CHAPTER 42 - FLORENCE
It was half-past midnight. The refectory-turned-ballroom had emptied out. The festive energy that had been tangible earlier in the evening had dimmed as the hours stretched on. The music had softened to a slower tune. Most of the remaining students were paired off, dancing, or talking quietly at tables. Servants had begun coming around to clear aside plates and centerpieces.
I stood near the edge of the dance floor, fidgeting with the edge of one sleeve as I tried to hold back a yawn.
“You all right?” Theo had come up beside me.
I looked up at him, not bothering to hide my admiration. He was very handsome this evening in a dark gray suit. He and Vaughn made a striking couple.
The way Theo looked at Vaughn... What would it be like to have someone look like that at you? I thought of Naveen briefly, guiltily, then pushed the thought away.
Theo pushed a lock of dark blond hair off his face. “Would you like to dance?”
I shook my head. “No, thank you. I was just wondering if Medra was coming back.”
“Where did she go?” Theo asked.
I hesitated, then decided it wasn’t really a secret. “She said she had to meet Blake in the Dragon Court at midnight. Something to do with Nyxaris. I thought she was coming back afterwards, but I must have misunderstood.”
“Blake left to meet with our uncle in the Keep,” Theo said slowly. “He didn’t mention anything about the Dragon Court.”
Theo looked concerned, so I forced a smile. “Well, I’m sure it’s nothing. They probably went off together somewhere, just the two of them.”
He smiled slightly. “I’m sure you’re right.” Then his face darkened. “Though I do wonder what the hell our uncle wanted to see Blake about. The old bastard. Couldn’t even leave him alone tonight of all nights.”
“He and Blake don’t get along, do they?” I asked hesitantly. “Lord Drakharrow seems like a very hard man.” I wanted to say something much worse, but Blake and Theo were Lord Drakharrow’s family after all.
“Blake hates him,” Theo said bluntly. “But he has to do whatever my uncle wants.”
I thought of Medra. “Not everything, I hope.”
“He stands up to him from time to time,” Theo muttered. “He’s shielded me more than once. I’m...grateful for it.”
I glanced across the room at where Vaughn stood talking to a group of House Orphos students, remembering what had happened with Coregon the year before. “That’s good. Because you deserve to be happy, Theo.”
Still, my thoughts were suddenly racing. Something wasn’t right. The longer Medra was gone, the worse the feeling grew. I wondered if I should go back to our room. Even if she was there with Blake... Well, I might be interrupting awkwardly, but at least then I’d know she was all right.
Before I could tell Theo I was leaving, Visha appeared, weaving her way through the dwindling crowd.
“Have you seen Lace?” she demanded.
I shook my head.
“No,” Theo said, frowning. “Why? What’s going on?”
“I don’t know,” Visha admitted, looking frustrated. “I can’t find her anywhere. I thought maybe she’d slipped out for some air, but she’s not on the terrace either.”
I looked around the room, scanning for the dwarven girl Visha had stuck close to all night. “Kage is gone, too.”
“Kage?” Theo echoed.
I tried to shrug lightly. “It doesn’t matter. I just didn’t see him leave, that’s all.” The other House Leaders were still there though. Lysander Orphos was sitting morosely at a table alone. I caught Catherine Mortis moving towards the door, a group of House Mortis students trailing behind her. She’d been without her thralls this evening.
“I’m going to find Lace,” Visha declared.
Theo shoved his hands into his pockets. “Vaughn has an Orphos party after this. I’m not invited.” He shrugged. “I’ll come with you.”
“So will I.” I couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong. “I want to find Medra. I think I’ll check the Dragon Court once we’ve found Lace. Let’s go.”
We walked through the corridors. At this time of the night, everything was unnervingly quiet.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Theo tried to reassure Visha. “She probably drank too much and went back to her room to be sick.” He gave a half-hearted laugh. “Like you did last year, remember?”
“She wouldn’t have left without telling me.” Visha sounded on edge, her voice brittle. “We were supposed to leave together.” She snuck a quick glance at me. “You know how some of these fucking highblood students get on Solstice, Theo. I want to find her.”
Theo nodded. “All right. Fair point. Well, we’ll find her soon. Don’t worry about it. And then I’ll walk Florence back to her room myself.”
