Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
My heart is heavy as I move through the rooms I've called home for the past three years. I always knew I'd leave eventually. But not like this. I don't know what happens after we get the scepter.
But I know I'll never live here again. I may never come back at all. Mal comes up behind me. His arm bands around my chest. I inhale his scent and grip his forearms, sagging against him.
"We can stay here tonight, Menace." His voice is low against my ear.
"It's safer if we stay at one of Tilda's cottages. Pretend we're visitors." I press back against his chest, wishing I could disappear into him. His answering growl vibrates through me.
"It feels impossible to want someone this much." He slides my hair aside, exposing my neck. His teeth graze the sensitive spot beneath my ear. Then his tongue.
"Kage will be here any second," I whisper, even as I tilt my head to give him better access.
He groans against my skin. Keeps exploring anyway.
It does feel impossible to want someone this badly.
Maybe the uncertainty is what makes the wanting sharper.
More urgent. His arm loosens as I turn to face him.
My stomach pitches at the need blazing in his eyes.
He grips the back of my hair, tilts my face up, and—
Keys rattle at the door.
I jump back. Whirl toward the bookshelf. My heart races, though I'm not sure why. We're adults. We're not doing anything wrong.
"I got Tilda to upgrade us to a three-bedroom cottage. Free of charge." Kage holds up two keys triumphantly.
"Only because you mentioned Ada's name," Naima adds.
He hands me a folded piece of paper. "We need to move. Legion guards are going door to door."
My blood chills. "What?"
"They're asking about the children the Sages raised," Naima says. Her voice shakes.
"Has anyone talked?" I'm already moving toward the door.
My hands tremble as I lock the door behind us. I unfold the paper as we descend the stairwell.
I'm sorry we haven't been able to catch up. It's been busier than usual. I'll try to come by tonight. -Tilda
I stumble on the last step. The little x's dotting her i's. Tilda was part of the renegades. I shove the note in my pocket. The renegades are the least of our concerns right now. If the legion guards are in Veritas, we're running out of time.
"Did you and Margot pack?" I ask Naima as we walk.
She sighs. "Not yet."
"Naima, this isn't—"
Kage's shadows whirl around us without warning.
Mal throws an arm out, pressing us against the wall.
"Legion guards," Kage murmurs. His shadows cocoon us in darkness.
Mal glances at Naima. "Is the Veritas Estate safe?"
"I don't know." Her voice wavers. "It has wards, but those won't matter if the Council knows about the hidden halls."
I take her hand. Squeeze. I wish I had something reassuring to say, but I've never been a good liar. None of the Sages' training prepared us for this.
They taught us to lie about our gifts. To suppress them. To fear using them. But training only goes so far when you know, deep down, that the person teaching you won't actually hurt you.
"So the estate is out," Kage says.
The grim look they exchange does nothing to calm my nerves.
"Where's the cottage?" Mal asks.
"Behind Ada's clinic. More secluded than the others."
Hearing him call it mine makes my throat tighten. I push the feeling down, along with the dream that once seemed just out of reach and now seems impossible.
Mal crosses his arms. "Where are the other cottages?"
"Near Veneficia Alley. A few streets from mine." Naima's grip tightens when he turns that sharp, calculating gaze on her.
"Visitors are renting there?"
She nods. "The hunters Kage identified are staying nearby. That's probably why Tilda gave us this one instead."
His eyes narrow. "Pack a bag. Stay with us tonight."
"I've told them they can't stay in Lunaris," Kage says. "Neither wants to hear it."
"It's not that we don't want to hear it." Naima's voice cracks. She releases my hand. "Where would we even go? How would we leave?"
I wrap my arms around myself. Look away. Her emotions threaten to slip into mine, and I can't afford that right now. I reach for the bond instead. Lean into Mal's unwavering resolve. His eyes flick to mine for a moment before he turns back to Kage.
"Do you have everything we need?"
"Not yet. None of the receipts have names or places of origin. They only have the House of Justice as the point of delivery. My contact at the docks says there's a shipment coming in tonight, so I'm planning to get on that ship and find some answers."
"You trust this contact?"
Kage huffs a laugh. "You know me better than that. I trust three people, and one of them is standing in front of me." He winks at me. "Don't worry. We'll work on that before we're married."
"When does the ship arrive?" Mal asks, ignoring him.
"Ships dock at the second dog watch. I'll head out when the Veritas clock strikes five."
"You're boarding a ship carrying weapons designed to kill Rooks?" I stare at Kage.
"We need to find out who's making them. Where they're coming from." His expression darkens. "Though we have a good idea about the latter."
"They're not just Rook killers." Naima straightens. "The ivory temporarily weakens all gifts."
I frown. "How do you know?"
"I tested it on interns." She adds quickly, "Minor cuts. Nothing they don't already do at the forgery."
Malachi raises an eyebrow. "And?"
"They couldn't use their gifts. Neither could I. A minor cut was enough to block everything except the most basic abilities.”
"Godsdamn it." Mal looks at Kage. "We'll have to be quick. Save your shadows."
Kage's shadows, already thinning around us, fall away completely. He scowls. "I can't wait to be rid of this curse."
"Pack a bag," Mal tells Naima. "After we search the ship, Kage takes you to Vindariel."
Her eyes widen. "What about Margot? We can't leave her."
