Chapter 13 #2
I took another step, my boots muffled by the thick rug beneath me. The pressure in the room tightened around my ribs with every movement. Shadows crawled along the walls like an arachnidian sentinel. I felt watched, though I was alone—at least I hoped I was.
Part of me wanted to retreat to the safety beyond the door, but I couldn’t. My need for the truth was greater than my fear. I pressed on, inching closer to the table, my heart pounding hard enough that I feared it might burst.
The scrolls caught my attention first.
I reached out, brushed my fingertips on the rough surface, and unfurled the parchment before me. Valyrian script flowed across the parchment, the fine lines and curves written elegantly, but it made it hard to read. I scanned the page, halting at a picture drawn to near perfection within the text.
My face stared back at me. It was an older picture, but it was me. A bead of sweat dripped down my temple. The energy around me thickened, pressing harder against my chest.
I swallowed hard and reached for another scroll. This one was Riya.
I quickly opened them all, searching.
Isaac, Eli, Reece, Ji-Han, Isabella, and several of the other Initiates in a prior group.
The one scroll that remained was separate from the others. My hands shook, and I released the string around the parchment. Skylar’s likeness stared up at me from the ink, still and as I remembered her. My breath wracked my chest as I shut my eyes.
My heart was at war with itself. The pain of her absence, and not knowing if she was okay, was setting in, but the confirmation that she was real—it was too much. The pressure on my chest was suffocating me. I wasn’t sure how long I could stand being in this room.
But one was notably missing. Where was Cody?
The sound of the door shutting made my heart jolt.
I whipped around so fast I dropped the scroll. I swallowed as it clattered loudly, echoing in the vast room, and stood frozen in the aftermath of silence.
A man stood inside the room. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and in a cloak so black it seemed to drink the pale moonlight that streamed into the room. The energy crushing my chest became impossibly more pressurized. Every instinct told me to run, but my legs wouldn't obey.
His face was partially in shadow, but what I could see revealed sharp angles, a chiseled cheekbone, and a presence that bore right through me.
He took a step forward, and the air shifted as if bending to his will. His gaze swept over me—one brow lifting as though he couldn’t decide whether I was foolish or bold.
The sheer magnitude of his presence struck me again, and I shivered. I didn't know who he was, but I knew without a doubt that he was someone important. Someone powerful. Maybe the most powerful person I’d crossed paths with since arriving at Nightfall.
And I was trespassing.
Leather straps were fastened at his collar, and his cloak was more intricate than any I’d seen. The faint smell of something metallic clung to him, and I took a step back as he moved toward me.
He held up a scroll in his hand. “Is this the one you were looking for?”
I stared at it. It was just like the others. He tossed it at me, and I caught it. Hands shaking, I unrolled it.
I tried to read the Valyrian, but tears blurred my vision, and I wasn’t that good at it yet. Professor Rynar wouldn’t be pleased. I desperately wiped them away, trying to see the parchment, but the tears were making the ink bleed.
Very clearly at the top was Cody’s name.
Likely path of leadership—fire: density unknown.
I dropped the scroll as if it burned me. My fingers trembled as I clenched them at my sides, willing myself to breathe.
“I don’t think we’ve been introduced,” he said, his voice smooth and low.
I didn’t move.
“I’m Ezreal Kalmont, the Adept’s Raicanya instructor,” he said.
His gaze flickered to the scroll I dropped on the floor.
“What were you hoping to find?” he asked.
The heat drained from my cheeks. This was it. This was how I was going to die.
The door opened behind him and my limbs tingled with relief.
Blake came in with a cross look on his face. His eyes widened momentarily when he saw me, then flicked to Ezreal’s before his expression deepened into a scowl.
“What are you both doing here?” he asked, an edge in his voice that wasn’t directed at me.
Ezreal watched me, unblinking, never turning to look at Blake.
“I,” my voice shook, and I couldn’t get the words out.
Blake noticed the scrolls opened and scattered, and his expression softened.
“I can handle this, Ezreal,” he said. His voice was steady, but there was tension beneath the calm.
Ezreal raised an eyebrow, but said nothing, never once looking at Blake, and swept from the room.
Immediately, I could breathe again and the knot in my chest eased.
