One wrong step, p.41
One Wrong Step, page 41
“Alaric!” I cried, dashing over to the pack clustered around the open hearth. They were a tangle of limbs, snuggled close, panting in the heat and I was lucky they all still had their clothes on. Especially as one or two were on their tomes, watching Zara’s tape. Their Alpha, however, sat above them in a wingback chair, a frown creasing his brow. “Alaric?”
“What?” He huffed, rolling his head as if bored. “I have nothing to say to you, Reject, so if you’ll just keep-,”
“Where’s Jade?” I snapped, interrupting.
“Why would I know?” His gaze narrowed. “She is nothing to me, never was. If you can’t find your friend, then you should-”
“Bullshit!” I cut him off again, shocking him and myself. “You are a wolf and an alpha. You don’t let your bones go until you’re done with them, and we all know you’re still pining over Jade.” That earned a growl from the pack. But like loyal, well-behaved hounds, they didn’t move.
“Careful, Dupont,” Alaric seethed, “I won’t bite out of respect of your past with Jade, but don’t think you can push me like your new murderous friend.” He warned.
Once he would have respected me, but after last year, there was no requirement to do so. Though having heard the threats he’d thrown at Zara, this was tame. Thinking of her, it poured steel into my spine and iron into my voice.
“And you shouldn’t push me, Heskel. Jade is an ally. Zara’s ally, and despite what you think, her ally needs her. I know you have one of your pack following Jade, waiting for the opportune moment to reclaim your toy. So, spill, where is she?”
Alaric’s frowned deepened. His alpha instincts to dominate fighting his obsession with Jade.
“Why should I bother helping that traitor?” He mused instead; fringing interested instead of choosing. “She’s in trouble, as predicted. Why should we involve Jade?
“Because Jade’s already involved, and stopping her from her duty just reiterates how pathetic you are.”
His lips curled back in a snarl, and I saw the gleam of beast in his eyes. This wasn’t working, and it was taking too long. Drawing in a breath, I redirected my words to quell the rising annoyance. If insults wouldn’t provide answers, diplomacy might.
“Jade won’t forgive you if anything happens to Zara, and she wasn’t there to help. She’ll hate you more than she does now.” I spoke in a softer tone, knowing I was winning when his shoulders dropped an inch. “Help me now, and Jade will see that her assumptions about you were wrong. She could be… swayed.” I lied, my unease doubling. I hated to lie. Mother always said it would darken my purity.
Yet Alaric relaxed some more. Enough that with twisted lips, he waved a dismissive hand to the higher levels. “Last I heard from a random source,” he pointedly said, “Was she was in a silent study room.”
A heavy breath of relief expelled itself from my lungs. “Thank you.” I smiled. “You’re not as big of an ass as Jade said you were.”
Skipping away from his furious growl, I climbed the corner staircase, taking two steps at a time, feeling every ache of my glutes as I did.
“Next time, I’m going with Zara to train,” I swore to myself, brushing the sweat from my brow. “Because there will be a next time, and everything will be alright.”
Rounding some stacks filled with books on the Day Courts triumphs, I found Jade in the third silent study room, its plain walls and simple décor to keep distraction to a minimum. My presence bursting in broke that bubble with a crack.
“Briar?” Jade gasped in shock over her wire-rimmed glasses, her dark hair piled in a messy bun with pencils holding it in place. “What’s wrong?”
“Zara,” I panted, no breath left to speak. Clutching my side, I wheezed while Jade took off her specs and rounded the table. “She needs… you. Bad things… very bad…”
“What happened?” Jade asked but turned as I pointed at her tome on the table, turned off. Switching it on, her lips popped open in shock as the notifications pinged through, then gasped as the familiar sex tape filled the room.
“Holy-Inks. Where’s Zara? Where’s she gone?” She asked, closing the video immediately, to suddenly glare over my shoulder. “Are you here to gloat or just piss me off?”
Turning too, Alaric leant against the door frame. He scowled at me, only for his face to flutter into one of concern as he looked at Jade. “I wanted to make sure you were okay. A scandal like this could have serious consequences for you as well as Zara.”
