Chapter 10 Quinn
Quinn
Cayden sagged against me, nothing but a shell as we stumbled toward the dorms. Rowan, despite his powerful strides and stiff, unwavering posture, stumbled.
The little dragon zoomed in circles around us.
I wished any of us had even a fraction of its energy.
Physically, I was the strongest left standing.
Inside, I wasn’t sure if I was exhausted… or still screaming.
I’d lived lifetimes in the last few weeks. Since Horax took me—no, since the damn train.
I’d had one day before the Mixer. One chance to reach for Xan and fix us.
Instead, Horax stole me. The Prophet broke me. Alex ripped through my mind.
The future kept tossing me like a leaf in a storm.
Where was the Quinn who lived for herself?
After a few steps, I couldn’t help myself.
I looked back over my shoulder. Xan looked like a walking corpse.
A network of white veins protruded from the deep bruising under his eyes.
The wrinkles in his brow didn’t match the strange longing in his eyes.
Next to him, Ezra was his opposite. Raw rage burned into me, sharp enough to kill.
Ezra had been upset when I pushed him away.
Xan, on the other hand, hadn’t even said hi.
I reached up and touched the collar still around my neck.
It was suddenly hard to breathe. What if the collar cut the tether, and Xan realized it wasn’t me he wanted at all?
Ezra’s anger meant he still cared. But Xan’s silence? That scared me more.
“Q-tip, we’re in bad shape,” Rowan admitted at my side, forcing my thoughts away from the ‘what ifs’ and focusing on the here and now.
The big elemental didn’t look angry. His feet dragged at my side, and raw determination filled his shoulders, the exact opposite of XanRa. My anxiety eased.
On my other side, Cayden staggered, then crumpled, and Rowan cursed, diving to catch him. He didn’t wake. Blood streaked his face, and his shattered knuckles still oozed. My best friend looked like hell had chewed him up and spit him out.
“Shit.” Rowan adjusted Cayden against his chest, though the curse had no heat behind it. “The second he knew you were safe, whatever was keeping him conscious… just broke.”
I nodded numbly. Everything was too much. I didn’t know where to start. Instead, I focused on my friends.
We stumbled into Cayden’s dorm, the air thick with betrayal. Faint runes still glowed across the floor, their light spilling over broken plates and rotting food. Erick hadn’t just lived here—he’d turned Cayden’s home into a scapegoat’s trap.
Rowan called on his magic, and the stone on the floor vibrated, destroying what was left of Emil’s tiny portal. We ignored the mess and, by some miracle, got the two mattresses onto the floor.
“Will you sleep between us?” Rowan asked, laying Cayden down on one side.
I tore strips of cloth and bound his ruined knuckles, refusing to think about the family and the raw rage that had driven him here.
Rowan sat on the mattress next to us and patiently waited for my answer.
My best friend was unconscious; he didn’t need to make decisions right now, while I still did. Technically, my body had been asleep for days, but shock had put my system on autopilot.
The little dragon poked its nose into the kitchen before licking a crusty bowl. So much had happened, I wasn’t sure I could sleep. Questions tugged at me, but from the look on Rowan’s face, if I said no, he’d eat more magic.
Tying the last strip into place, I sat back looking at my unconscious friend and rested my hand on the collar still around my neck.
Rowan grunted unhappily. “Does it hurt?”
I shook my head.
Rowan scowled and flexed his arm. “None of us could get it off you. Not with magic or tools. We need time and more power, I think. Two things we’ll have in abundance after we rest and the Architect regains full control of his castle.”
Alex. Should I sleep? Was Alex still connected to me? Could he still invade my mind? A shiver of fear ran down my back.
I needed Xan, except I didn’t know if Xan still wanted me. I’d destroyed one of his monsters, a part of his family. My stomach twisted.
Rowan swayed, eyes heavy. “Please,” he whispered. “I can’t sleep unless you’re between us.”
I couldn’t say no to that.
I lay down, certain sleep would never come. The clash with Holiday still burned in my veins, accompanied by Alex’s loop, clawing at my mind. But exhaustion didn’t care. Darkness swallowed me fast and mercilessly.
I didn’t wake up to the sound of “Let it Go.” Tears of relief gathered in the corners of my eyes.
However, the faint knock that had dragged me awake sounded again.
As the fog lifted, I found Cayden a foot away, his hand almost brushing my shoulder.
Rowan’s warmth pressed against my back, his snores steady.
