Fated

‘Plenty more where he came from.’

Luna started again, her eyes going wide. ‘Why do we have to deal with this now?’ I said in irritation. ‘Let’s get out of here.’

‘I can’t believe you’re saying this! Alex, you were the one who told him to stay with us!’ Luna was staring at me in shock. ‘What about what you told me? You said that you shouldn’t let someone die if you could help it. I believed you.’

‘When did I …?’ I trailed off as I remembered telling Luna that. It had been after we’d helped Cinder and Rachel. Except I didn’t really believe it, it had just been something to say to—

No, it hadn’t just been something to say. I had believed it. I did believe it. Luna was right. I couldn’t just leave Sonder back there; I needed to go back and help him.

No, Sonder didn’t matter. What I needed was to get out.

Wait, that was wrong. Leaving Sonder in the middle of that maze would be like killing him.

But I didn’t care about that.

Yes, I did.

I made a noise and turned away, holding a hand to my forehead. I was getting a headache; it felt like there were two voices in my head at once. I paced back and forth between the walls of the tunnel. ‘I don’t know,’ I muttered. ‘Let’s just get out of here.’ I felt I’d be able to think clearly if I only got outside.

‘No,’ Starbreeze said urgently to Luna. ‘Wrong.’

‘Shut up,’ I snapped. Their voices were making the headache worse. ‘I don’t—’ I turned and saw that both Starbreeze and Luna were looking at me now, and both had the same strange look on their face. ‘What are you staring at?’

‘Back in the chamber,’ Luna said slowly. ‘You were ready to kill them.’

‘Of course I was!’

‘I’m not sorry about Griff,’ Luna said. Her left hand moved unconsciously to her crippled right side, but she seemed to have forgotten about her broken arm. She was staring at me intently. ‘But I’ve never seen you like that, not until—’ Luna stopped, and something changed in her eyes.

For some reason I felt a sudden stab of fear. I wanted to push past, make a run for the exit, but Luna and Starbreeze were blocking my way now, staring at me. ‘What?’

‘Alex?’ Luna asked, and all of a sudden her voice was very careful. ‘What happened when you picked up that thing?’ She gestured to the wand in my hand.

I opened my mouth to reply, and suddenly everything was silent and I was standing outside my body again. Luna and Starbreeze were looking at where I stood, but I couldn’t hear them any more.

I rolled my eyes. ‘Not you again.’

‘Are you going to stand around all day?’ Abithriax demanded, striding into view. He’d appeared right next to me in his red robes, and he looked seriously pissed off.

‘Shut up,’ I muttered. As soon as Abithriax had reappeared, my headache had gotten worse, bad enough that it felt like someone taking a hammer to my skull. Just talking was making me nauseous.

‘Listen, Verus,’ Abithriax said. His voice was on edge, tense. ‘I’ve been sitting listening to this conversation and I’m thoroughly bored with it. Just get us outside and I’ll teach you to help this Sonder boy however you want.’

‘Leave me alone,’ I said through clenched teeth. If only my head would stop hurting. ‘Why do you care about getting outside anyway?’

Something flickered in Abithriax’s eyes and I stopped. I’d only wanted to shut him up, but that look made me pay attention. I’d stumbled on something Abithriax didn’t want me to know. More than one thing. I shook my head. If only I could think straight.

‘Look,’ Abithriax said carefully. He’d calmed down again and his voice was calm, reasonable. ‘I’ve got nothing against the boy. It just wouldn’t be sensible to go back now. If we can get to somewhere with more facilities, then we can …’

Abithriax kept talking, but I wasn’t listening. I was looking up through the portal at the stars shining down from the night sky. Starlight. What did that remind me of?

‘… more safely,’ Abithriax was saying. ‘In any case—’

‘The greater power for the lesser,’ I said absently.

‘What was that?’

‘Abithriax?’ I said. All of a sudden my headache was gone. I could think clearly again, and all of my attention was focused on the man in front of me. ‘How do you know my name?’

‘I’m sorry?’

‘My name,’ I said pleasantly, and I didn’t take my eyes off him.

‘Well – your friend.’

I shook my head slowly. ‘Luna calls me Alex. Not Verus.’

‘One of the others, then.’

‘Which one?’

Abithriax hesitated. Just for a second his eyes shifted, and I saw something behind them, something calculating and cold.