Page 64

Screams that woke the sleeping griffins were never a good sign. But when the golden arches of Setrephia clawed through the clouds with my cry, I knew I’d been convincing.

Charles burst through the door, wild-eyed. For a heartbeat, I didn’t believe he could break. But then he did. He gathered Lorna into his arms, her long limbs limp against his chest, and shouted at me for answers I didn’t have.

“What happened?”

“She—she didn’t wake up,” I stammered. “I tried. I tried to wake her.”

Three more stormed in. A few cursed under their breath when they realized there was no shield on the shed.

Callum strode forward and pressed two fingers to Lorna’s temple. “She’s breathing.” Then his eyes cut to the empty cot behind me. “Where is she?”

“Malachi?” I asked, as if saying her name might summon her. “I don’t know. Her bed was empty when I woke up.”

“Call the hounds.” He whistled sharply, ripping the linens from the bed and shoving them into a guard’s hands. “Find her. Now.”

Rok leaned against the doorway, arms crossed. “From her veins, she looks poisoned. ”

He wasn’t wrong. Icy tendrils laced Lorna’s pale throat, faint but visible. And as Charles pried open one of her eyes, I saw the unnatural gleam in her pupils.

This was my fault. I had brought that damned potion into the institute.

Charles rushed toward me, shaking my shoulders. “Tell me everything! What did Malachi give her? Sev, this is life or death. I need to know.”

“I don’t know,” I hissed.

Callum spoke, “She had nothing on her body.”

“How would you know?” I shot back sharply.

“Because I searched her.”

“What else? We both know you have no morals or sense of consent.”

Rok lifted a brow. “That’s quite an accusation, Severyn.”

I clenched my jaw, staring at Callum’s frosted palms. “Siphon it, and you’ll see what he tried to do to me at the academy.” Although, Rok had hinted that he knew already.

“Enough,” barked Callum. “This is bullshit. I didn’t touch Herring or the false heir.”

“Test his quell,” I hissed again. “Mine was.”

Rok tried to hide his smirk. “Severyn’s right. All the heirs should have their quells tested. We don’t know whose working for who. But demanding we test a guard is not your call.”

Unexpectedly, Kian spoke up. “That seems like a waste of time, not to mention a sure way to anger them more.”

“I didn’t have a damn choice!” I yelled. “Test Callum’s quell, test everyone in this damn institute.”

Charles crossed his arms. “I have no opposition.”

Callum said, “A runaway criminal is on the loose, and you’re berating me? This is a fucking joke, right?” A chuckle forced past his clenched teeth. “Better call your father’s heir. He was the one who demanded I torture her. ”

Charles blinked. “Torture?” His voice was low. “What exactly are you saying, Callum?”

“You heard me,” Callum snapped. “I was following orders. Bridger wanted her dead, so we did what we had to do break her. She survived.”

“Orders,” I spat. “Is that what you call what happened in the ice trials?”

Rok let out a breath. “She’s not lying.”

Charles turned away for a moment, like he couldn’t look at either of us.

“Fraser, take Toni with you. Head to the Serpent Academy and see if Malachi went there. Rok, reel in all the heirs. Severyn’s right, if her quell was tested, we can’t assume the others don’t have connections to the Forgotten.

Someone is feeding them information from inside our guarded walls. ”

Somehow, it worked. Damien would have his quell tested. I would finally know the truth about what happened that night.

But the seeds of suspicion still lingered. They’d been planted months ago in a brother who’d once been warned about the future heir of his father’s land. Especially now, after Callum admitted that he and Bridger had tortured me.

Rok let out a low whistle and nudged his chin in my direction. “Come on, false heir. You’re my priority now that Lorna’s out cold.”

I followed him toward the center of camp. Shouts rang out from across the cabins, followed by the sound of boots scraping against dirt. Then Caius stumbled into view, flanked by guards on either side of him.

“Get your iced hands off me for the last time,” he snapped, wrenching his arm free. “This is ridiculous. Who the hell is even in charge here?”

Rok cleared his throat from the edge of the clearing, towering half a head above Caius .

Caius faltered, a rasp catching in his throat as he took a step back. “Is no one going to address that this is treason? Where is my father?”

“Your father is quite content with you fulfilling your duty to the Continent,” Rok replied coolly. “Do you not wish to live a life of honor? Wasn’t your land attacked only three days ago?”

Caius scoffed, then stammered, “Yes, and? What use is honor if I’m dead and withered from eating stale oats?”

Rok raised his siphon-marked hand. “Everyone will form a line. Your quells will be tested to ensure they’ve not been corrupted by the Forgotten’s dark will. Mental quells go first.”

