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“Oh, feather. You don’t even see it. You’re the one constantly pushing against the bounds of our agreement. Let’s be honest: I demand very little of you, considering your debt. Yet at each turn, you push. I tend to allow it, because you’re quite adorable when you fight me. There are things that aren’t negotiable, however. This Baltaday is one of them.”
“Why?” I demand. “Why is it so important to you?”
He chuckles, finally letting go of me. “You and I have a long way to go before you’re privy to my council. For now, all you get is that I want you there. So, what will it be?”
He’s infuriating, but I don’t have a choice. “I’ll be there,” I huff. “Can I go, now?”
Reiks inclines his head magnanimously. I turn on my heel, heading toward the tower of magik.
“You did quite well tonight.”
I refuse to give him another glance, so I keep walking, feeling his gaze on me the entire way.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
THE MONSTER
I’m mentally exhausted when I make it back to my room. Physically, I’m wired and restless. I could run a dozen miles and still have enough energy for a few laps around the pool. My eternal curse.
I should go for a swim, but I don’t want to.
It’s not wise to ignore my needs, not this close to Lughnasadh.
The wheel of the year is marked by eight festivals, six to eight weeks apart. Before Magnapolis, the kingdoms each had their calendars, divided by months, weeks or seasons. I see the appeal to one of the old calendars, calculating the passage of time by weeks. Eight days per week means that the four hundred day year has exactly fifty weeks. But now we have the wheel.
It's two days to Lughnasadh, and Litha was over six weeks ago. I’m desperate for a syphoning, though the gap between the last festival and the next one isn’t as long as some. There are more than eight weeks between Ostara and Beltane, and I did just fine.
You were at home, safe,I remind myself.
That makes me think about Reiks’s words. “You’dpreferto hide in your family’s domain.”
He’s wrong. I’m not hiding. I’m being responsible.
I’ve just collapsed backward on top of my covers when the commotion starts. Banging, screaming, feet stomping along the floor at great speed. I barely have time to sit up when my bedroom door bursts open.
Mar leads the fray, walking in front of a body suspended in the air. It’s a young man I don't think I've met, handsome, with tawny skin and silver hair. There’s a wound on his flank, hastily bandaged, and he’s passed out—probably courtesy of Mar’s spells. She's never had much patience for whining.
Callan’s crying behind the floating body, one shoulder supported by Maelys, the other by Laetta. I note the blood on his frilly green jacket.
“What’s going on?”
“Lover’s spat,” Mar grunts. “You know how it is, one moment you’re screaming at each other, the next, the stabbing starts.”
“He didn’t stab me!” Callan whines.
Mar lets out a long-suffering sigh, holding her head in one hand. “Lords of the wild, give me patience to deal with idiots,” she mutters, flicking her wrist.
The boy’s body flies to my bed, landing right next to me. I flip the top of his shirt up and grimace. There’s a puncture wound two inches wide right over his hip bone, and dark pus oozes out of it. A marbling of greenish veins runs along the skin, suggesting a serious infection.
“I froze him. See to Callan’s wound, first.” Mar’s tone is nothing short of an order.
I glance at Cal. He seems miserable but fine. I know Mar would prioritize Callan over anyone whose last name isn’t Frejr, regardless of who actually needs the most help. “That guy’s in a very bad way. Actually, he’s way beyond my skill, you should have taken him to a clinic…” I might intern once a week, but my experience is very limited. Not to mention I’m a student, not a qualified healer.
“You wanted to be a healer,” Mar sneers. “Get to healing.”
She’s not being fair, but I don’t think she cares right now. “Let me have a look.” Callan doesn’t move, but Laetta opens his jacket. He’s bare chested underneath, so I see the slice across his torso.
“You’re fine for a second. Just sit down and tell me what happened. What kind of weapon did this?”
