Chapter 43
“That will be all?” asked Vaughan when the duke and his men were gone.
None of us spoke as we filed from his office, but as soon as we were in the hall, Rush grabbed my wrist, holding me back as the others walked on.
“Ari,” he said, voice low.
My eyes pressed shut. Of course Scarlett’s father would be asking the duke for a private conversation. To arrange a marriage proposal. My gut sank to the floor, and I half considered sinking down with it.
Rush took my shoulders in both hands. “My father will punish me for what I did tonight. There’s no denying I was with you now. All I can do is make him think I did it to spite him rather than because I care for you.”
His words fanned the heat stirring inside me from his touch.
But his hard brow and angry eyes had me taking a step back. “Remember what he does to the things I care about. If he thinks I care for Scarlett, then it’s Scarlett he will try to use to manipulate me.”
I nodded, but it felt awful. I didn’t want to see Rush at the ball with Scarlett. “There was an emerald in the spine of that book,” I said, not wanting to talk about Scarlett.
He nodded. “I saw it. He’s on to us. Ever since the fire, he’s been trying to figure out what I know. Whatever happens, don’t let on that you know about magic.”
A small laugh escaped through my nose. “So now I get to pretend I’m really godborn?”
“Yes, Ari. I don’t know why he did it, but he’s fishing for something. He’s bringing you closer, and I don’t like it. Now you owe him, and he will cash in eventually. Unless we can stop him from getting the chance.”
“How?” I could barely breathe beneath the intensity of his gaze.
“Stick to the plan. Win the race. Make him want to keep you alive.”
“That doesn’t solve the fake identity thing,” I said. I considered shoving him gently in the shoulder, to lighten the mood, but there was no point. Not if the duke was about to discuss Rush’s marriage to Scarlett. Something in my chest broke, like a guitar string popping loose.
“No, but I’m not worried about that. I need you to stay alive.”
“That’s comforting.”
He pulled me closer. “I heard Shep’s date to the ball recently got injured. As soon as he sees you, he’ll ask you. I know he will.” He half-smiled at me. “It’s not normal for third years to go without a date, and at this point everyone else has been asked.”
A scoff hissed from my lips. “I’m a last resort, am I?”
He playfully jabbed at my waist. “Most guys prefer to take girls who laugh and smile at what they say, rather than poke and prod them with their prickly personality. All I’m saying is it looks like you might have a date too.”
I let out a frustrated laugh.
“My father will be here tomorrow night. We can’t give him any reason to think I was with you tonight or that…or that I care about you.”
Finally, I met his gaze, breaths coming fast.
His next words came out low and fast. “Whatever you see tomorrow—everything I do from the moment we leave this hallway—is an act, Ari. My father has eyes everywhere. I can’t give him a reason to hurt you.”
His body was dangerously close now, and my pulse was thundering.
When his face moved closer, my nerves danced under my skin.
The headmaster’s office door swung open, and my head knocked back against the wall as I tried to leap away from Rush, who raked a hand through his hair and nodded quickly at Vaughan.
“Oh, pardon me. After you.” Vaughan held out his hand, waiting for us to lead the way. On his face was a placid smile, as if he were oblivious to what he’d interrupted. Or almost interrupted. The almost part left me feeling like someone had yanked a chair out from under me and I was still falling.
Rush peeled off to the left and marched down an upstairs hallway without a word as I descended the foyer stairs and walked the familiar path back to House Ruby.
A few students heading out for early workouts or study sessions in the library whispered loudly as I passed them in the halls. I smiled and nodded at them.
In the Ruby common room, silence fell among the few milling students as I entered.
Prescott and Clarence already sat bent over breakfast plates piled high, and Vanya was pouring herself a cup of tea from a pot that had been left on a stone trivet on their table.
She smiled at me, then scanned the room, as if waiting for someone to say something.
“Welcome back,” Vanya said, voice hoarse. She covered a huge yawn, which I reciprocated.