“You should not have come here,” he said, stern and disapproving.
My walls went up at his change in tone as he rolled the scrolls and placed them as they were.
“Come with me.”
Blake’s voice was calm, but there was no question it was a command—a command that he was used to being followed. I didn’t have the emotional bandwidth to be annoyed about it, so I didn’t argue. I nodded and followed him out of the room.
My heart pounded against my chest as I followed him.
Cody was real. I didn’t hallucinate him at all, and these people had done something to him.
I could barely keep track of where we were going as Blake pulled me along, moving quickly through the castle.
What did Blake know? These people—Caelan, Roslyn, Malakai, and Saryna were intense enough, but Blake and Ezreal.
They were different from the other Aurkai.
But Blake felt different from Ezreal, too—far less terrifying.
Why did he have Cody’s scroll? Is that why Roslyn hadn’t found it?
Something was very wrong.
We reached one of the towers on the western side of the castle that I’d never been to. I followed Blake up a spiral staircase where he paused at the topmost floor of the tower. He opened the door and turned to me. He scowled and waited for me to enter.
My steps faltered as I crossed the threshold—this place was incredible.
The arched windows on the far wall curved with the tower, framing a view of snow-capped mountains glittering in the silvery moonlight. Heavy red velvet curtains cascaded from above like rivers of crimson silk, their folds thick enough to block out the world if need be.
Near the windows, a grand piano reflected the candlelight of the wall sconces.
Plush, red-upholstered sofas and armchairs were arranged around an oval wooden table at the center of the room.
While being with Blake was far preferred to Ezreal, my chest was still tight with apprehension. His presence was not threatening, but I could feel him, despite being across the room. The air was thicker, like it tensed because Blake was in a mood.
Blake.
His name lingered in my mind. I thought of him with Melanie in the dungeons.
The pain that tore across his face. I could feel it still—the grief behind his mask.
Now, he was deep in thought, not casting a single glance my way as he paced from the piano to the table.
He was wearing black trousers that were loose and low on his hips.
A black pullover covered his lean, muscular frame, and his hair was tousled as if he’d been roused from bed.
What was he doing there? Had he been meeting with Ezreal?
“You’re one of them,” I said.
He paused, but didn’t acknowledge me.
Scowling, I grunted, but he didn’t notice—or didn’t care. Nothing I was doing was connecting like Melanie’s offense.
“What happened to Cody and Skylar?” I demanded, raising my voice enough to reveal the tremble in my words.
His expression was stoic.
“You must not tell anyone what you have seen,” he said. “Sit down.”
I was shaking and considered ignoring his instructions, but a sharp look from him made me decide otherwise.
I sat down on the sofa. He sat opposite me, touching his thumb and index finger to his brows and closed his eyes. Finally, he looked at me.
When we connected, my thoughts became heavy. His guard was up, but still, I could sense the weight he bore. It disarmed me and released the anger burning in my veins. Anyone that carried that kind of grief knew what good and right was, even if it wasn’t what they’d experienced in their life.
He didn’t miss the surreal connection, but he did break eye contact when he spoke.
“Two Initiates are missing. The Commander of the Guard, Commander Everson, decided it would be best if it were not focused on early in the year,” he said. “I did not know any of this myself until I found a file on one of the recruits in Kalmont’s office one day—your friend Cody.
The anger was back in a flash.
“So Kalmont knew? And what do you mean not focused on?” I said. “No one remembers that they existed!”
Blake growled under his breath in irritation. “Commander Everson is skilled in various forms of hypnotism. Kalmont is in charge of the guard and did this on his orders. None of the other Aurkai know.”
I stared at him.
“Hypnotism?”
“Yes,” Blake said. “That, essentially, is what he is doing, and he is good at it. Although, apparently, not very good at it with you.”
I shifted uncomfortably. This place was weird, and there was no doubt something bizarre was going on, but hypnotism?
“Are you poisoning us? Did it accidentally kill Cody and Skylar?” I asked.
Blake watched me with one eyebrow raised.
“And what was that thing when I sat down? Was that hypnotism? Were you trying to make me forget something, too?” I quipped.
Blake’s expression grew wearier the more I talked. I just wanted answers—real answers.
