting they were humans playing in the jaws of lions.
Kidan had put Slen above Uxlay from the day they sat by those secluded stairs and shared their murders.
And Kidan had the sense that, today, Slen had made a similar choice.
It was an unspoken thing between them. Something this ancient institution wouldn’t forgive them for. Something Kidan held deep inside her, a secret hope.
Maybe we will protect one another first. Before Uxlay.
Slen left quietly, letting her rest. But Kidan couldn’t sleep. By the time Susenyos was released from the Sicions, Kidan had cleaned up and dressed for the journey. Susenyos appeared at the door, his gaze raked down her form quickly, concern melting into relief.
He’d drawn her into his arms without a word, and she’d inhaled his scent, stealing a moment of peace before she stepped back.
“Samson,” he said, jaw hard. “Did he hurt you?”
Her shoulder burned and the column of her throat moved, remembering the snakelike grip she’d been under.
But she shook her head. “Later.”
There’d be time for revenge later. He appeared to want to say more. Perhaps about the house law and why it changed but he nodded.
There was something more pressing. Kidan told him about the Nefrasi estate.
“Drummond North?” He froze. “You found their location?”
“Yes.”
He regarded her with a shaking head, then planted a kiss in the middle of her forehead. “Have I mentioned I love this mind of yours?”
Her cheeks warmed as he pulled back, face determined. “Iniko will meet us on the way. She called. Talaa’s grave had been emptied. No trace of the blade artifact. He’ll move the Nefrasi out soon too.”
Kidan’s gut sank, she was disappointed about the blade artifact but she steeled herself. “We have to hurry.”
She would not lose GK again.