But Jade wasn’t believing any of it. “Fuck you, Larc.” She hissed. “You have enough sex tapes to fill an entire cinema for hours, many of them featuring just you. But because you’re a horn-dog, no one cares. Well, no one should care about Zara’s either.”
“It’s not just the tape.” I explained, finally catching my breath, and gaining both their attentions. “After its release, Killian, Sabrina, and Ronan cornered her. They did… horrible things.” I couldn’t bring myself to say, shaking my head. “But then they called Zara a whore, and she lost it. She tossed Killian down a flight of stairs.”
“Shit.” Jade gasped while Alaric blew out a whistle.
“I think Zara’s worried she killed him or hurt him and, being a Heart…”
“They’ll think she’s taking after her parents.” Alaric finished shrugging like it was plausible. “So, she ran off. Big deal. When she runs into another big bad, she’ll come running right back.”
Suddenly a fire ball crashed into Alaric’s face, and he screamed like a little child, waving his arms frantically. It was only play-fire. I’d see Jade use it before, all light and no heat, but it tugged a smile to both our lips as Alaric glared. At least until I remembered Zara.
“I’m worried about her.” I implored to Jade, finding the same fear in her gaze. “She’s running, she’s scared, the sex tape completely threw her and then with everything else… What if…?”
“She won’t hurt herself.” Jade reassured me, grasping my hand. “She’s stronger than that. She’s stronger than them.”
“I know,” I nodded once, but my voice came out as a tiny whisper. “But it only takes one mistake.”
Pain and heartache flared in Jade’s gaze. Her hand fell back to her side as the chasm between us stretched further than before.
Zara will be okay,” Jade reiterated, redirecting her priorities. “We just have to be there for her. Where is she?” She asked expectantly, but already I shook my head.
“I don’t know. She ran off in the crowd.” I swallowed my nerves. “I thought you could use your Ally bond to find her.”
Jade flinched like I’d slapped her. “I-I can’t. We’ve not been friends long enough.” She stopped, lips thinning as she re-experienced her failings. “There is no bond.”
“There is.” I took her hand this time, squeezing. “It’s been there all this time. You’ve just ignored it. Find it and try.” Yet, as Jade hesitated, I threw on the magic word, “Please?”
“Alright.” She sighed, “But no promises.”
I nodded, despite how she couldn’t see, and stepped back as she closed her eyes. Even Larc didn’t interfere, remaining quiet in the doorway.
I knew it would work. Knew it had to. The guilt I carried every day, the one that flared every time I saw Jade and Zara fight, told me it had to work.
Because Jade had never failed. I was the one who had failed her.
She’d been my Ally first, and I’d kept secrets. I’d bottled my fears instead of letting her help. I’d told lie after lie, chiselling off pieces of myself until I didn’t recognise who I was anymore. With it, my worth had vanished and so had our bond.
Jade had never failed me, despite how she blamed herself. I had failed her. It had all been my fault. So, I wouldn’t let her, and Zara fall apart. Not if I could help it.
Because Zara was my friend. The girl who’d tripped over me like a piece of trash and decided she’d found something to treasure. The girl of steel, who told me that being brave came from deciding that there was something else more important to push through it.
Well, this was important. Jade being Zara’s ally. Zara trusting Jade how I hadn’t. The two of them riding out whatever storm was coming; together. I would make sure it happened.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The freezing rain lashed my skin the instant I stepped outside, stealing what little breath I had left. Clutching my swollen, aching hand to my chest, I stumbled and tripped toward freedom.
What elation I’d felt tearing Killian, Sabrina and Ronan down had evaporated the instant I saw Killian’s crumpled body at the bottom of those steps. What had I done? What would the consequence be? My mind raced to find an answer, or better, a solution. But I couldn’t.
There were no police in Kevlar jackets. There were no jails or lawyers or courts that I’d seen. It was all a fairytale, twisted and corrupt to its core. Cas told me they’d imprisoned Charlie for life because he’d stockpiled drugs. What would they do to a murderer? This was not my world. They had made it abundantly clear so; it was time to go home. Cas said he couldn’t make a portal, but I didn’t know another summoner. I’d have to beg him to try. I’d take any chance I could.
