Chapter 16 Thou Shalt Not Ignore a City on Fire
Thou Shalt Not Ignore a City on Fire
Arwen
The following week flies by in a blur of classes, training and late-night research. Since I refuse to approach Atticus again, we’ve gone back to the drawing board on activating my sin power.
“I never thought I’d be spending more time in the library than with hot academy guys for my first semester.” Tabby whines as we walk down the hall.
“Seriously, Tabby... how did you expect to pass your classes?” Cleo responds.
“Hey, professors are part of the male population.”
“You’re deplorable.”
“But…” Tabby continued, “We haven’t even found a lead on anything else to bring out your powers. Are you sure you don’t want to try again with Atticus?”
I roll my eyes at her in response. “I may not be in Pride, but I have a little pride, Tabby. No way I’m getting within 25 feet of that pompous asshole.”
“Attention. Attention” A voice broadcasts over the speakers.
“All students report to the auditorium. I repeat, all students and staff must report to the auditorium immediately.”
I look to Tabby and Cleo, who shrug, and we turn around to make our way to the auditorium.
Once inside, we take our seats. The rest of the students look just as clueless as us.
“The sinless looks worried. Maybe they’re kicking her out.” I hear from behind me. Being the school joke never gets old.
Dean Bellows steps up on the stage. She looks exhausted. Despite her frazzled state, her presence alone still commanded the attention of everyone in the room.
“Quiet everyone.” Her voice echoes around the halls. We settle in as a hush falls over the room.
“Last night there was an attack. A rogue group of Sloth rebels attacked the city Plethora in Gluttony…”
She pauses as students gasp around the room.
“The scene is still being investigated, but I will share what little news we have gained. It appears the Rebels were after some relics being held in a warehouse. The Sloth guardians charged with protecting the relics fought off the rebellion until a nearby unit of Wrath could arrive. It appears no relics were stolen and are still under our protection. Unfortunately, the unit didn’t catch any of the rebels.
There were casualties on both sides and indirect casualties in the city.
We are working to gain additional intel but felt it prudent to inform the student body and staff.
Please know we will inform any student affected. ”
I look at Cleo, who is holding Tabby’s hand, almost in tears. I forgot Cleo had come to the academy from Plethora. That must be her home where the attack happened.
“Cleo, I’m sure everything is okay with your family,” Holly says on her other side.
Dean Bellows continues her speech. “You will see increased guard presence around the borders of the Academy, outside the Wards and on the way to Academy Hollow. Do not worry. This is for our protection.”
I look at Brix as he shrugs in response. We don’t get to go off campus, so I didn’t know there was a guard to begin with.
“As you know, we vet the students who attend this academy diligently… That being said… If you have any information or suspicions related to this attack, we urge you to inform a staff member. We are all in this together. "
She ends her brief announcement, and we all file out and back to the dorms. “Hey, want to come to our room for a bit?” Holly asks a teary-eyed Cleo.
“Yeah, I think I need a distraction to keep my mind off of this.” She sniffles.
Cleo sits cross-legged on my bed, her hands twisted together in her lap. She hasn’t said much since the announcement, but she has worry written all over her face. Holly perches beside her, rubbing her back in soft, steady circles.
“If something happened to your parents, you’d know. They’d make sure you were told first.” Holly says.
“Exactly,” Brix adds, leaning against the desk. “No news is good news. They’re probably holed up safe somewhere.”
Cleo’s lips try to curve into a smile, but her eyes stay cold, distant, like someone flipped a switch off inside her.
Tabby flops dramatically onto the floor. “I mean, can we talk about how screwed up it is that any of this even happens? That innocent people get caught in the middle of a fight every time one faction decides they’re owed something?”
Sly shushes her, darting a look at the door. “Careful.”
Tabby rolls her eyes.
“Still,” Holly warns, “walls have ears. You must be careful talking like that. I’m sure the councilors have everything under control.”
“Hmph.” I respond. “The same Councilors who wanted to exile a teenager to her death simply because she hadn’t developed a sin power? Yes, I’m sure they have our best interests at heart.”
The room falls into a heavy silence. I shift on the bed beside Cleo, the words pressing against my tongue.
Brix is the first to speak up and voice our very private, very treasonous thoughts.
“She’s not wrong, though. Pride eats first, Greed eats second, and the rest of us fight over scraps.
You’ve seen it. People in Wrath or Sloth or even Lust—” he stops, lowering his voice, “—they barely survive. But the rules are made by people who never go hungry. How is that fair?”
“It isn’t,” Sly mutters. “But you won’t hear that from anyone with power. Even those in power in our own factions. They’re too busy living in more luxury than the rest of us and taking what they can get.”
Cleo exhales, her shoulders trembling. “That’s what I hate most. They play their games, and people like us pay the price.”
We all look at her. She’s staring at the blanket, fists clenched. And then she lifts her head.