Damien arched a brow. “I suppose I’m first, seeing as I’m the only one with a mental quell.”

“Tough luck,” Rok replied. “But your quell is the most lethal. During the Forgotten era, it was known as the secret keeper.”

Damien offered a faint smile. “I have no secrets. But I’d prefer not to be harmed… should something about someone else come to light.” His gaze flicked to me, lingering just long enough to sting, before drifting back to Rok.

What did he know? That smug bastard always knew more than he let on. All at once, I wasn’t sure testing Damien’s quell was safe after all.

“A guard will be stationed outside your dorm,” Rok added, addressing him without looking. “Not to worry, heir of Ravensla. I would hate for such a gift to be wasted on a revenge kill.”

It wasn’t dark swirls or shadows sucking inside Rok’s open palm when he touched Damien’s shoulder. It was a sheen of haze, a scatter of words and clipped voices, all distant in the air.

Rok closed his eyes briefly, as if tasting the air. “What an unusual sense. It’s a shame you claimed that title. We already have a brilliant guard who can bar shields… but you’ll still be useful in the fight. ”

For a moment, I thought we were starting to understand each other, that maybe, beneath all his bitterness, some small part of him had begun to forgive me for what I did to his sister.

But the smile he gave me wasn’t kind.

“You’ll be a powerful weapon,” he said to me. “Especially now that Damien Lynch has revealed how your quell works. Something about seven keys at a trial?”

“No!” I hissed. “He’s lying.”

He chuckled, whirling his eyes to the iced grip of my once-closest alliance. “Myla Reinhart, are you aware that Severyn used a forbidden quell to resurrect you?”

Myla shook her head twice, stuttering over her words. “Sir, I—I, Severyn doesn’t have a forbidden quell.”

Bridger shoved his way down the line of heirs, raising a hand. “I saved Myla at that trial. I had her key. Severyn Blanche is innocent,” he said.

Had everything kept from light been nothing more than a misjudgment?

The man who once painted the iced wall with my blood, who swore he’d make me suffer, now stood between me and danger. Or maybe it wasn’t me he was protecting. Maybe it had always been Myla.

Rok’s voice raised. “Memories don’t lie. But a certain guard does. Myla, step forward.”

She nodded stiffly, her hands trembling at her sides. “Sir, I have no knowledge of the accusations you speak of.”

Rok shook his head. “You know the rules, Myla Reinhart. You were sworn in to report any forbidden quell. We can’t trust you.”

“No!” I cried. “Leave her out of this.”

Myla turned toward me, voice barely audible. “Is it true? Another lie? Another secret?”

“Myla,” I whispered. “Please. ”

I wished she could have seen what I felt when I saw her lifeless during the trial. Back then, I hadn’t known what my power could do. Maybe I should have told her. Maybe that was the mistake.

Rok tilted his head, his voice measured and sharp. “One mind can lie. But two?”

He turned to the others, tone rising just enough to carry. “Myla died that day. And Severyn brought her back, because Archer Lynch believed a life was worth more than his own.”

“That’s not true,” I said. “Don’t you dare—”

But the look on his face silenced me. That mask of composure. That perfect, practiced calm. The man I believed could offer forgiveness just last night, that was the lie.

Rok’s tone sharpened. “Did you offer the same mercy to Delair Sorpine during Skyfall? Was her life worth more than yours? Or the man who took his own life to save yours?”

And suddenly, every heir was staring as if I were a wound left untreated. An infection they feared might spread.

Rok turned, and with a flick of his wrist, siphoned Damien’s quell back inside him.

“It’s fascinating,” he mused. “The shields keep you out, and yet you’ve nearly mastered your quell. Even from a distance, you still break through.”

Damien didn’t flinch. “Keep it. I preferred the silence,” he said.

“I too prefer the silence,” Rok replied.

Caius scoffed. “This is ridiculous. Can someone please tell us what the hell is going on?”

“It was a flame quell that started the fire on your realm. Perhaps you wanted to be the Serpent of Wrathi sooner than later?” Rok asked, lifting a brow.

“I did no such thing, and how dare you state such horrid accusations on me,” Caius spat .

“Then you won’t mind being next to have their quell tested?”

“I know what a siphon is,” Caius snapped. “You take a bit and never return it. That damn quell should be forbidden.”

Rok clicked his tongue. “Frowned upon, not forbidden.”

Myla stepped forward, fury sharpening her voice. “Tell them the truth. Tell them why they’re really here.”

Rok chuckled. “How do we break it to them that they’re replaceable?”

“This isn’t a joke, Rok. These are their lives .”