Immortal Consequences(131)

“Russo and Birdie and—” Olivier hesitated. He shot Emilio a wary glance.

Masika nodded in understanding. “…Catherine?”

“Yeah.”

“Then you know about her?”

Olivier shifted from one foot to the other. “We do.”

Masika nodded and shut her eyes. “Yeah, well. They left me there.”

“But they went back,” Emilio whispered softly. “And they saved you. Us.” He gestured to the bandage wrapped around his waist. “If they hadn’t found me when they did, I wouldn’t have made it. I’d be gone.”

“Where are they?” Masika asked. The thought of Catherine being so close was unnerving.

“With the others.”

“Others?”

“The resistance doesn’t end with the three of them.” Olivier stepped closer. He gravitated toward Emilio, placing a gentle hand against his back. “There are others. Dozens. And they have a plan to take down Silas and the Demien Order. A way of stopping them before they destroy the afterlife completely.”

“They want our help,” Emilio muttered. He inched closer. “They want us to join them.”

It sounded like the perfect plan. Burn the Demien Order to the ground and watch Silas crumble. But a part of her was just so tired. Tired of fighting. Of running.

Olivier sat down beside her. “There’s one more thing. We got word Irene finished the last trial…and chose to become an Ascended.”

Something deep within Masika’s soul fractured. An acute sense of betrayal.

She masked her feelings with an indifferent shrug. “I’m not surprised.”

“There’s still time to try to reason with her,” Emilio added warily. “If we can get to her, we can try to convince her to join us. It’s a stretch, but—” He placed his hand on Masika’s shoulder and gave her a half-hearted smile. “We can try.”

Silence engulfed the room. Masika knew this moment was pivotal. The moment that would not only determine their fate but seal it. There was no going back from this. No changing what had already been done. If they were going to fight, they’d fight until the very end.

“So what do you say?” Olivier looked from one to the other. “Ready to save the afterlife?”

“Do we have much of a choice?” Emilio sighed, leaning his back against the wall. Olivier gave him a playful nudge and his expression softened. “All right, all right. Yeah. Let’s save the afterlife or whatever.”

Their eyes landed on Masika, waiting for her response. Waiting for her decision.

But for her—the answer was easy.

“I’m in.”

63

Irene

Irene sank into the leather chair and threw her legs up onto the desk, her eyes trailing over the golden plaque.

IRENE MANETTE BAMFORD—ASCENDED

She had recently moved into her new room in the Ascended Quarters. Poor Liza had been right…it really was enchanted to appear larger on the inside. Upon walking in, Irene had been greeted with what appeared to be hundreds of floors stretching out endlessly above her. It was truly the most remarkable thing she had ever seen—a never-ending tower of knowledge and power hidden in plain sight.

Irene glanced at the mirror behind her and reflexively tensed. She still wasn’t accustomed to seeing a pair of glowing eyes looking back at her. They sparkled as she tilted her head from side to side, golden light dancing in her irises.

A knock on the door pulled her focus away from the mirror.

“Ms. Bamford.” It was Housemaster Wesley. He cracked the door open a fraction, peering at her with those beady yellow-green eyes. “Your first meeting with the rest of the Ascended begins shortly. They’ll be expecting you. We have to patch up some matters…begin our efforts to attempt to recover the missing students.”

The missing students. It was all the Housemasters and the other Ascended could talk about since the end of the Decennial.

Five students—Wren, August, Masika, Emilio and Olivier—had vanished without a trace. Their souls seemingly gone. Which meant that the Ether hadn’t been properly fed. Irene had already begun to hear reports of students coming across more obstacles than usual. Strange disruptions in the Ether, causing them to falter in their reaping duties. And according to Silas, it would only get worse with time. If they didn’t recover the missing students, if they didn’t feed their souls to the Ether, the afterlife itself would cease to exist.

Irene gave a sharp nod in response. “Right. I’ll be there in a second.”

Wesley nodded and hesitated slightly, hand fidgeting on the doorknob, before reluctantly closing the door.

Ultimately, her plan to become an Ascended had been rather simple. Once Irene had finished the last trial, locating her item—a bracelet she had owned when she was alive—she’d been transported back to Blackwood, where Headmaster Silas and the six Housemasters had greeted her with open arms.

They clapped for her. Cheered. As if her victory was something to celebrate.

Irene had plastered on that award-winning smile. She shook their hands and pretended to revel in her victory and made them all believe she was over the moon. Grateful. And maybe if she had been somebody else, anybody else, they wouldn’t have believed her. They would have seen through her ruse. If she had been kinder. Nicer. The type of person who would hesitate when faced with a decision like that.