"Then take her by force."
If things weren't so dire, I'd balk at his bluntness. But he's right. When Jordi mentioned leaving, Margot withdrew completely. She hasn't spoken about her vision since, but I haven't stopped thinking about it.
“Bain is right,” I add. “We can’t give her a choice. Bring her to the cottage and tell her I need to speak to her or something and we’ll find a way to keep her there and convince her.”
Naima nods rapidly and exhales. “Okay.”
Kage steps out first. We follow, blending into the groups of visitors heading toward Veneficia Alley. Naima grabs my hand to slow me down.
"If Vindariel is cursed, how will we survive there?" she whispers.
"Mal says we can keep going north to Aerathos. But for now, Vindariel is safer than here."
Her eyes narrow. "You know you're the only one who calls him Mal?"
I sigh. "Naima."
"I'm just saying. Everyone's noticed."
"Everyone?"
"Me. Margot. Kage. Draven. Even Jordi mentioned it."
I roll my eyes. "You'd think we have bigger things to worry about."
"That's exactly why it comes up. We only talk about our worries." She squeezes my hand. "You two give us something else."
I huff a laugh. "There's nothing to talk about."
"The way he looks at you says otherwise."
I try not to take the bait. Fail. "How does he look at me?"
"The way you look at Milly's pastries."
A laugh escapes before I can stop it. Both men glance back.
Naima grins.
"I have nothing to say about that,” I mutter, earning a laugh from her.
We reach the corner before she can press further. Kage turns, key in hand.
"Number four. Tilda said if anything goes wrong, there's a hidden door under the rug in the back bedroom."
My pulse spikes at the implication. I take the key without comment.
"Pack and come straight back," I tell Naima.
"I will. I just need to find Margot."
"Tell her I need to speak to her. We'll convince her together."
She nods sharply, then disappears into the crowd.
I don't know how long I've been alone. The sky bleeds redder by the minute, and my restlessness grows with it. I peer through the gap in the curtains. Pace the sitting room. Peer again.
Naima and Margot should have been here by now. After what feels like an eternity, I can't take it anymore. I scribble a note in case Malachi returns first and grab one of Kage's dark cloaks.
A cold finger of dread traces my spine as I lock the door. I try to shake it off.
Then I turn. Dark fog waits on the corner. Still. Patient. As if it's been expecting me.
I clench my fists and wait.
Empath. The voice is in my ear, cold as death. Feel us. Hear us. You are ours to claim.
The air vanishes from my lungs as glowing eyes appear in the fog. Then the darkness retreats, and air rushes back into my chest. I’m still staring at the spot when the sound of screams pulls my attention away.
I run toward the sound and round the corner to find Veritas in chaos. Not the chaos of the Moon Festival, with drunk visitors stumbling through the streets. This is something else. Something worse.
Legion guards shoving people aside. Residents and visitors screaming and running. A woman in a purple cloak falls. Two men rush to help her while the guards dressed in dark green march on without a backward glance.
I stand frozen. Disbelieving.
Then I see Tilda.
Tilda, who is always impeccable, always composed, is shoving through the crowd in a red dress torn at the shoulder.
Her lipstick is smeared. Her eyes are wild with terror.
I sprint toward her, meeting her in the midst of the screaming.
She bellows as she wraps her arms around me and starts to sob uncontrollably.
"What happened?" I try to pull back. "What is this?"
"They took them!" She squeezes tighter, shaking, sobbing. "They just came and took them!"
"Who?"
She pulls back but keeps her grip on my shoulders. Eyeliner streaks down her face. Her eyes are glassy, unfocused.
"They took them!"
"Who?" I shout.
"The children!"
I go cold. "Wh … what children, Til?”
"Naima! Margot! They took them!"
Everything stops. My vision tunnels. I stop breathing. Stop listening. Stop thinking. And suddenly, it all comes roaring back. I shove past her. She grabs me, but I keep moving, dragging her with me until I see him.
And I stop.
Arlo moves through the crowd like a shark through water. Sharp. Powerful. Untouchable. Behind him, legion guards flank Naima and Margot. Both in manacles.
The scream that tears from my throat doesn't sound human. Tilda's arms wrap around me from behind. I thrash, trying to break free.
"Godsdamn it." She jabs the base of my spine with her finger. "Stop. Moving."
The compulsion hits instantly. It spreads from the point of contact, through my organs, into my brain. My body goes slack. I grit my teeth. Fight it. She taught me how. She trained me for this.
My friends disappear from view. And then I see another face. Casimir. Also in chains. I stagger. Tilda tightens her grip.
"This is against the treaty!" someone screams.
"The Sages broke the treaty long ago!" A legion guard's voice cuts through the chaos. "Their residents refuse to wear amulets! Because of them, our borders are no longer secure from the Shroud!"
"Because of them, the land rots! The curse spreads! Our guards have been poisoned by their forbidden gifts!" The guard raises his voice above the crowd. "Tomorrow, these renegades will be dealt with! Bring us Jordan the Mapmaker!"
"The Council took him!" someone shouts. "You already have him!"
"Bring us Jordan, or we deliver death to these traitors!"
The crowd follows the procession. I'm trapped by Tilda's compulsion, her arms locked around me. By the time I break free, they're gone.
There's nothing left to chase.