Page 53 of Eternal Ruin

Yusef was watching Kidan with caution. But she must have imagined it because he turned and smiled, all ease. “Well, good luck, everyone. Off you go.”

The students stood and began to cross to the Philosophy Tower. Exhausted, Kidan leaned against the bench.

“I have some time to give you another Amharic lesson,” Slen said, studying her closely. “Meet me in Room 3 in an hour.”

Kidan nodded, barely hearing the words. A pounding filled her ears, and June’s hurt features were coming in and out of her vision. She felt satisfied yet wanted to throw up.

Yusef’s gaze was pinned on her, making her scalp itch. “You become a different person around her.”

Kidan exhaled slowly.

“I need a walk,” she said, grabbing her bag.

She missed GK the most during her walks. He would always watch the crowd, scanning for danger so she didn’t have to. His bones clinking.

This was all wrong. June’s kind smile and warm eyes used to anchor her, every inch of the world could burn and she’d be fine as long as she had her sister. This couldn’t be how they were.

Kidan turned into the corridor attached to the outside of the School of Art building and braced beneath a portrait of the first dean of Uxlay and Professor Andreyas. It was an oil painting with only three colors—black, brown, and a splash of burning gold for the house pins fixed to their chests. The intersecting light and dark mountains of Adane House. Rahel Adane, Kidan’s ancestor, sat with a straight posture, the same dark eyes that ran in their bloodline clearly visible. The professor had not changed at all, cornrowed hair and deep brown skin gracing him well.

Had Kidan’s ancestors fought with their siblings too? Did Mahlet and Aunt Silia ever compete for Adane House and let it tear them apart?

A shadow turned the corner, making Kidan stagger from the painting. For a second, she hoped it was Susenyos. Seeking comfort in his familiar face. But a metal arm caught the light and twinkled. Samson’s dark expression held a sickly new interest. From here, he would have had a direct view of Sheba Square and her interaction with June.

Kidan’s shoulders tensed, anger spreading in her veins. Was that why he looked so pleased?

Besides demanding her blood once a day, Samson was either trapped in Professor Andreyas’s mandatory lectures or slipping away from Uxlay as if he couldn’t stand the conformity of dranaics. It was odd to see him in the middle of campus.

Disconcerting to see the beginnings of a smile on his lips.

22.

KIDAN

Samson’s voice was rough, like shards of sand. “Petty slights might give you satisfaction in the short term, but they’ll fade too soon.” He moved before her, a tall shadow made of metal and fury.

“I heard you,” he continued, tone curling. “During your little tale to June. How much pain you carry.”

So he had been watching.

Kidan regarded him carefully, from the tip of his scarred face to his polished shoes, and said, “Fuck off.”

His smile formed slowly, curving at the tips like a snake. “Why do you think I brought June here? Knowing what she did to you.”

“Because you’re desperate for attention. According to Susenyos.”

His smile slipped off into a dark growl and his arm flexed. She retreated in caution, glancing at the students chatting at the end of the corridor. He wouldn’t try anything in public, would he?

Samson turned his face away, speaking to the building. She preferred it that way. It made her skin itch looking into his spoiled eyes.

“After your foster mother told us your location, I wanted the twins next in line to inherit Adane House,” he said, making her ears perk. “But June insisted we take her alone. Begged, really. There was this look in her eyes, almost desperation to escape. I didn’t want to separate you, but she wanted her freedom. She wanted to run away.”

Kidan’s fingers tightened and unfurled, the fight leaving her. How many times could she hear this without feeling broken?

“You took it out on your foster mother instead and burned her alive.”

Kidan flinched, guilt creeping up on her.

“Oh yes, I know,” he continued, smiling now. “But lovely June doesn’t. Because her sole request was I never mention you or, what was her name? Mama Anoet. She wanted to forget it all.”