29. Willow
Chapter 29
Willow
M ax joins us on the way to combat class at the House of Shadow Tower. Geraldine’s just finished recounting the medical lesson, and he shakes his head. “How do they expect anyone to survive long enough to join their war?”
“They don’t,” Bodin grunts behind us.
“Have you seen Colin?” I ask.
His worried look chills me. What’s happened to the teen?
Bodin arrives first at the tower. Instead of allowing us entrance, he stands guard, arms folded, inspecting each arriving exhibitor like an enemy.
“Are we going in?” I ask quietly.
“When it’s safe,” he replies.
I retreat to wait with the others, hugging my cape against the cold. Most of us are eager to prepare for the Winter Solstice Ball. Flyers around campus detail proper attire, etiquette, and expected rituals. It’s also Yule, and we’re expected to bring an offer to the gods representing hope, resilience, and the promise of the sun’s return. Since we’re exchanging gifts at home, I’ve wrapped a few stolen treasures but need time to finish.
Tonight, the dragon-bonded Shining Host gathers for the first time since the Pageant of Prowess. The ball is meant to celebrate the longest night and herald the next stage in the Gentle Interlude. For us exhibitors, it means we are about to get serious with training.
I hope so. Nothing we’ve learned will prepare us for the trials less than two moon turns away. Soon, I’ll likely go into heat, forcing me to miss classes or risk being mobbed by every male nearby. Bodin will hate the added attention. I can just hear him complaining about my calamity. I’ve been too nervous to discuss it with Legion, who’s busy dealing with Terrors appearing around Avorlorna.
A shriek pierces the air, followed by a crash inside the tower. Bodin’s jaw clenches, but he remains still until someone speaks to him at the door. He glares at me, clearly saying, “Don’t go anywhere,” then repeats it to the crowd before slipping inside.
Geraldine whispers, “I know we’re not supposed to gossip, but this is weird, right?”
Max tenses. “That sounds like?—”
“A Terror inside,” I finish, surprised by my certainty.
Geraldine raises an eyebrow. “How do you know?”
I shrug, uncomfortable. “I’m not sure. It just . . . feels right.”
Max grins, nudging me. “See? You’re learning. That special dusty tome is coming in handy after all.”
My smile drops when I hear Alfie call my name.
He stands slightly aside, half-turned as if ready to bolt. In the growing darkness, his red hair looks almost black.
“You’d better see what he wants,” Max mutters. “I’ll stay here with Gerrie.”
I don’t want to risk drama. It’s been a long, dull day, and I’m ready for it to end. I haven’t spoken with Alfie properly since my walk of shame around campus. He probably thinks we’re still friends, despite all I learned about him at B.A.R. I take a few surreptitious steps back in case my babysitter watches from a window up higher.
Keeping my gaze ahead, I settle beside Alfie and wait for him to speak. His nearness makes me sick. It’s like I sense his duplicity in the air.
“Are you well?” he asks quietly.
“Fine.”
He pauses. “It’s been hard to catch a private moment with you lately.”
It’s because you’re an asshole. “I’ve been busy.”
“I saw you a few nights ago,” he murmurs. “At B.A.R.”
My lungs seize. Play it cool, Willow.
“Oh?” I reply.
“There’s something I need to tell you. About that night.”
I relax slightly. His tone sounds worried, not accusatory. “What is it?”
“The enchantment didn’t work for me,” he admits. “I remember some things and thought you should know that your Radiants took advantage of you.”
My brows knit. “What do you mean?”
“I saw you.” He clears his throat. “I saw you caught between two of them on the dancefloor.”
Is this a test? Does he still think we’re engaged? Or is he probing to see if I’m willingly involved with the Six?
“What do you mean, caught?” I ask.
“Tell me you’re not involved with them,” he whispers.
“Alfie, what did you see?” I glare, hoping he misreads my anger for fear.
He hesitates, then leans closer. “They drugged you and forced themselves on you. Sexually . I saw it all.”
Shock courses through me.
I was definitely a willing participant, but also, how the fuck did he see anything? Bodin and Legion had taken special care to hide the details from anyone around us, except maybe for the part where they licked me off Bodin’s fingers. I guess that’s not hard to interpret.
Wait. He sent me to Milford, a known abuser who drugged his conquests. Now he’s acting concerned, playing the virtuous knight. Does he think I’m clueless?
“So you watched it happen?” I test him back. “And yet did nothing to help me?”
“I couldn’t,” his eyes widen. “There were two of them.”
That sick feeling continues to churn in my stomach. He mistakes the source of my expression. I want to start poking holes in his story, to ask him what he was doing on that dancefloor himself but remind myself I don’t give a fuck about him anymore. He’s already whispering how he’s gaining Goodfellow’s trust, has more charms than ever, and will get me out of the House of Shadow if it’s the last thing he does.
“They even manipulated you into maiming two innocent women,” he continues. “You went wild and attacked them for no reason while they laughed. You weren’t yourself.”
Not myself? That night—apart from the fight, well, half the fight—I was happy. It’s the happiest I’ve been in a while. What did I look like before that he couldn’t recognize that person was me?
“Alfie, I’m fine,” I show him my healed fists. “If I was brawling, wouldn’t I be wounded?”
“They erased the evidence,” he looks at me like I’m dumb.
The tower door opens. I step forward, eager to escape, but he grabs my arm.
“You’re beautiful again, Willow. Haven’t you asked yourself why?”
“What are you insinuating?”
“I don’t need to. The evidence is in the mirror. It’s in the way they follow you around like lecherous freaks.”
Rage burns cold inside me. “Now you’re saying I’m a slut who traded sexual favors for beauty?”
“That’s not what I meant.” His grip tightens.
“I’m sure you’ve done deplorable things for those charms, Alfie,” I hiss. “You’ve been here for years. I’m not rubbing your face in it, am I?”
“So you admit it?” he scowls. “You’re fucking them.”
“Shh,” I glare. “Keep your voice down.”
“Why? Are you conducting a forbidden affair with your Radiants?”
“I was cursed, you floater ,” I snarl, fisting his shirt. “And I broke it myself. That’s why I’m not ugly anymore.”
I shove him away and return to Geraldine and Max as Bodin reappears. His eyes narrow at my expression, but I look away.
Just as we’re about to enter, Peablossom’s voice resonates from our pocket stones. “Hark, cherished blossoms of Avorlorna!” Peablossom’s sing-song voice chimes from the rocks in our pockets, resonating with an otherworldly timbre. “I bear tidings most wondrous and fair!”
The crowd falls silent, enraptured by her melodic tones.
“Our most luminous and benevolent Regent, Lord Robin Goodfellow—now graced as the Shining Host of the illustrious Baleful Hunt—has, in his infinite wisdom, crafted a glorious opportunity for the advancement of our beloved exhibitors. This boon comes in light of recent whispers on the wind.”
A collective gasp, like a breeze through autumn leaves, ripples through the crowd.
“The Winter Solstice Ball, that most enchanted of gatherings, shall feature an announcement to dazzle and delight. Thus, your daily learnings are suspended for this turn of the sun. Return to your dwellings and adorn yourselves in finery befitting our revelry. Embrace this unexpected boon of freedom!”
When no one moves, she adds with a lilt of forced merriment, “Off you flutter, dear ones! Embrace the dance of chance and change. And remember, as surely as the stars shine . . . we are ever smiling.”
The crowd disperses excitedly, but beneath the surface, anxiety simmers. Exhibitors wear smiles that don’t reach their eyes.
I push closer to Bodin. “What just happened?”
His jaw tightens. “Goodfellow.”
The fucker hadn’t filled his meddling quota after all.