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“ M s. Daygon.”

I heard the words, the voice, but didn’t register that they were talking to me. Until –

“Harlow.”

The growl of my name drew me up short. That and the hand on my elbow. I looked up to the owner of the hand. Typhon stood behind me, eyes narrowed. “What are you up to?”

“I’m not always up to something, you know.”

He did not let go of me. “Where are you going? Your dorms are the other direction, up the stairs.” He started to tug me in the opposite direction of Phyllis’s quarters, but I planted my feet.

“Not all from the House of Phoenix are in the dorm, Typhon.”

“So, you’re going to see Phyllis. Why?”

“I want to spend some time with her.”

“Nope. I don’t buy it.”

I sighed and put my hands on my hips, finally freeing my arm from his hold. “Maybe it’s for help with remedial runes.”

“Bullshit.”

Fruck me. I shrugged. “You want to sit outside her room and wait for me, that’s on you.”

I turned away and started down the long corridor, Typhon falling into step beside me. A few students were still out, wandering the halls. But by eight, everyone had to be in their dorms. As if the whole rule of two wasn’t bad enough. I was starting to wonder if this was a school or a daycare ...

“When are they going to lift that ban on being out past eight, anyway? Isn’t this supposed to be a safe place?” I trailed a hand along the ancient wall, feeling the nicks and grooves of centuries past.

“I’m not able to discuss it.”

“Of course you’re not.”

His hand brushed my arm a second time. “Not able to, Harlow.”

My feet slowed and I looked sideways at him. “Rune gagged?”

He didn’t nod, but he didn’t shake his head either. A non-response from him was as good as a yes in my book.

Well sheet.

“But trust that there is a reason you need to stay in your dorm tonight, even more than any other night before.”

Tonight. So, did that mean the threat would be over tomorrow? And ...

“Why isn’t it a problem during the day?”

He just stared at me and my head spun with all the possibilities and my heart clenched.

“Is Opie safe?”

“In her room tonight, yes.” He motioned for me to continue onward down the hall. “Not with you pulling her out at every damn opportunity.”

Two more turns and we were at Phyllis’s room. “Are you really going to sit out here and wait for me?”

He stepped back as he gave me a curt nod, his long coat swirling out and around him. “You have thirty minutes before I come in and drag you out.”

Thirty minutes.

I knocked on the door, and Phyllis called out for me to enter. I opened the door and stepped through, fully expecting a dorm like the one we were in. Bare, with just the necessities. Maybe a few clothes hanging up.

Her room was nothing like ours. There was a thick, deep purple rug covering the stone floor, and I immediately kicked my boots off so I could let my feet sink into the plushness.

Like standing on a cloud. The luxury didn’t stop there.

A small kitchen was to my left, with an old-fashioned wood-burning stove, and a fridge that looked brand new if the gleam on it was any indication.

The room itself spilled open to a fireplace that was crackling merrily. There were books and knickknacks scattered all over the living area: statues, stones, a pile of feathers, a bundle of rope, layers of material, a few sharp-looking ...

“Is that a sword?” I pointed at the handle that was sticking out from under some of the material. Ornate, gold and set with blue and black jewels. Had to be worth at least a million on the black market. I couldn’t help it; I might have reached for it.

“None of your business.” Phyllis flicked a hand, and the material smoothed over the very-distinct-pretty-sure-it’s-a-sword handle. She narrowed her eyes at me, tugging the black robe she wore more tightly around her waist. “What are you doing here, Harlow?”

I blinked and looked away from the pile of material. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you and –”

“And I’ve been busy,” she reminded me with a frown.

“I know. And I’m sorry, but I just really need to talk to you.”

She must’ve sensed my desperation because her expression softened.

“You’re here now, so talk.”

“I came to ask you about ... rune work,” I managed. “I’ve thought on it since –”

“Since the glade in the Dark Wood.” She bobbed her head with a sigh. “Come on, then. Have a sit down. I saw you watching me.”

I followed her into the sitting area, near the fire. The warmth sank into me. I hadn’t realized just how cold I was. The rain and temperature dip had gotten deep into my bones. I rubbed my arms and sank into the plush chair. “You got some good digs here.”

She waved a hand through the air, as if waving off a bad smell. “Comes with seniority.”

“I guess being here for so long has its perks.” No point in dancing around the subject. I dove right in. “You weren’t surprised, in the Dark Wood, when our magic started working ...”

She fussed at her silver hair, which was still pulled into a tight bun.

“Nope. Not surprised,” she admitted finally.