“Lace is House Avari,” I said, speaking up for the first time since we’d left the ball. “Let’s check there. We might save ourselves a lot of trouble if she went back to her room.”
When we reached the entrance to the Avari tower, I went into the common room alone, leaving Theo and Visha waiting outside. I was mindful of the late hour. Most students had been drinking all evening. I didn’t think bringing two Drakharrows in with me was a great idea, even if it was for a good cause.
A few minutes later, I slipped out of the tower, breathless and feeling a little more worried. “No one has seen Lace. I found out where her room was and checked there, too. No answer. I had a Warden unlock the door for me, but it was empty.”
Visha was silent.
“Maybe she went for a walk outside?” Theo suggested.
I frowned. “In the cold?”
“Lace isn’t exactly delicate,” he pointed out. “If she was feeling sick, well, she might have thought the cold air would be bracing.”
“I was going to check the Dragon Court anyway to see if Medra was still there,” I said slowly. “I suppose we could look together.” I glanced at Visha.
She nodded tightly. “Fine. Let’s walk that way. Then we can check the grounds if we haven’t found her yet.”
I thought of the rocky cliffs and the treacherous sea surrounding us on all sides. Not exactly somewhere I’d want a friend to walk if they’d had too much to drink. “That sounds like a good idea.”
We walked through the school, following the quickest route to the Dragon Court.
As we turned down a corridor, I froze.
“What is it?” Visha asked, already tense.
I pointed to the floor. A dark, smeared streak marred the stones.
I wasn’t sure, but I thought it looked like...blood.
Visha swore and darted ahead. “Lace!”
“Visha, wait!” Theo shouted, but she was already disappearing around the next bend.
The sound that came next made my stomach twist. A wail of misery, piercing and raw.
Theo and I looked at one another, then broke into a run.
We rounded the corner and then skidded to a halt.
Lace lay sprawled on her back on the blood-soaked stones. Her eyes stared blankly upwards.
“Oh, Bloodmaiden,” I whispered, clapping a hand over my mouth.
Visha was already kneeling beside Lace, her hands hovering uselessly over her body as if afraid to touch her.
Theo took a step forward but before he could take another, I grabbed his arm, my eyes suddenly locked on the far side of the corridor.
We weren’t alone.
There, crouched in the shadows further along the hall, a small figure shifted.
A sound emerged from the darkness. A laugh. Light, like a child’s giggle.
But this didn’t sound sweet or innocent. It sent a chill down my spine.
“Fuck,” Theo breathed beside me as Aenia Drakharrow stepped forward.
Blood stained the young girl’s mouth, her hands, even her wild, tangled white-blonde hair.
Her eyes met mine and I glimpsed a feral, desperate hunger. I’d seen that look in Blake’s sister’s eyes before. My breath caught in my throat as I choked down a terrified sob.
“Florence!” Theo shouted.
But it was too late. Aenia lunged, moving faster than I’d ever seen, her hands outstretched, her nails sharp as claws.
I screamed and threw up my hands instinctively, already knowing it was too late.
Suddenly Theo was there. He’d moved behind Aenia with unbelievable speed, as only another highblood could move.
I heard Aenia scream. The scream turned to a gurgle.
The highblood girl seemed to freeze, mid-attack.
I lowered my hands, watching as she stumbled backwards slightly.
Theo yanked something out of Aenia’s back. A blade. He gave a great, choking cry as Aenia’s blood sprayed across him, across the stones, across me.
She crumpled to the ground.
For a moment, I couldn’t move. The air was filled with the metallic scent of mingled blood. The corridor felt thick with death. I put a hand to my throat, feeling like I was going to be sick.
Footsteps pounded against the stone behind me. I turned to see Blake coming around the corner, his face grim.
He froze.
For a moment, all was silent. Then, slowly, I stepped aside, revealing the small lifeless form behind me.
A keening sound came from Blake’s lips. The world seemed to narrow to just him and Aenia.
He moved forward like a man moving through water, slowly but deliberately. Kneeling beside his sister, he scooped her body into his arms, cradling her against his chest as if she might still wake. His hands trembled as he brushed blood-matted strands of hair from her face.
I wanted to say something, but the words caught in my throat. I looked at Theo, but his face had gone white.
“Blake,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Lace.” I wanted to say more. Wanted to explain everything properly. To tell him that Theo had saved me. But those were the only words that would come out.
