Page 44 of The Book of Blood and Roses

A moment later, Aliz looks at me. “Ada was my sister. The one I was telling you about earlier.” The one murdered by Callisto. She turns back to Nocth. “So, if we find the library—”

“You will findTheBook of Blood and Roses.”

“But you don’t know where the library is?” I press, and he shakes his head. “Well, ifyoudon’t know, surely Ares Astra will?”

“I know this place far better than he does,” the dean says sharply, while I feel Aliz tense beside me at the mention of her father. “And if I knew where it was, I would have brought it to you already,” he says. “Can you imagine the scandal that will spread amongst vampiredom if they hear that the Astra heir has chosen a Familiar before even deciding on a husband?”

“We’ll find it,” Aliz says. She seems completely unfazed by those last words. With everything that’s happened in the last few days, I hadn’t looked beyond myself to consider the implications of Aliz choosing a Familiar. Of course it’s a big deal. But the panic that hadfilled her voice since we first came in here seems to have dissipated. I don’t know how she can be so optimistic.

But now we know thereisa cure.

Somewhere, deep in the labyrinth of Tynahine, lies my freedom. Both from the mark and from my mission.

“You can go,” Nocth says. I turn to leave with Aliz, but Nocth clears his throat. “You stay, Miss Smith.”

Aliz narrows her eyes at him, her mouth open. “Why?” she asks.

“I must speak to her alone.”

“Right,” she says. But she stops, looking at me. I shrug. After another hesitation, Aliz shuts the door behind her, and when I turn back to Nocth, his gaze is far more intense than it was seconds ago. Discomfort brews in my stomach. I ignoreit.

“Take a seat,” he says, pointing at the chair opposite his desk. I do as he says, tugging my skirt a little lower. Perhaps he’s going to go into more detail about the symptoms of the mark. He looks towards his bookcase just as it slides open, and someone, a young man, steps in. He’s in the same cream linen suit he was wearing when I saw him in the campus security office, where he decided my concerns about the Red Ribbons were not worth listening to. The Familiar.

He doesn’t say anything, resting against the tapestry behind Nocth. Something tightens in my chest.

When I look at Nocth, I’m expecting answers. Instead, the Night Dean asks me a question. “Can I bite you, Miss Smith?” I blink, the words not fully resonating. And too late, I feel that familiar numbness at the back of my head, pins and needles. His eyes are bright red, glowing as he compelsme.

As he triesto.

I don’t move. I can’t say yes.

“Impressive,” he says, the glow leaving his eyes. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you”—his fangs catch the golden glow of the desk lamp—“Rebecca Charity.”

Chapter

Fifteen

He says my name as if he’s announcing the winner of a prize. And now it hangs in the air, rippling through the silence.

How?

It must have been Jannet and Stella.

He saw their wounds, asked the right questions, and they led him to me. But they didn’t know my name.

“Who’s Rebecca?” I ask, feeling at my watch for the chain.

The Night Dean opens a drawer in his desk and draws out a manila folder. He flicks through it before pulling out a document. “Rebecca Charity,” he says again. The old-fashioned lamp on his desk shines through the paper, illuminating what’s printed on the other side. A picture of me, at eighteen. A form, writing too small for me to make out. But I recognise it. Penny made me fill it in when I agreed to join Callisto.

“Born on the seventeenth of March, in Wishaw, Lanarkshire. Daughter of Simon and Mairi Charity. Recruited in July, four years ago. Current ranking: Cross.” Slowly, he puts the form down on his desk. Cold sweat dampens my shirt.

Shit.

“Oh, and Type-S blood,” he adds, glancing at the form again. “I’m guessing you’re hiding that with garlic.”

I should run. I’ll fail my mission, but that’s all right. Penny will be disappointed, but she’ll find something else for me todo.

And if I can’t get out, I won’t go down without a fight.