“You knew that we were being muted?” I asked. Not accusing, just curious.

“Rune gagged. Are you familiar with it?”

I nodded. “Typhon is rune gagged as well. There is something going on he can’t speak about. A threat ...”

Her eyebrows shot up. “On a first-name basis, huh?”

I let the comment slide by without a response.

“House of Phoenix has to stop Nocta, Phyllis. You’ve been around a long time. You’ve seen what he’s capable of. Do we have any chance?”

She flashed a rune of gathering and a teacup floated to her from across the way, off the table. “Well, I think at least one of us does.”

Her eyes shot to me, and I snorted.

“Whoa, I’m no one’s hero, Phyllis. I will do what I can to help. After that, I will leave, take Opie with me and get gone from this place –”

“Fool yourself all you want. I see you helping Fable, Marina and Zeed. Even Gary, Ross and the other two that are joined at the hip.” Her smile wasn’t soft. But it was knowing. “They look up to you.”

I thought about the day before, how the magic had drawn us all together, how right it had felt.

“But it’s you who we should be looking to for guidance. You’ve been here longer than almost everyone except Tarquinius and Doyenne Parunah.”

I looked at the clock that sat above her fireplace, knowing Typhon would be busting his way in to drag me out before I knew it.

“Did you ... did you go to school when Nocta ... was here?”

Her face absolutely drained of color, and I thought she wouldn’t answer me.

“Yes. Yes, I did.”

My face felt hot, but I forced myself to continue. “Did you know him at all? I mean, I’m not saying were you friends, but anything you know could help –”

Phyllis stood up. “I think it’s time you go.”

“I’m sorry, Phyll, I didn’t –”

“Don’t call me that,” she muttered, cheeks going chalk white. “My name is Phyllis. Now please, I’m very tired and I need to rest.”

I turned to go, but in my rush to leave, I bumped into a pile of shoeboxes in front of the door. The one on top teetered and toppled over, spilling black and white photos all over the floor.

“I’m so sorry,” I murmured, flushed with guilt at upsetting her and then making a mess. “I’ll pick them up –”

“No! Just go!”

I was already bending over. “It will just take me a sec.”

But I froze in place as my fingers hovered above an image. A group of teenagers, arms draped around one another’s shoulders, wide grins on their faces. At the front of the pack?

A young Phyllis tucked tight beneath the arm of none other than my father. Nicodemus Oliphant.

I searched the floor and caught sight of several more. One of Phyllis and four other girls, another of the group again, and one of just the two of them. Phyllis and Nicodemus.

They looked so young. Carefree. Happy.

“Y-you knew him? You were friends with Nocta?”

“I thought we were ...” Tears filled her eyes as she grabbed my elbow and pulled me up. “But he killed the boy I loved. Good night, Harlow.”

Phyllis all but shoved me out of the room, slamming the door behind me.

“Fifteen minutes? Pissed her off too, did you?” Typhon gave a grim shake of his head. “You have a talent for it.”

I didn’t answer him, I couldn’t. I just had to get out of there before my brain exploded and I said something I shouldn’t.

“No running away,” Typhon said, his hands grabbing both my forearms before I could bolt. “No running, Harlow. What’s going on?”

I didn’t know what to say – so I just shook my head.

“Fuck.” He all but dragged me along, through the halls and up a set of stairs.

Through a door and then I was in a room I didn’t recognize.

Draped in deep blues and grays, it was a masculine space and smelled like Typhon.

A moment later a glass was being shoved into my hand, and I tipped the whiskey up and straight down my throat.

It burned and I coughed, but it helped. Like a slap to the face, it snapped me out of the shock.

“What did you say to her?”

“I-I asked a question.” I clutched the glass. “And the answer was unexpected.”

The question that remained? Was what Phyllis told me true ? Or was she lying? Were she and Nocta still friends? Could she be his mole here on the inside?

“No.” I whispered to myself and turned my back on him. “I don’t know if I can tell you.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“Can I have some more whiskey?”

He came over with the bottle and poured it for me. “That bad?”

“It could be. Or it could be something that ... that doesn’t matter now. I don’t want to give up a secret that isn’t mine.”

Especially given my own secret. How hypocritical would it be for me to throw Phyllis under the bus for being friends with Nocta fifty years ago when he was my frucking father ?

“Ask yourself this, Harlow.” Typhon swirled his glass, the amber liquid rippling. “Will it keep Opie safe to keep the secret, or to spill it?”

I glared at him. “That’s dirty pool.”