Chapter 78 Kidan
KIDAN
I want her dead. I want to kill her myself.” Kidan paced the Philosophy Tower, pressing on each of her fingers and popping all the air bubbles in her bones.
Slen was quiet, seated, her eyes dark. “Tell me what happened.”
“It was the dean,” Kidan hurled. “She ordered their murder!”
Slen’s eyes stretched a little, and the act of saying it aloud broke Kidan all over again.
“She found out about the Dirt Diggers.” Her voice shattered but she forced herself to keep going. “She was my mother’s friend, and she had her killed. All this time… I thought the dean saved me from prison. Wanted to help me.”
Furious tears rushed down her cheeks and dripped into her mouth, sour and salty.
“I’m going to kill her, Slen. I swear I am.”
“Think about what you’re saying.” Slen seized her hand painfully, gripping tight. “Killing the dean will collapse Uxlay. It will make the Sicions hunt you down. You’re not thinking clearly.”
“I don’t care. Let me go.”
Kidan tugged but Slen was surprisingly strong, and the two crashed into the stack of books on the table, letting them clatter to the floor.
“Who do you think planned for us to be at Grand Andromeda Hall?” Kidan tried to make her understand. “The dean wanted us all to die with Yusef, Slen. Get rid of the 13th and the Dirt Diggers. That’s what she always does. Removes all threat against Uxlay.”
Slen’s eyes worked back and forth, bridging the pieces, thinking. Her fingers still dug into Kidan’s arm.
“If you’re not going to help, I’ll do it myself.”
Kidan wrenched free and marched to the door.
“You’ll die before you even reach her!” Slen shouted, making her go still.
Slen had lost control of her voice only two days ago, screaming over Yusef’s crushed body. Kidan turned slowly. The crack in Slen’s mask was just enough to glimpse the flood of pain waiting to be unleashed.
“Let me help you,” Slen said, recovering, though she sounded desperate. “Why won’t either of you let me help you?”
Kidan’s body kept telling her to go right now, use this familiar rage that had visited her once already—with Mama Anoet—to do what was necessary. But Slen’s eyes held hers, beseeching, almost… afraid.
“I just lost him.” Panic flickered in Slen’s gaze. “Just let me think. Just let me think before you rush to your death too. Come to my house.”
Kidan’s hand went slack, slipping off the door handle.
Slen exhaled, touching her forehead. It was easier to see the marks Yusef’s death had left behind even if she hid them well. Kidan breathed heavily, crossing back to Slen. She sat, feeling the ghost of Yusef watch over them.
“Okay,” Kidan said.
“Kidan.”
Warm fingers brushed against her cheek. The voice was low, close to the earth. The scent of summer rain and earth lingered in the air. “I’m here, love.”
She cracked one eye open. Susenyos sat on the bed with a small, sad smile.
Kidan was in Slen’s bed, although she didn’t remember falling asleep. They’d talked all night on how to get access to the dean, exchanging ideas before she’d drifted off.
And Susenyos was finally back.
Kidan sat up and launched her arms around him. He caught her, solid palms pressing against her lower back. The events of the past few days crashed in on her at once, and she felt herself break open in his hold.
“Yusef…” She broke off.
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Susenyos said nothing else, allowing her to choose the length of their embrace.
“Dean Faris killed them,” she said, face buried in his shoulder. “She killed my parents, Yos.”
He tensed, trying to pull back, but she tightened her hold, keeping him there.
“I’m going to kill her,” she whispered, and felt his claws extend and dig into her back before retreating. “Are you with me?”
“Always.”
He didn’t hesitate, and in that moment, Kidan knew she never wanted to let him go.
Not now. Not ever.
Kidan. It was GK’s voice in her head. You’re in danger.
Before Kidan could react, Susenyos pulled back suddenly, tilting his head to the window. He stood and went to part the curtains. He swore in Amharic, his eyes wide.
His dark tone belonged to a starless night. “I know I’ve said this a thousand times but I’m going to kill your traitorous friend.”
Slowly, Kidan stood, nerves on edge. But she never saw what made Susenyos stiffen with alarm, because two Sicions appeared at the door, crescent-shaped silver swinging from their hips.
Dean Faris, along with her companion, Professor Andreyas, stalked forward.
“What is this?” Kidan’s voice was deceptively steady, yet her blood pumped urgently, dread seeping into her pores.
These two had her parents killed.
Susenyos stood a couple paces back, a towering shadow. “A bit excessive, isn’t it? Bringing a dozen Sicions for just one girl.”
A dozen—Kidan tried to hide her surprise.
Dean Faris wore the face of a war general, watching Kidan with the same caution she’d given her mother.
There were no more pretenses. No more false kindness.
“Kidan Adane, you have put the residents of Uxlay and the dranaics and acti society at large under threat,” the dean declared. “You will answer for these crimes under Uxlay’s most punishing law and you will surrender the Last Sage’s artifact hidden within Adane House.”