49. Chapter 49
Arwen
The bell rings sharp and shrill overhead, releasing us from Professor Tally’s personal torture chamber disguised as Resource Statistics. I shove my notebook into my bag and stand, already scanning the hallway through the open classroom door.
No buzz cut twins?
That’s… suspicious.
After what happened at the Sinful Sinfall Ball, Maddox demanded that his self-appointed bodyguards be planted outside my classroom before the bell even rings.
For the past couple of weeks, they’ve been there.
Every time. Standing like matching prison wardens and glaring at everyone within a ten-foot radius of me.
Maybe I’m being a bit dramatic. But I’m Wrath at heart, so it irks me even though I know it makes Maddox feel better after my freak out.
I step into the hall cautiously, looking left and right, but there’s no sign of them. Maybe they finally got bored. Or maybe Maddox realized that his bonded is actually capable of destruction with her fists and her powers, and she doesn’t need twenty-four-hour supervision.
A girl can dream.
I barely make it three steps before a slow and lazy whistling creeps down the hall from behind me. I spin to find Maylo Villanox leaning against the wall like he materialized out of the shadows themselves, bright blue eyes glittering beneath messy black hair.
My pulse jumps.
“You,” I accuse.
His grin widens. “Me. Again.”
“Quit leaving creepy messages. And quit popping out of nowhere. And… And… Just how are you getting into my room, anyway?!”
He simply shrugs and says, “No.”
Ugh!
I glance down the hallway. “Where are the twins? I assume you’re responsible for their disappearance.”
He pushes off the wall. “Don’t worry, stormcloud. I only distracted them temporarily. They’re pretty much still breathing.”
“You what? Wait. Pretty much?”
Before I can argue, he catches my wrist and pulls me down a side corridor.
“Maylo—”
He tugs me behind a massive marble statue lining a hallway alcove, shielding us from the view of the people around us going about their day. My back hits cool stone as he steps in front of me, caging me in the narrow space.
His attention sweeps over my face like he’s memorizing it.
“You look tired,” he murmurs, brows scrunching in concern.
“That’s because people keep kidnapping me, stalking me, and sending me deeply concerning gifts.”
His mouth twitches. “But I liked the dress. Even if it was from… unsavory company. "
My stomach drops, but his expression softens. “You were beautiful in it.”
“You weren’t even there!” I hiss. “You cannot keep saying these cryptic comments. You’re bringing me into emotionally unstable territory right along with you.”
“Just because you didn’t see me doesn’t mean I wasn’t there,” he says, running his hand through my hair.
Infuriating.
I slap his hand away. My frustration snaps. “If you care about me so much that you stalk my every move,” I demand, “then why do you keep disappearing on me?”
His smile fades as his eyes go blank.
“Because,” he whispers, “he never lets me keep the things that I love.”
The words hit me square in the chest as something raw flashes across his face before his mask slides back into place.
My anger falters. “Who is ‘he’? Is this the person you refer to as master?”
At the word, his shoulders tense. Panic shines in his eyes as he claws at his neck like he can’t breathe. Almost like there are invisible chains pulled tight around his throat.
“Maylo,” I say carefully. “Who is he?”
His jaw locks as he tries to breathe roughly through clenched teeth. “You shouldn’t ask that.”
“Why not?”
He presses a hand against his temple.
“Because,” he grits out, “I’m not supposed to talk about this.”
Concern cuts through my irritation. “Maylo… are you okay?”
His breathing speeds up, becoming erratic. A thin line of blood trickles from his nose.
My heartbeat speeds up as I panic. “What the hell—”
He swipes at it absently, but more blood follows as his entire body trembles.
“Maylo. Please. What’s happening? How do I help?”
“He doesn’t like when I talk too much,” he squeaks out, face going blue. The world continues on around us. Like no one can see this.
Do I get someone? Or will more attention cause him more suffering?
Fear crawls up my spine. Something is wrong.
“Is the Councilor hurting you?”
His head jerks toward me as panic flashes across his face.
“Don’t,” he whispers. “Don’t say things like that.”
Another trickle of blood slips from the corner of his mouth.
Holy shit. Fuck this. I’m getting help.
“Maylo—”
“I can’t,” he chokes out. It’s not possible to tell you things before it’s time.
“I don’t understand. When is it time?”
He laughs, sounding broken and strained. “You ask impossible questions, stormcloud.”
I move to go find help when, suddenly—
BOOM.
The entire hallway explodes with sound. The floor jolts violently beneath us. I scream as the shockwave throws me sideways, straight into Maylo.
