Chapter Twenty-Seven #2
‘Hungry?’ he asks, walking over and placing the tray near my crossed legs. I nod, and lift the tray to my lap, quickly discarding the lid because I am absolutely famished. My mouth waters the moment the hot steam carrying the scent of herbs hits my nose.
‘Where did you get the food?’ I ask cautiously before taking a bite.
‘The kitchen. Lillian told me what she’s been doing for you since Jamie died.’
I wait for him to reprimand me for taking up Lillian’s time. To tell me I should retrieve my own food and stop being such a coward, but he doesn’t. Instead, he just nods, gesturing to the tray. Eat, his eyes say.
So, I do, unable to help the soft moan that works its way up my chest as the roasted meat practically melts on my tongue.
I don’t question if it’s poisoned. If he wanted me dead, he could have done it the first time he slept in my room. He could have slashed my throat with a dagger or burnt me alive while I pretended to sleep. Something tells me, if Sebastian Zain was going to kill someone, it wouldn’t be by poison.
‘Stars, this is good,’ I groan around a mouthful, not caring one bit that all my manners have left the building.
My mom would be livid if she could see me right now.
I swallow down the mouthful, about to tell him how I’ve never tasted meat this tender in the dining hall but stop short when I see him staring at me, with a strange expression on his face.
‘What’s wrong?’ I ask, wiping sauce from the corner of my mouth with the pad of my thumb. I suck it off and, much to my surprise, his eyes darken.
Quickly, he turns his head away, cursing before he reaches into the front pocket of his pants and pulls out a small brown glass jar.
It looks similar to the jars my mom uses for her healing ointments.
‘Your friend gave me this for your cheek. Wouldn’t let me past her without promising I’d give it to you. ’
I don’t even have to ask which friend, because Tilly is the only person I know who would be insane enough to block Sebastian Zain’s path and make him do that. ‘Feisty little thing she is,’ he adds.
‘She’s a good friend,’ I say honestly, a smile lifting the corners of my mouth.
‘Only you would befriend someone as reckless as yourself.’ He places the jar on the edge of my dresser.
I shrug, popping a piece of honeyed carrot into my mouth.
I don’t see Tilly as reckless; I see her as bold.
She’s the type of friend who will stand by your side, even when all the odds are against you.
That’s exactly what she did on that very first day.
It’s what both her and Xavier have done.
Choosing to stand by my side, even while the rest of the students at Valmora Academy couldn’t care less if my throat was sliced open in the middle of the dining hall tomorrow morning.
For that, I owe them my loyalty.
I eat in silence for a while longer until I finally work up the courage to ask a question that’s been plaguing my mind since Jed left.
‘What happened to Moira? Was she sent to solitary like Harley?’
He hesitates for a second. Through clenched teeth he answers, ‘No.’
My fork pauses halfway to my mouth.
‘No one’s being sent there until they figure out what happened to Harley. She’s under watch in one of the spare rooms in the Agate tower.’
The fork clatters to the half-empty plate. ‘But she’s being punished, right?’
Sebastian’s expression grows grim. ‘She claims you hit her first and she was acting in self-defence.’
‘That’s bullshit!’ I shout, nearly knocking the plate off my legs in the process. ‘She attacked me!’
‘I figured. But it’s her word against yours right now and since no one was there to witness how it started—’
‘She burnt my face!’ I interrupt, pushing the plate aside. I slide out of the bed and leap to my feet, needing to move. ‘Using your element against another student is forbidden!’ Unless in combat lessons. I start to pace.
‘Like I said, she said it was self-defence. A few of the other students also said they saw you take her down on the mat during training. They’re siding with her. She’s claiming you overpowered her in the tunnel just like you did on the mat and using her element was her only protection.’
An exasperated scoff retches out of me. I’m so angry that my hands start to shake at my sides. Frustrated tears prick at the corners of my eyes. I could barely walk by the time training was over, let alone take her down in the tunnel. She had the advantage, the upper hand, and she knows that.
‘You’ve also both been suspended from CNM for the next week,’ Sebastian tells me, kicking me down a further notch.
‘You’re kidding?’ I whirl around to face him. His head shakes. ‘Great, so I’m being punished for doing absolutely nothing. Stars, how did Lukas do this for two years? This place is corrupt.’ I say the last part more to myself than to him.
‘Why do you stay when you clearly hate it here so much?’ he asks, with a curious tilt to his head. It’s so unlike the other times he’s brought up the idea of me leaving. This time, it’s different. As if he’s genuinely curious to why I’m putting myself through this.
I debate ignoring his question. Because part of me doesn’t feel like he deserves it. He hasn’t earned my trust. Yes, he carried me to the infirmary, but one kind act doesn’t negate the rest.
With a weighted exhale, I square my shoulders and tell him: ‘Because I deserve to stand with everyone else out there. Whether you think so or not.’