Page 95 of House of Ydril

I get even closer, so close, I can only see her face. “It’s too fucking late,” I growl through gritted teeth. She’s looking up at me in silence, those big brown eyes casting their usual spell. I want to make her stop with all this nonsense so I can plant an angry kiss on her lips, slam her against the wall and eat her out.

But I know better. “One second, Quinn,” I whisper. “I lose control for one second and I fall all over myself to make up for it and you still end up thinking I’d try to fuckingmurderyou? Is that really what you think of me?”

The very thought makes me want to rip my own heart out.

“No,” she starts, a sorry look in her eyes. “Look, we don’t have time for that right now.”

“I see,” I say in the flattest voice that I can muster, and I move to turn so I don’t have to look at her.

“Faust,” she rushes to say as she walks around to face me. “I didn’t just realize it wasn’t you who tried to kill me. I found out who it really was.”

I just look at her for a second. “Tell me,” I command, already fuming.

“I need you to stay calm.”

“Calm?” I growl at her, my entire body vibrating with rage. “I am calm,” I squeeze out as my mind floods with images of throats being ripped out. “Now spit it the fuck out.”

“Alright,” she says, but she looks even more hesitant than before. “Moswen showed me one of her memories, where I heard, well, the killer, talk about his plans just before the bloodshed happened. And when he came to kill me, I couldn’t see his face properly, but what Icouldsee was the sigil embroidered onto his shirt.” She pauses, throwing me a funny look before she adds, “The Ouroboros.”

Her words make me frown and pull away a little. “You’re saying it’s myuncle?”

She doesn’t answer, she just presses her lips tight.

“You can’t be serious,” I say with a scoff.

She looks away for a second. “I think it’s perfectly normal for you to have a hard time accepting it…”

“Hard time accepting it?” I mutter, not believing the words that are coming out of her mouth. “Tell me,” I start, forcing myself to snap out of it, “is that all you’re basing these grave,graveaccusations on? Some dead girl’s memory and stitching on a shirt?”

She draws in a breath and says, “Your uncle seems to want power, Faust. The Stone, as it turns out, amplifies mind magic so much, you could use it to control an entire country.” She throws me a look filled with pity. “And he is out to get it.”

I throw my hands up and take a few steps back, letting out a bitter laugh. “Are you even listening to yourself?” I demand. “If my uncle wanted the Stone, why didn’t he just steal it the first chance he got? Why would he wait for the Trials?”

“Because it cannot be stolen, it can only be won,” she rushes to say. “So instead of stealing it, he made the donation to have it brought out for the Third Round.” She gets a little closer to me and looks at me with pleading eyes. “Faust, listen to me. Literally everyone will be at the Trials tomorrow. If your uncle’s plan backfires, there’ll be a bloodbath. And if he goes through with it, he’ll put us all under his control. But that’s where you come in. If you only stop him from attending…”

I just stare at her in silence. It feels as if my heart is shattering into a million tiny pieces. But it’s no wonder really. After all, shehasbeen toying with it ever since I first laid eyes on her. I turn my back to her and I say, “My uncle was right. You only ever bring trouble.”

She stays silent for a second. “I knew you wouldn’t want to help.”

“Not another word.” I don’t turn to look at her. I wouldn’t be able to bear it. “Leave, now.”

For a second, there’s silence. Then I hear her leave the room and close the door behind her.

Once I find myself alone again, I find my phone and I text uncle to give the Archduke the green light. And then, unable to contain myself any longer, I walk up to the bar, I grab the first bottle I see and I smash it against the floor. It doesn’t really help, but I smash another. And another. And if I could, I’d set the world on fire, I’d take a seat and I’d watch it all burn to the ground.

Chapter forty

Iletmyselfbeled out of the Elevator and through a hallway opening up onto the ring, for the third and hopefully last time ever. As we walk, we’re greeted by an instant and violent flash of cameras. I throw a glance at the other Chosen. There’s only seven of us left. Sarya, Harry, Zelda, Leo, Amra, Faust and myself. Their faces are pale and their bodies stiff.

The journalists lining the walls all swarm around me, pointing their microphones at my face as they shout out their questions. They want to know whether the thing I did last time was real and which tricks I have up my sleeve for this round. My eyes automatically dart in his direction, but Faust doesn’t step in to save me from their greedy grip.

And I know why. He’s still pissed at me, more pissed than ever. So he just throws me a glance and keeps leading the rest of the Chosen out into the Arena. It makes me feel sad and murderous all at once.

Letting out a sigh, I elbow and curse my way through the vultures and rush to catch up with the others.

We walk through a huge double door and the enormous space of the ring opens up before us. The crowd cheers more than ever and I see that the screens aren’t just showing our faces. The cameras are turning their spying eyes onto the audience as well.

As we come to a stop somewhere around the middle of the stretch of beaten earth, I watch with bated breath as they show some of the fiercest and most famous Originals of our time. The leaders of all three noble Houses. The alphas of the independent shifter packs.

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