“No shit,” I said. “Otherwise, I’d be dead.” The bitter irony was that Basil hadn’t killed her. Technically, I had by being born. Kai’s grip on me turned painful. Instead of fear, I was comforted by it. Basil shook his head.
“I don’t remember who ordered the hit. Perhaps it will come back to me eventually. I only know it was a woman. And that she was powerful.”
“What kind of blood mage are you?” Kai said. The chill in his voice made the hairs on my arm stand up on end. In response, Basil lifted his head and made a circular motion in the air that he then crossed over. Kai let go of me.
“Bullshit,” he snapped. “Why would a mage of the First Order turn assassin?”
Again, Basil shook his head. I didn’t understand half of what they were talking about. “Somebody better fill me in,” I said.
Kai began to pace. “The First Order is the mage equivalent of Michael’s Bloodline. They’re the ones the Council send off to war.” He rounded on Basil. “And you’re telling me you don’t remember who sent you or why?”
Basil’s eyes closed for a second. When he opened them, his jaw was set. “I don’t think I’ve ever known. That’s why I can’t seem to access the memory. Maybe it wasn’t an order so much as a tip off. All I know was that Lex’s great-grandmother found out and cursed me. She withdrew from supernatural society shortly after.”
“Who was she?” I didn’t want to ask the question. I had a feeling the answer would shift something fundamental. I thought back to all those times I’d feared Basil getting his memory back. I’d been afraid I’d learn something unforgiveable about his past. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be my past that was unforgiveable.
“Hilary was the Grand Mistress of the Soul Sisterhood.”
The sound that came out of my throat was a trickle at first. It bubbled up in my chest as incredulity and then spilled over my lips as laughter. I couldn’t breathe. I cackled until tears streamed from my eyes. When I eventually got myself under control, both of them were watching me the way a rabbit watches the underbrush for signs of a fox.
I wiped away the tears. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I can’t seem to help it.” I hiccupped. It was all just too much. Basil glanced down at his hands. For some reason, he was white-knuckled. After a second, he got to his feet.
“We should let her get some rest,” Basil said. Kai didn’t seem like he wanted to move. It was only when I yawned that he relented.
“We don’t tell anyone about this,” Kai ordered. “Whatever happened is in the past.”
“We might not get a choice if Giselle wakes,” Basil said.
“She’s not awake?” I asked.
Kai shook his head. “Whatever you did to her, it stuck. We’re watching her in Seraphina at the moment.”
Before leaving, Basil approached the bed. There was still a part of me that recoiled at his proximity. My brain was very much hardwired to run at the sight of him. He must have noticed because he halted a couple of feet away. He crouched down so that in my horizontal position, we were at eye level.
“I meant what I said.” He blinked slowly. If I didn’t know any better, I would think he might be fighting back tears. “No matter what, I’m still your guardian.”
I held my hand out a foot from the bed, palm up. He traced a finger across it in a circle. “Give me some time to get used to the fact that you’re not made of cotton wool.”
It should have disconcerted me when he and Kai immediately put their heads together the second they stepped out of the room. My eyelids were heavy. The last thing I saw before I drifted off was the edge of a paperback wedged into the cushion of the armchair. There was a picture of a shirtless cowboy on the cover. I was smiling as I fell asleep. Maybe his body had changed, but inside, he was probably still just Basil.
It was worth it, I said to the universe.
I didn’t hear if Azrael answered.
45
For some naïve reason I thought the Showcase might have been forgotten amongst all of the destruction of Giselle’s Academy takeover. Not a chance. To make matters worse, the newly seeded site I had been trying to use for my Showcase had been trampled during the fight. I didn’t have the strength left to make anything grow big. So Brigid ended up winning the Herbology Showcase.
I got a huge point bonus for saving the lives of the Council. Unfortunately, I also got a huge point deduction for going to Odette’s house without permission. Overall, my point balance edged into the positive. It wasn’t enough to make a meaningful contribution to the House score. Kai won the Showcase for Combat. But then Max won for Dimension Integration. Then Sophie won for Potions in a massive upset that had Celeste’s parents demanding a recount. They changed their minds when Durin threatened to rip their wings off. Apparently, the shifter alpha had been a Sapphire House man in his time at the Academy.
“This is too easy,” Max gloated at the end of the assembly. Sapphire House was way out in the lead. At this rate, they would be the only ones representing Bloodline in the Unity Games. Astrid had to hold Kai back from throwing a punch at Max’s head.
Sophie and I were walking to the portal field when I spotted a familiar figure waiting at the edges. We were on our way to her parents’ new place in Rivia. We’d be spending Christmas there. Since Giselle’s capture, there had been no other signs of the Sisterhood. The guards were still wary but it seemed the alert had been downgraded. When I’d asked Kai what he was doing for Christmas, he’d grunted at me and
