Page 208 of Eternal Ruin

Was this her attempt at healing their relationship?

Kidan kept walking. She’d hoped that’d make her sister go away but it didn’t work. Humming, her sister followed her. A few years ago, this would have been an ordinary day, a walk to the park or from school, but now June’s lovely song carried an eerie undertone. Kidan rolled her shoulders, trying to get rid of the sensation that someone was watching her.

She looked over her shoulder. June’s eyes remained a honeyed color, her brown face innocent. When June stepped into a shadow, a flash of golden-olive eyes took over her sister’s pupils, gone the next second. Kidan shook her head.

You’re being paranoid.

But June had tried to kill her once. It didn’t mean she wouldn’t try again.

So tell her to go away.

Kidan worried her bottom lip, her sister’s wildflowers scent tickling her nose. She didn’t want June to go away. Nor did she want her to stay close. Even if this wouldn’t last, she wanted to walk with her sister. There was no harm in that. They could pretend a little.

When they arrived at Uxlay, semester break was over and students dragged themselves to class with caffeinated drinks, rubbing their eyes, fatigued from late-night parties. Kidan released a deep breath among the oppressive architecture. It was easy to forget there was an entire world outside the massive golden gates. Past the Ajtaf engineering buildings and their black spires, June stopped by a red-roofed bakery, her eyes sparkling. “Want to have some doughnuts?”

Sweet Fang Bakery had a few students enjoying its many treats. But the question only made Kidan wince. She knew her sister was trying, but she couldn’t bring herself to go inside. It was like a flip had switched overnight and Kidan didn’t know what to make of June’s new attitude.

A little crestfallen, June hesitated and then she said, “I’ll get us some.”

And left her standing there.

Kidan was still trying to understand if she should accept the doughnuts or not when Sacro, the well-suited vampire, appeared at her side.

“Adjoa wishes to speak with you.” His tone was polite but firm.

Kidan glanced at her sister, who was lining up among the soft lights, shifting from one foot to another. It felt like looking into another world and time. A stranger knocked into June’s shoulder and dropped his box of doughnuts. June quickly bent down, smiling gently and helped the nervous boy, who wore a Goro House sigil on his scarf. Kidan’s gut turned. June’s casual kindness felt like a punch to the lungs. It would have been better if June treated everyone cruelly. Easier to hate her. But June didn’t seem to have changed toward everyone else. Only Kidan.

Unable to stand June’s compassionate gaze anymore, Kidan turned her face. “Let’s go.”

Sacro escorted her to Piran House. Perched at the northern border of Uxlay, it was surprisingly made of nothing but old bricks, something that belonged to another century.

Adjoa Piran was waiting for Kidan with a hardened gaze. “We need to talk about Yusef Umil.”

73.

KIDAN

I can’t stay long,” Kidan said warily. “I have my final class soon.”

The final class of Mastering a House Law was going to be held in Dean Faris’s massive house. It made her nervous, the switch in location. Introduction to Dranacti’s last class had been disturbing and Kidan didn’t put it past the professor to reveal something equally dark.

“He’s switched sides, Yusef,” Adjoa said, standing under the lemon tree of her front garden. Kidan blinked, unsure what she’d heard. “My vampires have been following him over the semester break. There wasn’t a single day he didn’t spend with Slen Qaros.”

Kidan’s neck prickled with alarm but she fought it aside. “No, he wants to see a different Uxlay. A safe one where Dranacti doesn’t exist.”

Adjoa’s mouth pursed. “He’s lost faith in you. He doesn’t believe your mother has left the mask for you.”

“He’s lost faith? Or have you?”

From this angle, the leader of Piran House looked much older, weary, like a soldier who’d been on a battlefield for too long.

“The others agree with me,” Adjoa continued. “The safest way to secure your position is to get rid of Yusef. His aunt will vote your way.”

“Get rid of him?” Kidan nearly growled. “I thought you were all against murder. Want to change Dranacti because it makes us kill one another?”

Adjoa narrowed her eyes. “There are other methods we can use. Murder isn’t what your mother would want.”

“He’s my friend,” Kidan said tightly, not liking her tone. She gripped her mother’s finger bones tightly in her pocket. “I’ll talk to him.”