Page 69 of Immortal Consequences (The Souls of Blackwood Academy #1)

Irene

She spoke his name and he appeared from one blink to the next.

Draped in his usual black clothing, Mateo blended in with the darkness of her room, as though he were made from shadows, feathering out at the edges.

She wondered, for a brief moment, how far gone he really was.

How much of him was human and how much of him had been consumed by the shadows running through his veins.

When he spoke, his voice was warm and inviting. “Hello, Irene.”

She closed the space between them, gripping him by his collar.

“Did you know?”

There was no hesitation.

“I did.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Irene seethed. “I deserved to know the truth. I deserved to know—”

“Would it have changed anything?” He cupped her face between his hands. “Look me in the eyes and tell me. If you had known the truth, that everybody else would be sacrificed, would it have stopped you from wanting the nomination?”

Irene opened her mouth, fighting against the tears building behind her eyes.

She wanted to say yes. That she would be one of the ones capable of throwing it all away.

That she’d rather cross over to the Other Side than live with the knowledge that her victory came at the price of eleven other souls.

But she couldn’t.

She stepped away from him, wiping the stubborn tears with the back of her hand.

“Masika.” She spoke the name slowly, eyes on the floor. “She disappeared during the third trial. They couldn’t find her. I need to know—I need to know if she made it or not. If she’s gone.”

“I’m sorry.” He shook his head and placed his hand on her shoulder. “I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything about that.”

Despite what she knew about Mateo, she believed him.

It was something about the way he looked at her.

With such openness and honesty, despite the danger lurking beneath the surface.

There was no wall between them. He didn’t bother to hide the darkness inside him because he knew that Irene shared that same darkness.

“I want to join you.” The words poured out of her before she could stop them. “I want to join the Demien Order. But I was forced to sign a soul vow. I’m tethered to the Decennial until the very end.”

Mateo edged closer.

“ Actually… that is exactly what I was hoping for.”

She snapped her gaze back to him.

“What do you mean?”

“Just because I want you to join the Demien Order doesn’t mean I don’t want you to become part of the Ascended.”

Irene shook her head.

“I don’t understand.”

“You could be our eyes and ears.” The shadows running through his veins darkened as he spoke, an intoxicating power humming in the air. “Our connection to Blackwood.”

“You mean…go undercover?”

“Just until we can get our plan in motion,” he explained. “Think about it. You could play them like puppets and watch them fall right into your trap.”

“But what exactly is the Demien Order’s plan?”

“I…can’t tell you,” he whispered, an apologetic look in his eyes. “Not yet. Once the Decennial is over, once you’re crowned the victor, then I’ll be allowed to divulge everything to you.”

“And if I don’t win?” Irene asked, voice wavering.

Mateo drew in a slow breath. In that moment, blanketed by the darkness of her room, Irene swore she saw a flicker of shadows swirling over his irises.

“That can’t be an option.”

Irene nodded. “I can do it.”

“I know you can. And once you do, once you’re crowned the victor, you have to be ready to eventually give it up.”

He didn’t need to clarify. She knew exactly what he meant.

Her humanity.

Irene had often wished she could leave her humanity behind. Carve it out of her like some tumor. But now that the reality had been presented to her, the decision didn’t seem quite so simple.

Mateo must have sensed her unease; when he spoke next, his voice was gentle.

“It’s okay to be scared. I was too. And don’t worry. You’ll have some time before you have to give it up. A few weeks, at the very least.” He stepped closer. “But I need to know. When the time comes…will you be ready?”

Her eyes drifted back to the shadows running through Mateo’s veins. The word he’d used to describe the feeling of them rang out in her brain like a church hymn.

Power.

“I want to destroy him,” Irene whispered, the rage consuming her. “I want to watch Silas cower in fear. Everything he’s done, all the suffering he’s caused, I want him to feel it tenfold. I want him to break under my retribution.”

Mateo’s face hardened. The usual simmering warmth transformed into icy fury.

“We’ll make sure of it.” His words were binding. An unspoken promise. “Together.”