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I touched the daggers strapped to my thighs. Theo had a belt of small knives across his chest, while Blake carried a sword at his waist. These were just what we’d found lying around the Drakharrow tower; Blake had literally pulled the sword from a display on the wall and sharpened it himself.

It hadn’t escaped my attention that on an ordinary day at Bloodwing, highbloods wouldn’t need weapons: They were weapons enough. They had no real enemies, not since they’d turned against one another in the last civil war. They were at the top of the fucking food chain. Yet now, suddenly, they were faced with an unexpected threat—themselves.

Behind us, the doors to Drakharrow Tower thudded shut, sealing Visha and the others inside. I hoped we’d been thorough enough and no more infected were in there with them.The lamps burned low in their brackets.The sky was still dark. It was hard to believe that just a few hours ago, Florence and I had been calmly dressing for the ball.

I stayed by Blake’s side, matching his stride, my gaze drifting to his profile. He hadn’t said that he’d smelled Collette’s blood—like a highblood might have. He said he’d heard it rotting.

“Blake.” I kept my voice soft.“How did you know about Collette? You said you could hear her blood rotting.What did you mean?”

He slowed slightly. Theo glanced at us both, then took a few steps ahead and stopped, waiting, giving us at least the illusion of privacy. “Pendragon,” Blake said quietly, “we can talk about this later. This isn’t the time.”

“But what are we talking about, exactly? What’s going on? Something is happening with you. Don’t keep me in the dark. Talk to me.” I touched his cheek. “Don’t shut me out.”

Blake looked down at me. In the torch glow, I could see his pupils glimmering like coals. He took a deep breath. “Do you remember what happened in my room tonight? Before you fell asleep?”

My face flushed. “Of course. I mean, most of it. You were amazing. And then I woke up and … you were gone. Why did you leave?”

His shoulders sagged. “Good. That’s … good,” he murmured, ignoring my question.

Suspicion prickled. “What happened to the room, Blake? The window was broken. Everything was trashed. Did you do that? Why? And why didn’t I wake up when it happened?”

He lifted a hand and gently stroked my hair. “Something was wrong. Very wrong with me. But … I fixed it. I swear to you, it’s under control now. Do you trust me?”

“I trust you,” I whispered.

I saw relief fill his eyes—as if he truly hadn’t known what my answer would be—and my chest ached. There’d been so much hate between us. So much mistrust. Would we ever be able to fully move past it?

But I knew. Knew. Eyes of red or eyes of gray, body whole or body broken—this man was mine. I was never letting him go. No matter what happened. Still, I knew he was holding back. I opened my mouth again, but Blake cut me off.

“We have to go.” His face had locked down again. His jaw tightened. “This isn’t the time to linger in the halls. Theo’s waiting. Come on.”

Still not far from Drakharrow Tower, we rounded the next corner and froze in unison. Dead bodies littered the corridor, slashed apart and broken. The hall was filled with the scent of death and blood. A girl’s body hung out a smashed window, her skirts billowing in the breeze. A boy lay where he’d been thrown against a wall, his head smashed open like a melon. There must have been twenty or thirty bodies just in the span of that single corridor.

“What the fuck happened here?” Theo whispered. “Were they infected?”

Suddenly the stones rang with the sound of tramping feet. At least fifteen highbloods fanned across the landing ahead, most wearing telltale badges. Bloodguards. Quinn Riley sauntered at their center, her lips curling in a triumphant smile as she saw Blake and me. Beside her stood Edward Ashveil. I spotted Larissa, Gretchen, and Lucian towards the back. All of them were armored and carrying proper weapons.

“Did you do this?” Blake called, gesturing to the bodies that filled the hall.

“We’ve been working hard, cleansing the school, if that’s what you’re asking, House Leader,” Quinn said sweetly. “Protecting highblood lives is what we do, after all. Now, if you don’t mind, Lord Drakharrow would like a word. He’s waiting for you—right here in the school refectory.”

I paled. Theo whispered an oath.

“You’ll come quietly. You won’t make this difficult.” Quinn was trying hard to project confidence, and yet, I knew. Inside, she wasn’t quite as certain as she looked.

“And if we don’t?” I declared loudly.

“Then, we spill your blood.” Edward spun the longsword in his hands in a lazy circle on the ground. “Even though it would be a waste to lose a single highblood right now. Be serious, though— you’re outnumbered. Two highbloods and a …” he chuckled “ … I don’t even know what to call you. There are simply too many insults to choose from.” He chuckled again. “Lowblood? Foulblood? Washed-up dragon rider?”

I could feel Blake bristling and put a hand on his arm. Around Edward, the others laughed.

“It’s simple math,” Lucian called from behind Quinn. “Don’t be idiots.”

“Fuck, I can’t believe that cowardly little prick was going to be Visha’s archon,” Theo muttered. He was already poised to fight, leaning forward, body tensing. Beside me, I could feel Blake doing the same.

“Visha was too smart for that,” Blake muttered. “Ready?”

I nodded tightly. The nearest Bloodguard rushed towards us. Blake met him, head on, pulling his sword from his belt. Steel screamed against steel, and the corridor exploded into a sea of blades and bodies in motion. Blake collided with the first Bloodguard, his movements a blur. His sword flashed, and a head fell with a thump to the flagstones. He pivoted towards me, eyes alight with adrenaline, already splitting another guard from neck to hip.