Chapter 33
The bodies of the dead littered the battlefield, rot and decay permeating the air. Pools of crimson dappled the earth as if the earth itself were bleeding. Nameless, faceless, the lost. There is no triumph in war.
UNKNOWN AUTHOR (THE VAULT)
My door was locked, which brought me up short. If it was locked, then how could anyone be inside?
Brek and Jay exchanged skeptical glances as I unlocked and pushed it open.
The room was empty. But Jay checked the washroom and under the bed anyway. He raked back his thick, dark hair. “All clear.”
“You must have gotten the rooms mixed up,” Brek said.
My scalp prickled, nape tightening. “Yeah. Must have. Sorry about that.”
They wished me luck for the grading tomorrow, said their goodbyes, and left.
I closed the door and leaned against it, scanning my room once more, trying desperately to pinpoint the source of my unease.
I spotted it a moment later.
My mother’s box was open on the dresser, Dharma’s ruby amulet beside it.
I hadn’t taken it out.
Someone had been in my room.
* * *
Clary climbed into bed beside me, and Benedict and Dori got comfortable in sleeping bags on the floor.
“Just let anyone try to come through that door now,” Benedict said, plastering a menacing scowl on his face.
“Yeah, that face will totally scare them off,” Dori drawled.
“Or you could just sing to them,” Benedict shot back.
“Hey!” Dori pressed a hand to her chest. “That’s just mean.”
“Dori is tone deaf,” Clary whispered to me.
“I heard that,” Dori said.
None of them had questioned my suspicions when I explained why I thought someone had been in my room. They simply offered to sleep in here with me tonight.
“That bitch Tamina could have sent someone,” Dori had said. “They might have bypassed the lock somehow.”
Now I had three bodyguards. I’d have liked to say I didn’t feel the need for the company, but I’d be lying.
I was spooked. By Selina, the missing memories, and now the person who’d snuck into my room simply to rifle through my mother’s things.
Despite all those factors, sleep came surprisingly easy. I slipped into dreams of home and Mother. But the dreams soon turned sour, taking me into the forest once more. To the circle of mushrooms and then to the quad outside Bramble Tower.
A shadow circled overhead.
The rook.
“You have to see. You need to see so that others may see.”
I didn’t like this. I didn’t want to look.
But my feet moved forward of their own accord, dragging me step by step toward the pavilion.
Every inch of me wanted to fight the pull, but even in my dream, Clary’s advice came to mind.
“If you don’t fight it, then maybe you’ll remember.”
If I wanted to solve Selina’s mystery, I’d have to give in. To let the dream take its course, even though dread pooled in my belly.
The pavilion loomed, closer and closer. My heart swelled with impending doom. No. I didn’t want to see. I didn’t—
“Dammit, Onyx!”
I jolted awake in Vitra’s arms, the wind howling and ripping at my nightshirt.
“What…” I was outside. How had I gotten outside?
“You’re bleeding. Again.” Vitra scooped me into his arms, his jaw tight with anger. “If you want my attention, there are better ways of getting it.”
I was too shaken to take umbrage at his assumption. “I was locked in my room. The quarters. Pip…”
“Yes, yes. I’ll be looking into that.”
I clung to him, using his body heat to stave off the chill. “I was dreaming. I need to remember.”
“You need to get warm and have your feet tended to. You’ve cut them on the gravel.”
The soles of my feet began to throb as if on cue, a sure indication of an injury.
We slipped into the tower and up the stairs. “The others were in my room. They were sleeping in my room. I don’t understand…”
The thud of boots echoed down the stairs, and Benedict and Dori appeared above us.
“Fuck!” Benedict came to a halt, raking a hand through his hair. “Ana, we don’t know what happened.”
“What happened is you slept through your friend getting up and sleepwalking,” Vitra bit out.
“I’m a light sleeper,” Clary said. “I felt you get out of bed—but I couldn’t move.”
“Same,” Benedict said. “I heard you open the door, but I couldn’t pull myself out of sleep.”
“Something happened to us,” Dori said.
Vitra’s eyes narrowed as he studied me. “You’ll stay with me for the rest of the night.”
“What?” I tried to wriggle out of his arms, but he simply held me tighter.
“That is not an offer, Miss Onyx. It’s an order.”
“You can’t order me.”
“You’ll find that I can.” He continued up the stairs, past the others. “I’m your Tower Master, and it is my duty to keep you safe. Right now, the safest place for you is in my quarters. In my bed.”
“Now, you wait a minute—”
“If a spell was used to incapacitate your friends, then they can’t be trusted to watch over you. I, however, am immune to most magical influence.”