Hurtling through Hick village, I threw myself up his loft steps, slamming my good hand on his wooden door. “Cas! Cas are you home? Please be home.” I pleaded, slamming my hand down repeatedly. I cursed Ronan again for crushing my tome, as I peeked through the curtains of the closest window. Then I could call Cas. But they’d shattered it, while his apartment was dark, the door locked.
“Cas…” I released a pathetic whine.
“Who’s there?”
Lightning flashed overhead as a voice bellowed from below. I jump from my skin, gasping as I recognised the shadowed form at the bottom of the steps. “M-Master Maroulis.” Hidden under an umbrella, he peered up at me. “Do you know where Cas is? I-I need his help with something?”
“Miss Heart,” Silas blinked through the rain in surprise. “What are you… By the inks, what happened to you?”
“Nothing,” Yet my voice was a squeak, and I struggled to swallow. “I – just… do you know where Cas is?”
Silas climbed another step, lifting his umbrella so it covered me. “He’s not here, my dear. Professor Acrisius came by demanding Caspian’s assistance. The wild stallion got into the pasture again, seeking the mares. The poor lad’s fixing all the broken fences.” He smiled apologetically, while my hope sank.
Shivering, I looked through the storm. I could run to the Training Ground, find Cas, but the pasture was huge. He could be anywhere, and I’d never find him before dark. I couldn’t wait out here alone, but I wasn’t going back to the castle either.
“Miss Heart.” Silas called again. Climbing the last few steps, he joined me under the umbrella. “Would you like to wait in my apartment for Caspian? Freshen up in the warmth.”
“That-,” I hesitated.
What if word about Killian spread? What if a manhunt began with pitchforks and torches? Would Silas turn me in or help me hide? Looking the man over, he smiled encouragingly, and I realised I didn’t have much of a choice. There was nowhere else I could go. No where to run to, nowhere to be safe. Here was as good a place as any. “That would be nice, thank you.”
“You’re very welcome.” He placed a gentle hand on my arm, guiding me down. “I have to ask, though… I know some Kraken sputum went missing from the ingredients lock up yesterday, and there is a… smell. By chance, do you know where it went?”
“All over my head, apparently.” I croaked on a laugh as he pushed open his door.
“That would explain it,” he winced sympathetically, looking up and down the street. “Then I dare say you need a kind hand after everything today. Students can be so cruel with technology.”
I froze mid-step, halfway through the door. “Y-You know?” Anxiety turned my gut, the desire to run again fighting to the surface. “You… saw it?”
“The video?” That sad smile flashed again as he nudged me far enough, he could close the door. “Sadly, yes, but only the start. Come, you’re going to be alright. I’ll take care of you.”
Nodding, I swallowed my bile at the thought of my professors seeing this. Now stood inside Silas’s apartment, at least I was warm on the outside. The layout was much the same as Cas’s but without the slanted roof: the open lounge in front, the kitchen to the right while to the left, the bedroom and bathroom. However, while Cas had decorated with minimal effort, Silas had made his space his own.
Industrial shelving covered the white walls, stacked with scrolls and tiny sculptures, while a tanned leather sofa with indented buttons was in front of a low coffee table and roaring fire. Slippers rested on the floor near the door, an open book on a side table, a cup of coffee, probably still warm, next to it. The kitchen was slate grey and shiny brass, all polished as if unused.
“Thank you for this.” I commented again, dancing on the spot, aware of the mud and slime dripping on the floor. “You have a lovely place.”
“It’s a home away from home.” He agreed, shaking out the umbrella and putting it away. “Now. Let's get you warm. Would you prefer coffee, tea, or a hot chocolate?”
“Oh. Ah, tea, please. Black.”
Nodding, he walked to his kitchenette, rolling up the sleeve of his white shirt showing off thick tanned forearms. Dropping some red crystals into an iron kettle, I could instantly hear the hissing of boiling water.
“You-ah, you mentioned I could freshen up. I feel a little… gross.” Which was putting it lightly.
“Of course.” Silas pointed to the bedroom as he collected some mugs. “Bathroom is to the right. Fresh towels are hanging up, there’s a first aid kit in the mirror for your hand.”