Rowan warned me this wouldn’t be a normal sleep cycle.
The knock came a third time, slightly louder, and I sat up and edged off the mattress. Neither man stirred. A bad feeling settled in my gut. Who knew I was here, Brody? Chancellor Morgen?
The knock didn’t come again, but I knew whoever it was still stood outside.
The ancient woman’s bright pink gaze and stabby, wood-monster fingers flashed across my vision. The little dragon skittered across the floor from wherever it had been, and it rammed its horny head against the door.
There’s no pretending no one was awake now.
I stood and slid to the door. Before I touched the wood, Xan’s face filled my mind. My heart lurched. What if it was him?
‘In case I’ve not made it clear enough, happy with me and Ezra is my desired outcome.’ Xan had said to me at his Mixer. Some of my fears eased. This should be Xan. I’d gone through so much. If our places had been reversed, I’d want to see him.
With my heart still racing, I cracked open the door. Lemon-yellow hall light spilled across my face. Not Xan—just Winston. My heart sank, Ezra’s anger and Xan’s indifference slamming into me again.
“Is this a bad time?” Winston asked.
The third of Xan’s monsters held his stubby hands out in front of him. His brown robes and balding bowl cut still reminded me of Friar Tuck from the old Robin Hood movies.
“No, yes. Ah, I don’t know what time it is,” I rambled, cursing myself for making assumptions that only led to disappointment.
The man held up his hands innocently. “May I come in?”
I wiped the tears from my eyes before they could fall.
Brit would be ashamed of me for crying over a jerk.
I was better than this. I pulled myself together.
On one hand, if Rowan and Cayden were sound enough asleep, a conversation wouldn’t wake them.
On the other hand, Winston could murder them and me with no one the wiser.
“I assure you, I intend no harm,” Winston said, easing back a step. His voice held the weight of sincerity, tempered with patience. “All I wish is to speak of what has transpired. And, of course, your rather curious new pet.”
I looked down. The very solid, detailed dragon, which should be a byproduct of my magic, had its nose half out the door. Its forked tongue flicked out as if tasting Winston.
“Is it Professor Holiday?” I asked before I could stop myself, curiosity mixed with a healthy dose of fear.
“It seems I share your question,” Winston said softly, my emotions reflecting in his gaze.
I swallowed. Winston had cleared his schedule to test my magic, guessed I was a time traveler, and treated me like a curiosity under glass. He’d pushed me to ‘make the right friends,’ but beyond a few polite words, he’d kept his distance and let me come to him.
Until this moment.
I made assumptions so fast, and they were always negative. I didn’t want to be that person anymore. Stepping back, I opened the door and then opened it a little wider when I realized Winston’s girth couldn’t quite fit through.
Winston’s gaze swept the room.
“Ah… I see your hesitation now.” His gaze shifted from Cayden to Rowan, lingering only a moment before dismissing them. “They are dead to the world. My purpose lies not with them.”
The blood drained out of my face.
Winston lifted his hands in protest. “No, no, that is not my meaning.” He studied the dragon, its rainbowed spines faintly aglow in the dim light. “It is early yet. Put the kettle on, and I shall see to your… pet.”
He lunged. The dragon let out the tiniest roar, more like a slightly deeper puppy howl, and darted for the chair, Winston lumbering after.
Watching the chase, I almost laughed—hard to believe this sleek creature could be Holiday.
The chase toppled Cayden’s chair. Rowan only snored louder, rolling over.
Cayden still hadn’t moved. The blood caked all over his face and clothing made my heart pinch.
I didn’t let my gaze leave his chest until I saw it rise and fall.
They hadn’t even slept while searching for me; and now they were here.
No more tears for Xan. A bubble of love burst into existence around me.
I swear my crystal locks sparkled more. With renewed confidence, I sifted through the disaster Erick’s failed coup left behind and found two mostly unbroken mugs and some tea.
The collar no longer blocked my magic, and though I wasn’t sure of the extent, it somehow connected me to Alex.
He’d even said something about tethering, which wasn’t reassuring.
The old mentalist had tried to trap me in an alternate life, but he also helped us take down the Prophet.
I bit my lower lip. That didn’t mean he wanted to help me.
As long as I lived, he could still attempt to change my future.
As if hearing my thoughts, a wave of approval washed over me. A cold spike of fear seized my heart, and the invasive emotion vanished. Alex was still with me, not changing my reality… or maybe he was.
My gaze locked onto a sharp piece of a shattered plate.