A choked sob pierced the stillness. Across the hall, Visha was on her knees.
Blake didn’t flinch. Slowly, he rose to his feet, Aenia in his arms, her hair spilling over his shoulder, blonde and bloodied.
As he rose, I gasped as for the first time moonlight streaming through the windows caught his face.
His left eye was gone.
The socket was raw, surrounded by streaks of blood and jagged flesh, the wound exposed and unhealed.
But it wasn’t just his face. Everything about him was wrong. The finery he’d worn to the ball was gone, replaced by the torn and blood-soaked remnants of some sort of guard’s uniform. The stains on the fabric couldn’t possibly all be from Aenia.
“Blake,” I whispered. “What happened? Who did this to you?”
He didn’t answer. He didn’t even seem to hear me. His gaze was completely fixed on Aenia. With a careful, gentle movement, I watched as he adjusted her head against his shoulder, her bloodied blonde hair spilling over his arm.
I felt frozen in place, torn between my terror and the desperate need to help somehow. I reached out but it was too late—Blake was already turning away. Still holding Aenia, he began walking in the direction of the Dragon Court.
“Blake, wait!” I called. My voice sounded so small.
I turned to Theo. His face was still ashen, the arm he’d used to thrust the knife hung slack by his side.
“I killed her,” he whispered hoarsely. “I killed a child.” His shoulders were shaking.
“You saved me,” I said softly. But I knew nothing I said would comfort him. Not right now. “Come on.” I grabbed Theo’s arm, then glanced down at Visha and bit my lip. I didn’t want to leave her alone, but at least right now, we knew she was safe. Meanwhile, something was horribly wrong and somewhere out there was Medra. “We have to follow Blake. Something horrible must have happened. You saw his face.”
“Visha,” Theo said, slowly, looking down at the highblood girl.
Visha didn’t even look up at us. “Go. I’m not leaving her.”
“We’ll be back soon,” I promised, trying to swallow my fear.
The air grew colder as we reached the open cloisters. My breath misted.
Voices began to reach us, raised and urgent. I couldn’t make out the words.
Ahead of us, Blake had slowed. Kneeling, he gently lowered Aenia’s body onto the ground along one wall.
I took a step forward, following Blake as he entered the Dragon Court, Theo close behind me.
I couldn’t make sense of what I saw. Slowly, it started to come clear. Disbelief and shock flooded through me.
Nyxaris, his massive black body heaving with labored breaths.
Professor Rodriguez, kneeling on the ground, lifting a glass vial, his face tight with concentration.
Kage, his arms locked around Medra, restraining her as she thrashed against him. Her red hair was wild, her face streaked with tears.
“Medra,” I gasped, already moving towards her.
But Blake grabbed my arm just as another figure emerged from the grove of trees across the courtyard.
“Hello, Brother.”
Marcus Drakharrow stood on the other side of the court. Holding tightly to his hand was Lunaya Orphos. On his other side stood Catherine Mortis, mirroring Marcus’s cold confidence.
I furrowed my brow. Lunaya looked strange. Her usually serene expression had been replaced by an almost vacant look, as if she wasn’t fully there. Marcus tugged at her hand, pulling her forward and she moved in step with him, like a walking doll.
And then I saw them. Crossbows.
My breath caught.
Catherine’s grip on hers was casual, as if the weapon were just an accessory. But Marcus was raising his slowly, deliberately. Like a man about to do something irrevocable.
“Medra!” My heart lurched in my chest. She turned towards me, startled, her green eyes meeting mine for a split second.
I didn’t think. I moved. I started to shove past Blake, his shout of protest drowned out by the roaring in my ears.
I didn’t feel the bolt at first.
One moment, I was moving forward, my arms outstretched. And then—fire. White-hot, tearing pain exploded in my chest.
I stumbled, my hand clutching at my chest. Warm spread across my fingers.
“Florence!” I heard Medra scream. Her voice sounded as if it was coming from so far away.
The world was blurring, colors smearing together like a child’s messy painting. My knees buckled and I pitched forward, the ground rushing up to meet me.
Strong arms caught me, stopping my descent.
I looked up at Blake. I wanted to say something, anything. My lips wouldn’t obey. The world was fading, Medra’s screams dimming, Blake’s desperate murmurs growing quiet.
The shadows rose up to greet me, swallowing me whole.