Chapter 31 #4
I nod, unable to lie to him. Not when he’s looking at me like I’m both precious and terrifying all at once. “How am I supposed to control her when you’re gone?”
“You must,” Falcen says. His fingers massage my scalp, keeping my face tilted up to his. “Because your losing control is exactly what the Master Keeper is counting on.”
I study his face, noting the tight lines around his mouth, the contained fury in his eyes. “He knows about her, doesn’t he? About what I can do.”
Falcen holds my gaze. “He’ll likely try to provoke you when I’m gone. When Malakai takes you for training, be weak. Be scared. Show him just enough of your magick to keep him interested, but not enough to trigger what’s inside you.”
Falcen releases me abruptly, stepping back as if burned. He glances around, likely ensuring we’re still alone. “I can’t refuse this mission, Verily. I wish I could, but the last time I disobeyedr…”
“Your sister was punished,” I finish for him. “I understand, Falcen. I’ll be okay.”
I sound insincere to my own ears, but I can’t keep relying on him. Falcen has his own demons, his own people, to protect. I can’t be what makes him fail. I refuse.
“I won’t be gone long,” he says. “And when I return, we’ll figure out how to get you out of here.”
That gives me pause. “What?”
“The academy isn’t the savior the people of Vehloria think it is.”
I swallow hard, the taste of his kiss still lingering on my lips. “You’re the one who brought me here. You told me this is where I’m safest.”
“Yes, and I don’t regret saving my sister, but I do regret having to sacrifice you to do it. So I will make it right. Somehow, I will get all three of us the fuck out of here before everything gets worse.”
Worse? Things could get worse?
“All three of us?”
Callie despises him. The idea of them united, of us escaping together, is a fantasy more unbelievable than a Voidspawn with manners.
Instead of answering my question, Falcen steps into my shadow, pulling my attention back to the grim set of his jaw. “Today, with Heathan. I saw what you did. Rook saw it, too. You were calling him back. His soul was leaving and you fucking called it back.”
I suppress the need to defend with my usual, I didn’t mean to do it, because my time of using that excuse is long gone.
Falcen rakes a hand through his hair, the gesture ragged and unlike him.
“Rook saw his body jerk. She saw you reach for him. While she might not have been able to witness your resurrection magick spearing through the air, she’ll talk.
She won’t know what to call it, but the Master Keeper won’t be so easily fooled.
You were already an interesting anomoly.
We can’t let you become a threat to him.
Promise me you will survive while I’m gone, Verily. ”
I pull my lips in, chewing on them before answering. “Rook might be on our side. I could get to assist me in the archives, maybe, and see if there’s any texts on past remnants…”
“No. Promise me.”
Falcen grabs my shoulders. His eyes burn into mine, the gold ring around his pupils expanding until it nearly swallows the blue. “You are not allowed to die. Not for Heathan, not for Rook, not for anyone.”
His ferocity should terrify me, but it does the complete opposite. The way he’s looking at me, like I’m the only thing that matters in this cursed academy, makes my heart stutter against my ribs.
“I understand,” I say, my voice stronger now. “I’ll survive.”
Falcen’s hands slide from my shoulders to cup my face.
“Good,” he murmurs. “Because if you die while I’m gone, I will tear this place apart stone by stone until I find a way to bring you back, just so I can kill you myself for being so fucking careless.”
He releases me, and the space between us feels like a chasm.
“That might be the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me,” I say, trying for levity.
The corner of his mouth twitches, almost a smile. Almost. But then his expression hardens, and he glances toward the exit where Heathan’s body disappeared.
“They’ll be watching you constantly now,” he says. “The Master Keeper will have eyes on you at all times. Don’t trust anyone. Not even Rook.”
“What about your sister?”
Falcen’s face goes completely blank. “Especially not Callie.”
He starts backing away, and the loss of his touch is like physical pain.
“I went through Nox’s hell and back with Callie.
She’s helped me more than not. And she’s smart, Falcen.
She could help with remnant research, too, or hells, even the corruption I saw in Heathan,” I say, knowing perfectly well that I’m just debating him to try to keep him with me longer.
There’s really no stopping me from recruiting Callie or Rook once Falcen leaves.
“You are putting your life in the hands of lethal warriors. These are women who have been trained to kill or be killed for years. Any leverage is immediately put to use in this environment. Do not confuse their generosity for kindness.”
I can’t argue with his seasoned logic. Instead, I take a deep, tired breath, then ask, “So if I have this right, I must prevent the Master Keeper from figuring out my resurrection abilities at all costs, get Keeper Malakai to become bored with me, and not make any friends. Is that all?”
Falcen’s eyes darken, and for a second I think he might spin on his heel and walk away without turning back.
Instead, he closes the distance between us in two swift strides.
“No,” he growls, “that is not all.”
He seals his lips against mine.
I’m pressed so tightly against him that I can feel every hard plane of his chest through his cuirass, every breath, every thunderous heartbeat. His hands slide from my waist to my ass, molding to my skin as he lifts me until my toes barely touch the ground.
I gasp when he releases my mouth to drag his lips along my jaw.
But when I open my eyes, he’s already gone.