“I assure you, I have not, nor will I ever, try to hypnotize you,” he drawled.
I sent a look that said, what a relief.
Blake scoffed briefly at my reaction before bristling at the distraction.
“We are not sure what happened to them yet, but there is suspicion they succumbed to natural causes,” he said. “One of them most likely drowned after the final task.”
“Cody?” I asked. “Everson and the other guards were right there. There’s no way he would drown after all that.”
No fucking way, right?
Blake’s expression softened.
“It is not that simple,” Blake pressed. “No one is forced to undertake the journey here. By the end, limits have been reached. Getting here is a crucible for everyone who comes, and it is so for a reason.”
The bleak, cold forest of the first task made my fingers numb just from the memory.
Why was he the only one to die from the fall?
Was I in denial? I shoved the idea away.
If he did die from the fall, it was Everson’s fault.
I caught Blake watching me, analyzing every flicker of my eyes. Annoyed, I focused on him.
“And what reason is that?” I snapped.
Blake stared at me but said nothing.
“I want to know why my friends are missing!” I demanded, my words quaking as I fought to hold in my emotions. “First, Annabelle, now Cody and Skylar. It doesn’t make any sense.”
He held my attention like he was trying to read my mind.
“Annabelle?” he asked, genuine curiosity in his tone.
I nodded. “She was my mom’s friend here when they were at Nightfall together. She never made it home.”
Blake’s expression darkened with intrigue and concern.
“Not everyone is suited to be here,” he said. “Unfortunately, we cannot always determine that before someone arrives.”
“You think she died?” I asked, but didn’t wait for an answer. “But you aren’t sure, which means you have no bodies.”
Blake nodded once, his voice softening, “They are looking for them. If I hear anything, I will let you know.”
I shook my head. “Why can’t we know they’re gone? We already knew coming here would be dangerous. We knew others were lost. Why make everyone forget about them?”
Blake sat by the window.
It seemed like he was wondering the same thing.
“Now that you are here, it is not conducive for your training if you and the other Initiates are fearful,” he said.
“It is counterproductive to progress. It is unfortunate that we have lost two, but it causes more harm than good if you are all terrified of being here, as I am sure you can attest to. Or at least this is what the Aurkai have decided upon.”
I twisted my hands together. He was right. I was scared, and it wasn’t helping.
“But what if there’s a reason to be terrified of being here?” I asked quietly.
A stiff silence held the air between us hostage. Blake was good at hiding his feelings, but I could tell he wasn’t convinced they’d died of natural causes either.
“I saw Skylar with Malakai last night,” I said.
Blake’s head jerked up. “Where?”
“In the catacombs,” I said. “They were… together.”
Blake’s jaw tensed. “You were in the catacombs last night?”
Shit.
He looked at me slowly. “Anywhere in the catacombs you saw Malakai was far too deep for an Initiate to be venturing.”
He stood, a sense of urgency in his demeanor. “You must not speak of this to anyone else, especially the other Aurkai. You will be cast out and never able to return. You are lucky I showed up and not one of the others.”
My eyes snapped on his with incredulity.
“Why did you show up? And why are you helping me?” I asked.
Tension formed between us like a secret spoken aloud, but too soft to hear.
Blake’s eyes were a dark, stormy shade of gray. There was an edge in his demeanor—the way he leaned forward, his head tilted down, his lips pressed into a thin line.
There was much he was not saying.
“If you recall, I was not the one who found you.”
Ezreal’s silent, predatory presence flashed through my mind, causing an uncomfortable pulse to rip through my body.
He was right, but what did he mean? I kept my mouth shut, hearing the warning in his tone, but why?
Blake looked into the distance, deep in thought. “It is astonishing that you were not subjected to the memory conditioning. The fewer people who realize that, the better off you are. Speak to no one. And under all circumstances—stay away from Ezreal Kalmont.”
I swallowed painfully and recognized my cue to leave, but Blake’s words stopped me.
“Anna, Nightfall is a dangerous place,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “But I will keep you safe.”
I didn’t move, stunned, trying to process what he was saying. Before I could ask, he swept past me to another room as if he hadn’t said anything at all.
It was strange, because even if he hadn’t said it—I already felt that way.