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Several pairs of hands were on me, pulling me away from him, but I fought back, spewing the worst abuse I could muster. Jaxon wiped his bloody lip, eyes glittering with triumph.

‘Take her to the Tullianum,’ Carter shouted.

That was the last thing I heard.

27

CONSEQUENCES

ROME

21October 2060

I woke in handcuffs. As I regained consciousness, my wrist seared, drawing a faint groan from me. It was swollen again, and every movement was excruciating. I didn’t need Nick to know it was bad.

The memories washed back. My knuckles were bruised and bloody, and my head spun. I must have been sedated.

Jaxon Hall had always meant to reclaim the crown I had snatched from his fingertips. He had plotted my disappearance, seizing the chance Scarlett Burnish had given him, knowing it would create a power vacuum in London. A power vacuum only he could fill.

He was the one who had taught me to be an opportunist. The boy from the gutter, leaving no pocket unpicked, no open window left untouched, no grudge buried. I had to applaud his commitment to vengeance.

The alysoplasm was still going strong. I couldn’t possess anyone to open the door, and my ankle was chained to the wall. For a long time, I lay on the floor, shivering. When the main door opened, a breeze ruffled my hair, and Jaxon was there, on the other side of the bars.

‘Good evening.’

I sat up. From the looks of him, I had fractured one of those perfect cheekbones, as well as split his lip.

‘You bastard,’ I rasped. ‘You’re the Lepidopterist.’

‘One of so many names,’ he said. ‘You really should have double-checked that I was dead.’

He sat on the flagstones, facing me in the dim torchlight.

‘Iwastempted to order Eléonore Cordier to kill you,’ he said, ‘but after you knifed me in the back for the whole syndicate to see, I’m delighted I didn’t. A public humiliation is long overdue.’ He took out a cigar and lighter. ‘Call it a taste of your own medicine, Black Moth.’

‘Did you tell her to betray Arcturus?’

‘I told her to get him away from you. His influence on you was far too strong.’

‘What would you have done if I hadn’t given her the slip?’

‘She would have brought you to me at my convenience,’ Jaxon said, ‘and you would have been at my mercy, just where you are now. Exactly where I want you.’

‘Why?’

‘I told you, Paige. Your gift is a marvel,’ he said. ‘If you die, it evaporates. Better to mould my enemies, as the Suzerain does.’

‘How did you persuade Burnish to give you those files?’ I asked. ‘Alsafi was her ally, and he would never have let her trust you with them, after what you did in Oxford.’

‘Alsafi was gone. Burnish had limited time to act, and I was leaving for Versailles. She gave me an address in Paris, promising her sister would find a way to repay me.’

I forced myself to listen, because I had to understand.

‘As soon as Burnish gave me the files, I knew she was the one who had released you from the Archon,’ Jaxon said. ‘Before meeting Cordier, I observed her for a while, taking alysoplasm to ensure my anonymity. Though I never saw you, my suspicion grew that Cordier likely had. My suspicions were confirmed when I met her, and we struck a deal. In exchange for the information her sister had harvested, Cordier would remove you from Scion for sevenmonths, creating a power vacuum in London, and then bring you to me.’

‘And what then?’

‘If you failed to cooperate, I could tip you over the edge, into oblivion. You soon would have forgotten about Arcturus Mesarthim. You would have been mine to remake,’ he said. ‘I might have taken inspiration from this other dreamwalker, and modelled you on him.’