Chapter 22 #3
He gave me a curt nod, and I turned for the door. I glanced back at Dante, whose bright green eyes were aflame as though he was considering murder himself, before stepping into the hall and heading for House Avus.
***
“Is Milo here?” I asked the servant who answered when I arrived a matter of minutes later.
She nodded and bowed to me, wide eyed, before scurrying off to locate my friend. When she returned, she led me to the library.
“Adrian!” Milo greeted enthusiastically as I entered an enormous room littered with books on shelves, desks, or even stacked upon the floor.
“I’m so pleased you’re here! I’ve made a remarkable discovery I’ve been meaning to tell you about, but I’ve been unable to tear myself away from it. It’s truly incredible.”
“Milo,” I tried but, lost in his academic fervor as he was, Milo didn’t seem to hear me.
“I was researching the Trials, you know, since Myrine asked if I could try to locate anything that would assist you and Dante in knowing what the next one pertains to. I found a few bits and pieces here or there, but what’s truly amazing is what else I noticed.
Not about the Trials at all. It’s about the Cullings. ”
“Milo.”
“I realized there was absolutely no mention of them in the earliest books we have here, the ones which talk about the beginning of the Trials and the formation of Sanctuary, the journals from our saints and their kin. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be any mention of the Culling at all for a good four hundred years into our history.
Strange, don’t you think? For an event of such magnitude to go completely unmentioned for centuries?
Unless, of course, the Culling didn’t exist until—“
“Milo!”
His beaming smile turned into a frown, and he closed the book in his hands with an abrupt snap.
“It’s my brother,” I blurted. “He’s in trouble. I need to speak to your grandmother.”
With a concerned expression, Milo nodded. He led me out of the library and through the winding halls of House Avus toward the matriarch’s chambers.
I’d never spoken to Nascha, the matriarch of House Avus, before.
At least, not directly. And given she’d almost sentenced Dahlia to death, I wasn’t sure I wanted to.
But she had kind eyes and an even brighter smile.
She wasn’t nearly the mysterious authoritarian that Cosmo was or the formidable force that was Raghnall of House Lynx.
And she seemed to have a softness for Milo, whom the rest of the First Ringers looked upon with scorn since he’d always been clear that he was never meant for the Trials and was thrilled to have the opportunity to pursue his true passion now, a life of study.
Nascha had looked upon him kindly at his announcement, had seemed almost proud of him for his decision.
She was, without a doubt, my best chance.
So, though I couldn’t forgive her for what she’d been ready to do to my friend, or for how she undoubtedly viewed all of us in the Lower Rings, I could beg. For my brother.
“To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit with this millennium’s most promising candidate?
” Nascha asked with a raised brow once Milo and I had stepped into her room.
Rather, Milo did. I stood, rather uncomfortably, in the threshold, and explained the situation to her in detail.
When I’d finished, she merely cocked her head to the side and asked, “And what does dear Cosmo think of this?”
“He has promised not to pursue punishment for my brother. Though he makes no such promise on your behalf.”
The corners of her lips turned up in a delighted smile.
“Typical Cosmo,” she replied with a wave of her hand. “Play all sides until you can suss out which one benefits you most. Tell me, what did he require of you as payment for his loyalty?”
I tensed.
Nascha offered a knowing grin that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Something about that look made me think that perhaps Cosmo’s wicked deals weren’t an exclusivity he reserved only for the members of his family and their honored guests.
“Heirs.”
Milo’s gaze snapped to me.
Nascha frowned.
“I feared as much,” she replied with a sigh. “There’s nothing more important to Cosmo than his precious bloodline.”
“He’s making you…” Milo began in disbelief, trailing off as his cheeks tinged pink. He averted his gaze, choosing to stare down at the soft blue carpet rather than at me.
“How does Dante feel about this?” Nascha asked, a brow raised in question.
“He agreed.” Disbelief flicked across her face until I added, “To save my brother, to save me, he agreed.”
“The bonds of partnership are a wild beast, aren’t they dear?”
I nodded.
She watched me for a moment longer, gaze narrowing as she examined me closer. “You have been a dear friend to my beloved grandson. Should you ever need a place to escape, House Avus will always be available to you, Adrian.”
I hesitated, unsure if I could trust her.
Cosmo treated me like a possession, a candidate experiencing success in his precious Trials that he could show off at his parties whenever he wished.
Would this matriarch of yet another First Ring house be any different?
I forced a bitter smile in recognition of her offer.
“Cosmo would never allow—”
“Cosmo of House Viper doesn’t know everything which occurs in Sanctuary,” Nascha snapped. “Despite how very much he wishes everyone to believe he does.”
What sort of incident might have occurred between the matriarch of House Avus and the patriarch of House Viper to make her refer to him in such a way?
I kept that forced smile on my lips. I didn’t trust any member of the tribunal and I hated Cosmo more than I’d ever hated anyone but there was something about it being better to be with the beast you knew than the beast you didn’t.
Nascha was all smiles and friendly airs, the sun to Cosmo’s dark cloud, but I could see the wicked gleam peeking out behind those blue eyes, the tension in keeping that smile in place as she schemed.
I nodded, every muscle in my neck taut with the effort.
“Thank you,” I pushed the words through my lips.
“And of course I won’t attempt to punish your beloved brother,” she added, and I exhaled in relief. “After all, we’ve all done our fair share of stupid things where love is concerned.”
I held my tongue, unsure whether love truly had any part of this. And, even if it did, I was hesitant to say that Warren’s choice was stupid. It was brave, admirable even, but had certainly created a whole host of problems that my wayward brother hadn’t had any plan to get out of.
“Thank you, Madam Nascha,” I replied with a low bow.
She chuckled.
“Now, now, enough of that.” She waved me off. “You’re a dear friend to Milo and a welcomed guest of House Avus. You’ve no need to bow to me. Please, stay for dinner and regale us with whatever tale you’re allowed to tell regarding your journey with the Trials thus far.”
“My apologies,” I started, gritting my teeth at the groveling in my voice. I hated this, hated bowing to any of them. “But my family still needs me to sort all this out.”
She nodded, though disappointment floated in her eyes, and ordered her grandson to see me out.
I thanked Milo profusely all the way to the door, but he only smiled sadly back at me and told me to go on, that he would see me later.
Grateful that Milo hadn’t mentioned the deal that Dante and I made with Cosmo, I made my way to the Second Ring as the sky grew dark and the night grew deep.
The guards on duty smiled and called out greetings as I passed.
I tried not to compare their actions now with how they’d treated me just a year ago.
People changed, I reminded myself. I was learning that more and more as the months went on.
The light of my family’s front porch was on.
I knocked on the door and waited, hoping I’d have enough time to assuage my mother’s fears and thoroughly scold Warren before needing to make my way back to House Viper.
But when the door opened, all of that flew from my mind and my heart stopped momentarily at the gaze staring back at me.
“Dahlia.”