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I stepped in front of him until he was forced to look at me with his tired eyes. “That’s impossible,” I said, keeping my voice soft. “Tell me.”

The air in the room grew thicker with every second. I knew exactly what Lanson was feeling; the internal battle on whether to admit the truth.

I slipped my hand down his arm, interlocking my fingers with his. His eyes softened at my touch, looking slightly relieved, as he tightened his hand around mine.

“I was always a burden to them,” he explained, “my parents. My father has always thought of me as a weak waste of space. I had an older brother for a long time, but he died a few years ago. My father blamed me.”

I ran my thumb up and down the top of his hand. “Lanson, I’m so sorry.”

“He was right to blame me. It was my fault.”

My brows furrowed. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

He shrugged and shook his head. His shoulders moved with a deep breath before he continued. “None of that matters anymore. My father practically disowned me after that. I lived on the streets for a while, debated running away dozens of times. I didn’t have a future to begin with, and without my brother, I felt lost. My father told me that the only way I could prove myself to the family was to get into The Golden City. He said once I did that, I would be forgiven.”

A chill washed over me. “You’re doing all of this to gain your father’s forgiveness?”

He laughed, the sound dry and humorless. “It’s ridiculous, I know.”

I stepped closer. “I don’t think it’s ridiculous at all. We all would run through fire for the people we love. I guess that’s what we’re doing here, running through fire.”

The corner of his mouth twitched. “That’s one way of putting it.”

“We’ll get through this. Once we get into The Golden City, things will get easier.”

He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “Let’s hope we don’t end up like Maekus.”

“We won’t,” I swore, more to myself than to him. “We won’t.”

I held onto those words as I made my way back to my bedroom, leaving Lanson alone with his grief. We wouldn’t end up like Maekus.

Wecouldn’tend up like Maekus.

Icracked my bedroom door open to find Wolf already sleeping in bed. I froze.

The last few days, he either disappeared all night, or he crept in after I was fast asleep. I rarely saw him in our bedroom, which I thanked the goddess for every time I entered.

But not tonight.

Tonight, Wolf lay shirtless—to no surprise—above the blankets on his back and his left wing hung off the mattress, grazing the floor with the silky black feathers. One knee was bent and propped up while the other relaxed over the full length of the bed.

I pushed the door open further, slipping inside and trying my best to click it shut silently behind me. My feet glided across the floor as I made my way over to my bed. The old mattress squeaked as I carefully sat down on the old mattress and slipped my boots off slowly, hesitating with every movement and ensuring I didn’t wake him.

With my boots off, I pushed myself backward and reclined until I stared up at the castle ceiling in the darkness.

Hells, today was a mess. I knew some students would be competitive, but Ryder and his friends were blatant murderers. Killing Maekus and getting away with it?

It was time I started watching my back more diligently. These students were out for blood.

I took a long breath, inhaling the cool air and letting my lungs fill before exhaling the stress and tension of the day.

I took another long, relaxing breath.

Another.

My heart slowed, the rapid beats now low, soothing thuds.

“You snore, you know,” Wolf announced in the silent room.