“There’s something I haven’t told you,” she whispers, like the words might shatter if she says them too loud. “About why I’m really here.”
Everything in the room seems to pause.
“You can tell us,” I say, careful, careful not to make it sound like I’m holding my breath.
Holly leans in, unwavering. “We’ve got your back.”
“My family’s not important. We’re not one of the old Gluttony bloodlines, we aren’t involved in any of the big casinos or businesses and we definitely aren’t involved with any of the Gangs who hold all the power.
We never had much money, never had pull.
But our family was happy. Being out of the spotlight has its perks too, and we loved each other and had a good life.
I was good at tech. Always have been. Too good, apparently.
I guess word spread. One day this man—well, he wasn’t really a man, more a messenger—showed up at our door.
Said he was with one of the mafia families. ”
Sly sits up straighter. “The gangs?”
Cleo nods. “He told my parents they had a problem that needed taken care of and they required a hacker. That they’d heard about me from the school. He wanted me to dig into another gang’s records. My parents said no, of course. They wanted me far, far away from that world.”
Her voice shakes, but she keeps going. “The man left. But he came back with others. Muscle and weapons. They made it clear that it wasn’t a request. There was…
some violence. My dad still walks with a limp.
” Her hands twist tighter. “So I did it. I hacked into the other family’s accounts.
I didn’t go looking for anything, just got in and handed control over.
And when I finished, they handed us more money than we’d ever seen.
Enough to fix things for a while, more food, more supplies for my parents’ store. Medicine in case we got sick.”
Cleo swallows hard. “I thought that was it. One job. I was a high school student after all. But a year later, he came back. He said he’d made arrangements for my career after school. I’d be working for them full time. After I graduated from SinVail Academy.”
My stomach drops. “What?”
“My parents said no. Said I deserved a choice in my future.” Cleo’s voice cracks, but she forces herself to keep steady. “They said this was too far….”
“But the man laughed. He said I needed them. If they didn’t protect me, the other family I hacked the year before would find out. And then…” She doesn’t finish the sentence. She doesn’t have to.
No one breathes.
“So now I’m here,” Cleo says finally, her voice small. “Training. Waiting. And when I graduate, I won’t get a choice. I’ll be theirs. There wasn’t another option. My entire future… it’s already decided. Violence. Blood. It’s all that’s waiting for me. All I have is my family and their safety.”
The silence in the room is thick, suffocating. I reach for her hand without thinking, gripping it tight.
“Not if we can help it,” I say, my voice firm even though my insides are shaking.
“You’re not alone in this. You have us. And we’ll figure out a way to make sure that future doesn’t happen.
If you believe you can help me avoid my tragic destiny, surely, we can all help figure something out for you. ”
Around us, the others nod—one by one, quiet but certain.
Even after everyone leaves, I still can’t shake the conversation.
It sits in my chest like a stone, pressing harder with every breath.
I’ve always heard about the mafia of Gluttony, whispered stories of corruption bleeding across the continent, but those tales felt distant—like tales from a storybook of places I would never see.
Now, with Cleo… it’s real. It’s ugly. And it’s so much closer than I ever wanted it to be.
My mind keeps circling Maddox. Maddox—the son of the Gluttony leader, one of the most notorious mafia bosses.
My partner in class. The boy I’ve been tutoring week after week as if he were nothing more than a struggling student who needed my help.
I let myself ignore what he really was. Maybe I didn’t want to see it. But now I can’t unsee it.
The memory crashes back—Cleo’s face on the first day of class, pale and terrified the moment I got partnered with him. I thought it was nerves, his reputation, maybe intimidation.
But no… it was fear. Real, bone-deep fear.
Fear I should have paid attention to. Fear that makes sense now. What has she seen from him? What has she lived through? Is he part of the Gang that is now forcing her servitude? Or maybe he is the leader of the gang whose files she hacked into, and he’d have no qualms hacking into her.
And what does that say about me, sitting beside him, laughing at his quiet little smirks, treating him like he’s safe?
Shivering, clutching my blankets tighter. I don’t know Maddox at all. I never did. He’s dangerous. Even Atticus knew that, and he’s an idiot. He’s part of this world that’s crushed people like Cleo, that feeds on fear and power and control. How could I have been so blind?
My stomach twists. I feel sick, cornered, like I’ve been walking a cliff’s edge without realizing the drop beneath me. He could destroy me if he wanted to. And here I’ve been giving him my time, my trust—letting him into my orbit as though he’s harmless.
No more. The tutoring ends. Potion or no potion, I don’t care. It’s not worth the risk. Not worth the fear.
Even as I make that promise to myself, I can’t escape the dread crawling up my spine. Because walking away from Maddox isn’t just an end. It’s a risk in itself. And I don’t know if I’m ready for what happens when you tell someone like him no.