Page 124 of A Dusk Of Stars

We both turn to look at him as he folds his arms with a grave look on his face. “I’ll need you to empty your bag for me, please.”

My eyes dart to these fading bruises around his neck. Then we lock eyes and I can no longer see Lorcan standing in front of me. I can only see the man he brought here to manipulate me. It makes me grit my teeth in silence, trying to fight off a violent rush of anger.

“Then I’ll do it myself,” I hear Lorcan say.

With that, he reaches for my bag, but the next thing I know, there’s a burst of light blinding me.

Then there’s the knock.

***

I’m not registering anything around me, just the warm, bright glow in the shape of a person standing before me. It’s keeping me transfixed, still and in silence, like we’re trapped in time. There’s this painful longing swelling inside me, a longing to get closer, because as soon as I do, I know everything will be better.

When I take a step closer, the figure retreats into the distance, making my heart break into a million pieces. I find myself in front of a door.

I lift my hand up and I knock.

It’s my fault, I remember. I trusted the wrong person and now nothing will ever be alright.

***

When I come to, I’m grabbing onto the stone table with Raven and Lorcan crowding me.

“Are you alright?” I hear Raven say, but I’m so angry, I don’t even answer her question.

I make the echoes of the images disappear and I grab my tote, angrily turning it out so the stuff starts falling out.

I pin Lorcan in place with a scowl. “Find what you were looking for?” I demand through gritted teeth.

“How often does this happen to you, Miss Novak?” he asks.

I ignore the question. “What were you looking for?”

“Stolen magic supplies,” he replies matter-of-factly. “Dangerousmagic. How often?”

I just look at him for a second, barely suppressing the urge to confront him about everything he’s done to me.

I don’t. I just say, “It’s none of your goddamn business.”

I grab only the book with the ritual instructions, I push past him and start marching out of the Junkyard.

“Miss Novak,” I hear him call out.

I don’t turn around. Desperate to shove all the sadness and the anger away, I focus all my attention on what Raven told me just before he showed up, and I keep walking straight to Serra’s office.

I’ve been tracing lines on my palms, Raven said. It’s making me realize that it’s the tattoos that are the key.

They’re magic gestures.

“I think I figured it out,” I say as I barge into Serra’s office, making her eyebrows shoot up. “I think I know how to do the ritual.”

Chapter 35

Jericho

I’m standing in front of the cracked mirror in my room in Grimm Tower, finishing buttoning up my shirt before heading off to the Ball.

She likes it when you undo the top ones,my fox’s lethargic voice sounds from the shadows.

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