Looking down at the mottled appendage, I tested a few fingers, finding them stiff and swollen. My blood had turned crusty. Bruises outlining my bones had already flourished, while a few slivers of glass remained under the skin. The pain throbbed like a flame, but luckily it was isolated in my palm.
“If you require any help…” Silas offered, seeing my hesitation as fear.
“No, no. Thank you. I’ve got it.” I scuffled back through the bedroom door before closing it.
Alone, I could hear the soft patter of rain outside and the wind brushing gently over the walls. Back against the door, it was the only thing keeping me up as my knees trembled. “Jesus…”
But there was no illusionary saviour here. Not a real one either. Clamping a hand over my mouth, I sucked down the scream that burned in my lungs, my eyes pinching the tears free. Everything was unravelling inside me. The fear I’d bottled up. The panic of being alone. The little lost girl with no way to get home. My body rattled against the door, as it refused to let any of it out. I folded over, as if I could suddenly be half: half as scared, half as panicked, half as alone, but more than that. Smaller, so no one else could find and hurt me…
“Miss Heart?” A sudden wrap at the door snapped me upright, a gasp rattling down my throat. “Everything alright?”
“Fine.” The single lie snapped out as I pressed against the door. “I’m fine. I’ll be out shortly.”
I could hear Silas shuffling on the other side, his concern bleeding through the wood. Pressing my back against it, I silently begged he’d leave.
“Alright. Your tea is by the door.”
Hearing his footsteps recede, I released a breath, wiping away the tears, and faced the room again. I wouldn’t - couldn’t - fall apart now. One step at a time; the first being my hand.
Similar to the lounge, the bedroom was darker. Dark walls and dark bed sheets, while warm orange light came from the simple chandelier hanging above. Honey floorboards under an emerald rug, while a wide set of draws set beside a chunky wardrobe. Simple, abstract artwork decorated the walls, while large lamps framed the dark wooden bedframe.
Slipping into the bathroom on the right, I flicked on the light, revealing a giant rolltop bath. To the left was a wall sink with fluffy white towels, to the right, the toilet. Dragging my feet towards the mirror, I froze, catching my reflection.
My hair was lopsided across my shoulders, the ends ragged and uneven. Drying black sludge covered my head, cracking over my skin. My eyes were red, raw, and blotchy, my skin pale and drawn. It was as if they’d drained the life from me. I grabbed for the ends of my hair that were no longer there, unable to stop the sob.
Wrenching the cabinet open, hiding my broken reflection, I found a wealth of tonics and polyjuices. Tucked to one side, a small box with a leaf, the same as Cas’s. Opening it up, I ignored all the little bottles, instead opening the tiny front draws. I knew I needed a steriliser first, but looking at the foreign liquids, I’d probably grow a sixth finger. Reaching for the tweezers – one thing I recognised – I set the box on the bath’s edge, and sat on the closed toilet, raising my wounds to the light.
I blew out a breath. Blood leaked and I could barely open my fingers beyond a fist. Threading the tweezers through my digits, I slowly plucked out the slivers of glass. Each stung, drawing forth fresh blood, but I focused on the silver linings. One: pain meant I could still feel, so no damaged nerves. Two: the fresh blood was likely washing out all the germs. Three: I had an excuse for the next several homework assignments when I got home. Four: tome broken meant I’d never see that damn video again…
Sucking down a sob, my shoulder trembled, shaking my hand enough the tweezers caught on a wound. “Ahh-Mother-ass-fuck-,” I swore, sending them clattering across the floor. Holding my wrist in a deadly grasp, I hissed through my teeth until the pain subsided.
“One step at a time…” I sobbed. “One fucking-step…” Sucking down the next sob, I slid onto the floor, reaching under the tub with my good hand for the tweezers. Sweeping, I felt my hand brush something cold and metal, yet pulling it free, my body froze in surprise.
“What…?” My whisper trailed off as pink stones winked at me through the dust, the golden vine swinging and, on its end, a pearl.
My mind blanked before stuttering to start. The rest of the world faded away because… I knew this earring. I’d found this earring – still had it in my room on a shelf, half-forgotten as a mere coincidence. But when had there ever been a coincidence in a fairytale? The Prince always found the tower. The Princess always found the cure. The villains always failed to hide a clue…