He slams backward into the marble statue with a curse, twisting to wrap himself around me protectively as another explosion rocks the corridor.
Stone cracks as dust fills the air. Students scream somewhere in the distance. My ears ring.
It goes silent and dark as my eyes close. When they open again, all I can hear is chaos and the ringing in my ears. I look around at the blurry mess. My mind flashes back to the destroyed Grand Hall in Gluttony. To the explosion on the docks.
Was this me? No. Please…
“ARWEN!” Maddox’s voice tears through the smoke like a siren, but I can’t see him.
Maylo’s grip loosens just enough for him to look down at me frantically, checking my face, my arms, my legs. “Are you hurt?”
“No—I don’t think so—”
His hands frame my face for one brief second. Relief flashes across his expression. Then distant footsteps thunder closer as Maylo goes still and his entire demeanor shifts. Walls slam back into place.
“It’s time for me to go,” he mumbles.
“What? No—”
“Not yet.”
And then he’s moving away just as Maddox barrels around the corner. Maddox’s eyes land on me, and sheer panic rips across his face.
“Arwen.”
He reaches me in seconds, grabbing my shoulders, checking me over so fast it almost gives me whiplash.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m okay. I think there was an explosion—”
His gaze snaps around the damaged hallway, pure violence simmering beneath his skin. Students are flooding through the corridor now in full panic. Alarms blare overhead.
Maddox grabs my hand. “We’re leaving. I’m getting you somewhere safe.”
“No,” I pull against him. “I need to find Holly.”
“Arwen—”
“She was heading back toward the dorms after class.”
“It’s not safe,” he snaps. “We don’t know what’s happening yet.”
“I’m going back to my room,” I fire back. “You can come with me or not, but I’m not leaving my friends alone if something’s wrong.”
His jaw clenches. For a second, I think he’s going to throw me over his shoulder and carry me to an isolated tower like a dragon hoarding gold. Instead, he exhales sharply through his nose.
“Fine,” he growls. “But you stay beside me.”
***
Maddox disappears for almost twenty minutes. Long enough for my nerves to fray completely.
The dorm room feels too small with all of us packed into it. Holly sits cross-legged beside me on the bed, anxiously picking at chipped black nail polish while Cleo paces near the window. Tabby deals with her stress by talking too much.
A knock sounds against the dorm door before it swings open and Maddox steps inside. The entire room quiets at his thunderous expression.
His dark clothes remain covered with ash. He shuts the door behind him before looking at me.
“Did you find anything out?” I ask.
“I did.” He exhales. “Apparently it was a rebel attack. Security received a message right after the explosion.”
Cleo stops pacing. “The rebels attacked the academy?”
“But why?” Holly asks.
Maddox shakes his head once. “Nobody’s fully clear on that yet. There are already Council representatives involved.” His mouth twists slightly with irritation. “They’re putting SinVail Academy on lockdown until at least the end of the semester.”
The words settle over the room. Something about it makes my stomach turn. Like invisible walls are already closing around us.
“No one in or out without authorization,” Maddox continues. “Extra patrols. Restricted access to Academy Hollow. Curfews.”
“Curfews?” Holly repeats in disgust. “We’re adults, not prisoners.”
“That distinction has always been pretty flexible in Vail,” Maddox says dryly. "And we're lucky they didn't just end the term, like last year."
I look at him. “But what if you’re needed in Gluttony? What then?”
Maddox crosses the room and leans down, pressing a gentle kiss against my forehead.
“You know I’m not exactly great at following rules. It will be fine.”
Even now, even after all of it, his touch still does something to me.
“Besides,” he says quietly, “with Vex’s gifts and now this attack, my place is here more than ever. Protecting you.”
Tabby makes an aggressively loud gagging sound.
I snatch the nearest pillow and launch it directly at her face. She shrieks as it smacks her dramatically off the bed.
“Didn’t we just learn today that violence is not the answer!” she cries.
“You deserve worse,” I mutter. Cleo snorts while Holly laughs for the first time since the explosion. The tension in the room eases slightly. I look toward the dorm window.
“It’s going to be okay, Arwen,” Cleo says, steady as ever. “The Council has handled the rebels many times before.”
“Plus, you’re not exactly helpless,” Holly adds, putting her arm around my shoulder.
Beyond the glass of the window, gloom has swallowed the academy whole. Security lights burn across the grounds now, brighter than usual. Guards move along pathways below in dark clusters.
I think about the explosion. About Maylo bleeding in front of me. The rebels attacking the safest place in Vail.
“I guess,” I say quietly, “you’re never really safe anywhere in Vail.”