You promised to make out with me in a castle, and I’m holding you to it.”
He tried to laugh, but it just came out a weak gurgle. I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth to keep from crying out, and stood up.
His fingers grabbed for the hem of my robe. “Don’t leave me,” he whispered.
It killed me to do it, but I stepped out of his reach. “I’m coming right back, I swear.”
There was more I wanted to say, but we were wasting time. If he died before I got back…I couldn’t think about that. Before I had time to second-guess myself or weigh the risks, I closed my eyes and vanished.
I reappeared in the hallway just outside my room, and dashed down to Cal’s room.
When he opened the door, he looked rumpled and sleepy, and pleasantly surprised to see me. That was the worst part.
As soon as he realized I was covered in blood, however, his smile faded, and he clutched my arm. “Sophie, what happened?”
“It’s not my blood,” I said quickly. “Someone is hurt, and I need you to get to the mill as fast as you can. Don’t tell anyone. I’ll meet you there.”
He frowned, confused, but I teleported back to the mill before he had a chance to ask any questions.
I didn’t know if it was all the practicing I’d been doing with Dad, or what, but it hardly took anything out of me to do such a huge spell. When I flashed back to the mill, I felt clearheaded and not even a little bit dizzy. But fear raced through me as I made my way back to Archer. Thank God his chest was still rising and falling when I reached him, but he seemed to be breathing faster, and his eyes were closed.
“See, told you I’d be back,” I said as I crouched at his side. I tried to keep my voice light, like if he thought I wasn’t afraid, he wouldn’t be either. I’m not sure it worked, but he took my hand and, without opening his eyes, pressed my palm to his lips. I held his other wrist so I could feel his pulse.
I focused on that, each steady beat underneath my fingers, until at long last I heard Cal call out, “Sophie?”
“Back here!”
I could hear him stepping over the loose rocks and fallen beams, and when he finally appeared in the doorway, I thought he might be the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. “Oh, thank you,” I breathed, but whether I was talking to Cal or to God, I couldn’t have told you.
“What happened?” he asked, moving toward me.
And then he saw.
A mix of emotions crossed his face. He looked shocked at first, but that gave way to a cold, quiet anger. His eyes went hard and his mouth tightened.
“Cal,” I said, but it came out like a whimper.
“Move,” he said tersely. I scrambled to my feet, walking around to Archer’s other side as Cal knelt where I’d been. He grabbed Archer’s arm with none of the gentleness I’d seen him use healing other people, me included. It was like he was trying to touch him as little as possible. I had one horrible moment of doubt, but then Cal dropped his head, and little silver sparks started running over Archer’s skin.
So I sat on the grimy floor of an eighteenth-century corn mill and watched my fiancé heal the guy I loved.
“Wow,” I muttered. “I’m gonna have one messed-up ‘How I Spent My Summer Vacation’ essay when I get back to Hex Hall.” I lowered my forehead onto my knees, debating whether I should burst into tears or hysterical laughter.
After a few minutes, I heard Cal say, “There.”
When I looked up, the blood underneath Archer was completely gone, and even though he was still unconscious, his breathing was slow and regular. I scrambled over to them. “Thank you so much,” I said, laying my hand on Cal’s arm.
But he threw it off as he stood, and turned away from me. Fury was etched in every line of his body, from his tense shoulders to his clenched fists.
I followed him and started to say, “I’m sorry,” but he cut me off.
“Don’t. I knew you could be naïve, but I never thought you were stupid. He’san Eye, Sophie. They kill our kind. What part of that don’t you understand?”
All I could do was blink at him.
“And this one is worse than any of the others,” he continued, “because he’s technically one of us. He’s a traitor to his own race, and you just keep letting him in, and pushing…everyone else away.” He looked up at me, and what I saw in his eyes made me flinch. Cal was so good at hiding his emotions that I’d never realized…God, how could I have been such an idiot?
“I am so sorry,” I said again. “I-I never meant to hurt you, Cal.”
As quickly as it had appeared, the flash of pain was gone. “This isn’t just about me,” he said. “You’re supposed to be head of the Council one day. Prodigium have to trust you, and that’s never going to happen if you have one ofthem in your bed.”
A combination of anger and embarrassment rushed through me, burning my cheeks. “Okay, first of all, no one is ‘in my bed.’ Second, Archer has saved my life more than once. He’s not what you think he is.”
Cal made a sound of disgust. “Oh, come on, Sophie. Don’t you get it? He’s L’Occhio di Dio’s ultimate weapon. They used him as a spy at Hecate for years, so what makes you think that’s stopped now? This is probably just his new assignment, getting close to you so he can use you for information about the Council.”
“Actually, I was just going to use her for her body, but that’s a good idea, too.”
Cal and I whipped our heads around to see Archer sitting up against the back wall, his dark eyes glittering. He was still pale, but other than that, there was no sign that he’d been at death’s door only a few minutes ago.
“So if you’re so convinced I’m a spy, why did you heal me?” Archer asked, wincing as he pushed himself to his feet. “You could’ve just let me bleed to death and saved yourself a lot of hassle.”
Cal scowled at him. “I did it for her.”
Archer’s smirk faded. “Fair enough,” he said softly. “Thank you.”
They stared each other down, and while the dorky eleven-year-old in my soul kind of hoped that two hot boys might fight over me, the rational, seventeen-year-old knew that Archer needed to get out of here, fast.
“Okay, look, we can talk this out later,” I said, walking over to Archer. He slipped his hand into mine and squeezed it.
Cal’s glance fell on our joined hands, and he turned away. “I’m heading back to the house,” he muttered, but when he turned to go, the doorway was blocked.
Dad, Lara, and the other three members of the Council were standing there, staring at Archer and me.
chapter 36
My memories of everything after that are a little jumbled. I remember Kristopher storming forward and kicking Archer’s sword out of reach, before jerking his arms behind his back and securing them with that black cord that always hung from his waist.
I know that Lara grabbed Cal’s arm and shouted something at him, while Roderick crossed his arms and scowled at me, his black wings making him look like the angel of death.
But mostly I remember my dad standing there, staring at me with a completely unreadable look. And when I tried to talk to him, he abruptly raised his hand and said, “Do not even attempt to explain this, Sophia.”
The walk back to the house was the longest and most miserable half-mile of my life. I wasn’t sure which to worry the most about—what they would do to Archer, or if Dad would ever forgive me. Up ahead, Dad and Lara conferred in hushed tones, and I tried to absorb the enormity of the trouble I was in. I had been caught with one of Prodigium’s greatest enemies. Something told me that punishment would be a lot worse than writing a thousand words on some obscure topic.
Thorne Abbey was dark and silent as we marched inside. Only once we’d been led all the way back to the main foyer did Dad finally say something.
