Immortal Consequences(56)

She reached out and traced her finger over one of the shadows. It hummed beneath her touch.

“What does it feel like?”

He considered her question, eyes anchored to her face.

“Power.”

Irene dropped her hand and tucked it behind her back.

“Look…if you had asked me a few weeks ago, perhaps I would have considered your offer, but I don’t need the Demien Order anymore. If I win the Decennial…I can become an Ascended. No more trips to the Ether. Full access to my magic.” She masked her interest with a nonchalant shrug. “I say that sounds like a fair deal.”

“And then what?” He quirked his head to the side. “Do you really think they’ll let you live up to your potential? Offer you true, unfiltered power?”

She stiffened. “That’s what we’ve been told.”

He studied her, eyes raking up and down her face. “Irene. Come on. You’re smarter than this. You know just as well as I do that Silas holds his fair share of secrets. In fact, I believe you recently swore yourself to secrecy at his hands. Something about that new student…”

Her eyes widened. “What do you know about Louise? Is she one of you?”

The smile on his lips faltered. It was the faintest twitch. The slightest slip in his mask.

“No.”

Irene could sense something lingering behind his response. It wasn’t a complete lie…but it wasn’t the truth either.

“Then how did she harness shadow magic?”

He sighed and stepped away from her, hands clasped behind his back.

“I’m afraid I can’t answer any more questions until I know I have your loyalty. I can’t go on exposing Demien Order secrets to somebody who might turn around and betray us.”

“I won’t.”

“Then is that a yes?”

“It’s a…maybe.”

He seemed to find her response amusing, his nose crinkling as he smiled.

“You’ll never be satisfied here, Irene. You know it. Every day you’ll fall asleep dreaming of the possibilities you left behind when you said no to me.” He fished in his pocket and pulled out a silver locket. “Here. I want you to have this.”

She examined the necklace with suspicion. “And what do you want in return?”

“Nothing. Just…hold on to it for me. It’s special.” He dropped the locket into her open palm, and a spark of electricity shot through her veins. “Don’t worry about somebody else seeing it. It’s only for your eyes. There’s an invisibility enchantment attached to it. All you have to do is open the locket and say my name. One word. And I’ll be there.”

Irene clasped her hand over the necklace. “Your name…”

“Mateo.”

The name burned through Irene’s mind like a searing flame. She wanted to know more. She wanted to know how he had entered Blackwood undetected. How he had managed to break through their defenses. How he had known about the meeting with Silas and what he knew about Louise. Most of all, she wanted to know why he had chosen her. Why he had picked her from all the other students in Blackwood.

But when she glanced up, he was gone. Nothing but the silver locket in her hand to prove he was ever there at all.

23

August

Six days. That was how long it had been since August had spoken to Wren in the first trial. It wasn’t that he was counting, but how could he not notice her absence? It was a gaping hole carving his chest. A persistent hollowness he couldn’t shake.

And it was entirely his own doing.

He wasn’t ignoring her because it was the easy thing to do. He was distancing himself because it was the right thing to do. The Decennial had proven itself to be far more challenging than any of them had anticipated, and the last thing he wanted to do was distract her with their petty rivalry.

If he thought for too long about what had happened in the maze, he could feel the rage seeping back into his veins, the fury clouding his judgment. He hadn’t heard everything the replica had said to Wren, but he’d heard enough. When he’d driven the blade through the replica’s chest, he’d silently prayed it would put up a fight. He’d been hungry to wrap his hands around its goddamn throat and make it suffer. He didn’t care that it wore his face.

He’d gladly watch the light fade from his own eyes.

And perhaps Wren wasn’t the only one who risked being distracted.

August was, whether he was proud to admit it or not, constantly aware of her presence. It was agonizing. The desperation to be near her. The ache that begged for her attention. It didn’t matter where he was or what he was doing, if Wren Loughty was nearby, he knew.

Which was why, despite his gaze being locked on the window next to him, August knew the exact moment she stepped into their Mind Alteration and Empathic Manipulation class. It wasn’t just the intoxicating scent that clung to her, flooding the room. Or the smooth cadence of her voice filling his ears as she politely greeted Housemaster Wesley. It was something intangible.

He simply felt her.

The familiar echo of Wren’s footsteps grew louder, and then the chair next to him scraped back as she slid into her seat, the warmth of her body overwhelming his senses. For a moment, neither of them said a word.

August bounced his knee beneath the desk, nervously fiddling with his ring.