Page 63

G K INVITED K IDAN ON A WALK THREE DAYS INTO HER SECLUSION from the others. They’d stopped their morning walks after GK had dropped out, and Kidan needed to keep her distance still. But she knew seeing his face would lift this fog of darkness choking her. GK’s familiar stance and his black clothes, closely cropped hair, and gentle brown eyes poured some light into her day.

They wound their way through the rolling plains on the edge of campus and to the graveyard. It felt like years had passed since they’d first met here. She’d been so preoccupied with her murderous friends, GK had fallen behind. She’d missed his serene company.

He hiked his bag higher and unlocked a crypt.

“You have a key?” Her voice echoed in the empty chamber as they entered.

“I practice readings alone sometimes.”

“Is that what you want to do?” The hair on her arms stood at the chill. “You know I’m not interested.”

He cleared the dust in the middle of the room, set his bag down in a corner, unhooked his chain, and placed it in the middle.

“Not you.” His words tensed. “The bones have been rattling near each of them.”

Kidan walked to him quickly, crouching as well. “Are they in danger?”

He regarded her with a look she couldn’t decipher. “You’re worried.”

“Of course I am.”

“You weren’t this worried about yourself.”

“Don’t worry about me. Just see if you’ll all be fine.”

GK only stared at her, still not touching the scattered bones, as if trying to figure something out.

“What?” She frowned. “Hurry.”

“Get my other chain. It’s in my bag.”

She rushed to open the bag and pulled out a scarf, some books, and a set of the crypt keys, but there was no chain. She returned his things and searched in a different area. Then her fingers froze. This scarf was the standard Uxlay red scarf with the lion crest. She’d never seen GK wear one. She turned it over, and ice spread over her. There in the corner was a spot a shade darker than the rest of the fabric. Like wine had spilled on it. She brought it to her nose. Sweet peach perfume engulfed her senses.

“GK.” Kidan’s pulse quickened. “What is this?”

“That’s Ramyn’s scarf.”

He got to his feet, watching her with stony eyes.

“What?” she whispered.

“I found it in your room. Along with Rufeal Makary’s portrait.”

The revulsion in his tone made Kidan stagger back, step onto the keys, and almost lose her balance.

No. It wasn’t possible.

“How could you all live with yourselves?” His words punctured knives into her lungs, and she couldn’t breathe. No.

No.

He kept approaching, cornering her against the wall. “Come with me right now and confess.”

“GK…”

“How could you, Kidan? Your own mother?” She crouched as he loomed over and reached for her. “Why would you do this to yourself—”

“Stop!” she shouted with every fiber of her being, squeezing her eyes shut. The yell boomed in the tiny space with a force that cracked her own bones.

GK didn’t touch her.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. His hand remained outstretched, fingers inches from her.

Kidan slid to the side, grabbed the bag and keys, and bolted to the entrance. GK didn’t move. Even as she got ready to lock him inside, he remained where he was, warm eyes swirling with emotion.

He whispered, softly and fearfully, a word in Aarac. A word that sounded like both a curse and a prayer. He kept repeating it under his breath, eyes locked on her as if she was a demon he could vanquish.

Her heart broke.

“Just… just sit here and wait, please .”

GK’s eyes stretched more as he sank down to his knees unsteadily, then sat.

Kidan’s stomach turned at the look of horror on his face. He was listening to her, and she was grateful.

“I’ll be back. Just stay. Please.”

He stared at the damp floor, not speaking.

She needed time to understand how GK was involved. How to make him understand all this before he ruined everything.

She ran all the way into the center of campus, stumbling over protruding rocks and skinning her palms. The Philosophy Tower formed a dark, ominous shape in the setting sun. Rain dropped on her forehead, and Kidan touched it. It was blood. She shook her head. No, it was rain.

Concentrate.

She fumbled for her phone, calling an emergency meeting with Slen and Yusef, without saying why. She needed to tell them in person.

Waiting for them up in their designated study room, Kidan paced. The keys in her hand trembled and jingled. She went to put them in GK’s bag when a small book— Traditional Myths of Abyssi —tumbled out.

She picked it up. He must have taken it from her room as well. Hurriedly, she thumbed through it once again. He had marked different entries and lines. She was not entirely sure what she was looking for—until the name “Nefari” caught her eye. Her heart thundered against her ribs as she read.

The “Nefari,” a term used in the nineteenth century, was popularized by the local villagers of Gojam. The villagers spoke of a monster that wore silver metal, bared its teeth like a wolf, and collected cursed objects. There were three forewarnings before the monster would rise. They would be rituals having to do with water, sun, and death. But most claim the creature wasn’t a monster at all, but a cursed king with a thirst for blood.

Kidan wasn’t interested in the myth as much as in the drawing depicting a Nefari: It was definitely a vampire, with multiple silver hoops and rings along its body. She stared at it for a long time, unsure why it was important. Body decoration with silver was banned at Uxlay, but it seemed fitting that rogues would adorn their bodies with it. She traced the outline of the monster baring its foul tongue. It was long, and something like a pearl piercing shone on it.

Kidan had seen only one person who had defied the silver law successfully by adopting this same tradition. In fact, he had saved her life with it, spitting it from his mouth like a bullet and killing Titus Levigne.

Her chest squeezed, hurt and anger whirling inside her. The Nefari. Local villagers of Gojam.

Susenyos Sagad. Once an emperor ruling Gojam Province.

She shut the book with a snap.

She’d been foolish to trust him, to bend her morals and let him further into her world. She’d asked him point-blank who the Nefrasi were, the same Nefrasi who had something to do with June, and he’d lied.

Why keep playing games? She’d thought they were past the deceit and betrayals. The sound of her heartbeat echoed close to her ears, slow and bleeding. Maybe she’d been foolish to think there could ever be peace between them. Her fingers curled at her sides.

Quickly, Kidan called Slen, told her what she had discovered about GK, and asked her to keep him company until she returned. She left the key to the crypt inside the room and rushed home, planning to drain every drop of secret from Susenyos.