Page 52

I slammed the dorm door shut behind me, and I barely registered the sound of Brandon’s voice as he jumped up from the sofa.

“Shit, man, you’ve been gone for hours. What the hell happened?”

Too much to even process.

Silas’s voice cut through next. “Matias?”

I clenched my fists—only to feel the cold bite of the Binding Chains tight around my wrists. “Matias,” I said, my voice low and flat, “had his memories stripped by the Council.”

The room went dead silent. For a second, it was like no one even breathed. Then Silas stepped closer, his dark eyes pinning me like a sharp dagger.

“And the Council?” he asked, but his voice was barely above a whisper. “Do they know about... you and Grace... the kiss?”

My gut twisted, but I forced myself to meet his gaze. I shook my head. “No.”

His lips pressed into a thin line, and I could see in the way his jaw tightened that he didn’t believe me.

Brandon scoffed. “Well, did they suspend you or anything?”

I raised my wrists, showing both him and Silas the Binding Chains.

‘For fuck’s sake, Cain.” Silas shook his head. “For how long?”

I didn’t answer him. I couldn’t. My chest was too tight, my head too full of everything I’d just seen—Matias’s blank, hollow stare after they’d taken everything from him. How he fell unconscious to the ground. That could’ve been Grace. That could still be Grace.

I glanced at Brandon and Silas, then shook my head. “It’s been a long day,” I said. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Brandon didn’t look anywhere done talking, but I didn’t give him the chance to speak as I turned toward my room.

The second the door shut behind me, I pressed my back against it, dragging a hand down my face.

My whole body felt heavy with everything I couldn’t feel and couldn’t do.

.. couldn’t fix. I should’ve been thinking about Matias, about what his punishment meant for the rest of us.

But all I could see was Grace, hurt and bleeding, and the fire in my chest burned hotter than anything I’d ever felt before.

I’d risked everything going after Matias.

I hadn’t even thought twice about it. And the problem wasn’t that I’d done it.

It was that I knew if I had to, I’d do it again for her.

No one touches her. No one .

I walked toward my desk before the door burst open, and Silas stormed in. “You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

I kept calm, not answering him. What could I say?

Silas’s eyes narrowed as he stared at me, trying to piece it all together. When his expression shifted, I knew he’d figured it out. “Oh,” he said, his voice low as he chuckled with disbelief. “You’ve more than kissed her, haven’t you?”

I didn’t move. Didn’t say a word.

“I knew it. Are you out of your fucking mind, Cain?” he snapped. “Do you even understand what could happen? That what happened to Matias—could happen to you? They’ll strip your memories, your powers... you’ll be nothing, man. All because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants—”

His words hit a nerve and before I could stop myself, I closed the distance between us and slammed him against the wall.

“And what about you, huh?” I growled, pushing him further up against the wall as he fought me.

“Don’t think I don’t see the way you look at Veronica.

You’ve loved that girl since you were six, so don’t test me Dunn. ”

Silas’s eyes flared with anger, but he didn’t deny it.

Then, like a switch being flipped, white-hot pain flared up my arms, shooting through my shoulders and chest. The Binding Chains hissed against my skin, burning as the runes lit up.

My muscles locked up, and my grip faltered.

It was like my power had been sucked out in an instant, leaving me hollowed out and raw.

I staggered back with a strangled breath, clenching my teeth to keep from showing how much it hurt.

Silas clenched his jaw as he straightened his shirt. “Maybe I have. But at least I’ve never been stupid enough to get caught.”

“I didn’t get caught!”

“Yet . She’s human. She has less to lose than you do.”

I laughed bitterly, shaking my head. “You’re a fucking hypocrite, Dunn.”

“Maybe,” Silas shot back, his voice quieter now but no less angry. “But I am someone who doesn’t want to watch his best friend destroy himself. I mean, first your brother, now this? Do you really think Grace is worth it? Worth you ending up like Matias?”

I stared at him, my jaw clenched so tight it hurt. “You don’t know what’s worth it to me.”

Silas looked at me for a long time. “Fine,” he said finally. “Keep your secrets. But don’t expect me to stand by and watch you ruin yourself.”

He left without another word, slamming the door behind him.

I smacked a few CDs off my desk and shook my head as I stared at the empty space where he’d been. He thought he knew what I was risking, that he understood, but Silas didn’t know the half of it.

There were things I’d done that made a kiss with Grace seem innocent.

I sank onto the edge of my bed with my head in my hands. Grace’s face, her voice, and her smile filled my mind again. She was becoming my weakness and my anchor all at once. And the terrifying truth was, I didn’t mind risking it all for her.