“I’m not sleeping with you.”
He let out a bark of laughter. “Really? That’s where your mind goes? Don’t worry, I’ll be on the sofa.”
My face burned as we crossed a hallway and climbed yet another flight of stairs.
“What if your dreams and your sleepwalking are some kind of spell?” Dori suggested.
“Oh shit,” Clary said. “They could be.”
“We get our power back in a few days,” Benedict reminded us. “If we can keep you safe till then, we’ll figure this out once we have access to the Weave.”
“Good plan,” Vitra said as we reached the Unwoven floor. “Now get some rest. You’ll need your energy to cheer Miss Onyx on in the grading tomorrow.” He didn’t wait for their responses before continuing up the next flight of stairs to his floor.
There was no fighting this man, and frankly, I didn’t want to. I relaxed in his arms, and his grip on me eased a little.
“What happened earlier today?” he asked. “When you came back to the classroom? You were stressed about something.”
“There’s no point telling you. You’ll forget. Everyone I’ve told has forgotten.”
“Forgotten what?”
What harm would it do to explain it to him? “There was a student who went here. But something happened to her, and now every time I tell anyone about her, they forget.”
His body stiffened. “And you told me about her? You told me her name?”
“Yes. I had her journal, and I think Tamina took it. You were going to get it back for me. But you forgot. I guess you’re not as immune to magical influence as you think.”
He was silent for several beats. “Theo Moon is in the infirmary. Severe facial trauma. He refuses to name his attacker.”
I felt his regard like a warm caress and looked up to meet it. “What?”
“Do you know who attacked him?”
Tamina was a crazy bitch. The things she’d done to Ruspin were despicable, but she’d jumped in to save me from Theo. I owed her for that.
“Ana?” Vitra probed.
“I have no idea. But he probably deserved it.”
“He’s the one responsible for the bruise on your face?”
“Maybe…”
He pushed open the door to his quarters and carried me into blessed warmth.
“Then yes, he deserves it.” He set me down on the sofa and knelt in front of me before gently lifting my bloody foot to examine the sole.
“It’s not too bad. Let’s get you cleaned up.
” He went into the neighboring room, returning a few moments later with a bowl of warm water, a washcloth, and bandages.
I sat up and reached for the cloth, but he pulled his hand away. “Sit back.”
“I can sort myself out.”
The corner of his mouth lifted. “I’m sure you can.”
If only he knew how often I didn’t bother with…sorting myself out. It did very little for me unless I was already feeling emotionally and cognitively aroused over someone. But tonight, his touch evoked pleasant tingles that spread out over my foot and climbed my leg.
He glanced up. “Your pulse is racing. Since I know you can’t feel pain, I can only assume that you’re deriving pleasure from my touch.”
“I don’t feel that either.” It was a lie when it came to him, but I didn’t need him knowing how he affected me.
He stilled. “What?”
“Pleasure.” I shrugged. “Pleasure and pain. Gone. It’s my special curse.”
He slowly lowered my foot. Then ran his hand from my ankle to my calf while maintaining eye contact.
My pussy throbbed, and I pressed my thighs together to quell the sweet ache blooming there.
I was dressed only in sleep shorts and a soft cotton shirt.
Practically naked, and he was touching me.
Oh, Trinity, I wanted him to continue to touch me.
“You can feel me?”
“Yes, obviously I feel it.” I kept my tone neutral. “It just… It doesn’t do anything for me.”
He pushed up on his knees, leaning forward to brace himself on the arms of my chair, his body close, too close. My breath quickened.
He licked his lips. “So…when you fuck…do you come?”
My stomach quivered, the way he said that damn word… “This is hardly an appropriate conversation.” I sounded like a prude, and I didn’t even care.
He frowned, gaze dropping to my parted mouth. “I’m curious. Tell me.”
I swallowed past the throb in my throat. “I’ve had orgasms, of course, but more because of what’s up here.” I tapped my temple. “Pleasure isn’t only about physical sensation, you know.”
He sat back on his heels with a look on his face that I couldn’t decipher. “You’re right. It isn’t. With the right partner, you could feel all kinds of pleasure.”
Was he offering? My mouth was suddenly dry as sandpaper. “I suppose so.”
The look on his face intensified, gaze darkening, and for a moment, I thought he might offer to show me, but then he dropped his gaze and reached for my foot again. “It’s late. Let’s get you cleaned up and into bed.”
The hollow place in my chest did not mean that I was disappointed.
He finished cleaning and bandaging my feet with slow, precise movements. He had nice hands, large hands. Strong hands with long fingers and manicured nails. Hands that would look good against my skin.
Nope. Do not go there, Ana.