No one said anything as I made myself a breakfast plate, relishing the scents of cinnamon scones, the sharp smell of the aged cheeses, and the blessed smell of coffee. I hadn’t had coffee since leaving Cardan Lott. I walked straight to where my friends sat and took the empty seat beside Clarence.
The man in charge of making sure our common room had hot coffee and tea every morning quietly picked up a cup, filled it with coffee, added a splash of cream, and brought it to me.
I looked up at him with surprise.
“Glad to see you back,” he said with a faint smile. He bowed as he walked back to stand against the wall, like he had done almost every morning I’d been a student here, save his off days.
My brows lifted as I took up my cup and inhaled.
“They say they know all the secrets of the school,” whispered Prescott, leaning against Vanya’s shoulder.
She giggled in response, but I turned around and nodded at the man, whose name was Alfred. I’d asked him once, months ago. He returned the gesture.
I sipped coffee and chatted idly with the others about the upcoming ball. I soon lost track of the conversation, gazing out the window at the dark outline of a dragon soaring over the forest.
“Wait, you don’t have a dress!” Vanya said, as if this were a greater tragedy than nearly losing my dragon.
“I do, actually,” I said, sipping the last of my coffee. “Fairfax commissioned it months ago.”
Just then, Rush sidled in from the boys’ dormitory, hair perfectly combed back, uniform as pristine as always.
How did he get in? There must be more secret passageways, or he was good at scaling walls.
He did not once look my direction. My chest caved in as he strolled to the couch and flopped down.
Scarlett quickly slithered toward him and perched beside him.
This was going to be misery.
Clarence adjusted his glasses and gave me an awkward smile before walking away.
The rest of the day, Prescott pretended to be disinterested in me any time Rush was around, only hanging near me because of Vanya.
Clarence would smile at me if we made eye contact, but Rushland Covington was a locked safe.
Barely concealed scowls and overly loud whispers followed me all day. Nothing terribly new about that, other than Professor Siva’s furious look when I marched into literature class. He harangued me with questions about our recent text, growing angrier and angrier each time I answered correctly.
All day, Vanya hung close to my side and Rush remained as far from me as possible.
The hole inside me grew deeper.
The following day, decorations for the ball had been completed, and the students buzzed with energy and excitement.
The snow melted in the early spring sunshine, but the air was still cold and sharp, especially in the morning.
Between chatter about the ball and arguments about who would win the opening race of the season in the arena, whispers of the next night race filtered through the student body.
Invitations were given out; the pulse quickened in the halls, the tempo of conversation and footsteps increasing.
Fairfax was still planning to make me race against Rush.
More invitations had been given out this time, it appeared. As far as I could tell, everyone at Cardan Lott had been invited. How Fairfax had managed this, I didn’t know, nor did I care at this point.
The race hung like an executioner’s noose in my mind.
Fairfax had said Azeron would die if Rush won, and I knew if I lost I’d never see the inside of Cardan Lott again.
But there had to be an alternative option.
The duke would likely need to administer magic, somehow, to Azeron to ensure his victory, so there was still a chance we could stop him.
We’d think of something. Vanya didn’t mention the stakes, but she stayed close, quieter than usual, a sign that she felt the weight of it too.
Going two days without a glance from Rush was another shovelful from the grave being dug inside of me.
Shep, however, had been eager to speak to me.
“Glad you’re back,” he’d said the morning I’d returned. “I heard you passed the bond test.”
I had no doubt plenty of rumors had been circulating in my absence.
He’d then asked me to the ball. Just as Rush had suspected he would.
My body had gone rigid.
“I know it’s last minute, but turns out my friend, Cassie, was injured in training the other day, and now she can’t go.”
“Is she all right?”
“She’s fine. Just a sprain. Happened while running the trails,” he’d said with a small smile. We’d all stumbled on the trails plenty of times. “So I’d be honored if you would accompany me.”
And with a sting of guilt, I’d said yes.