Page 168 of The Bond That Burns

Blake didn’t flinch. Slowly, he rose to his feet, Aenia in his arms, her hair spilling over his shoulder, blonde and bloodied.

As he rose, I gasped as for the first time moonlight streaming through the windows caught his face.

His left eye was gone.

The socket was raw, surrounded by streaks of blood and jagged flesh, the wound exposed and unhealed.

But it wasn’t just his face. Everything about him was wrong. The finery he’d worn to the ball was gone, replaced by the torn and blood-soaked remnants of some sort of guard’s uniform. The stains on the fabric couldn’t possibly all be from Aenia.

“Blake,” I whispered. “What happened? Who did this to you?”

He didn’t answer. He didn’t even seem to hear me. His gaze was completely fixed on Aenia. With a careful, gentle movement,I watched as he adjusted her head against his shoulder, her bloodied blonde hair spilling over his arm.

I felt frozen in place, torn between my terror and the desperate need to help somehow. I reached out but it was too late—Blake was already turning away. Still holding Aenia, he began walking in the direction of the Dragon Court.

“Blake, wait!” I called. My voice sounded so small.

I turned to Theo. His face was still ashen, the arm he’d used to thrust the knife hung slack by his side.

“I killed her,” he whispered hoarsely. “I killed a child.” His shoulders were shaking.

“You saved me,” I said softly. But I knew nothing I said would comfort him. Not right now. “Come on.” I grabbed Theo’s arm, then glanced down at Visha and bit my lip. I didn’t want to leave her alone, but at least right now, we knew she was safe. Meanwhile, something was horribly wrong and somewhere out there was Medra. “We have to follow Blake. Something horrible must have happened. You saw his face.”

“Visha,” Theo said, slowly, looking down at the highblood girl.

Visha didn’t even look up at us. “Go. I’m not leaving her.”

“We’ll be back soon,” I promised, trying to swallow my fear.

The air grew colder as we reached the open cloisters. My breath misted.

Voices began to reach us, raised and urgent. I couldn’t make out the words.

Ahead of us, Blake had slowed. Kneeling, he gently lowered Aenia’s body onto the ground along one wall.

I took a step forward, following Blake as he entered the Dragon Court, Theo close behind me.

I couldn’t make sense of what I saw. Slowly, it started to come clear. Disbelief and shock flooded through me.

Nyxaris, his massive black body heaving with labored breaths.

Professor Rodriguez, kneeling on the ground, lifting a glass vial, his face tight with concentration.

Kage, his arms locked around Medra, restraining her as she thrashed against him. Her red hair was wild, her face streaked with tears.

“Medra,” I gasped, already moving towards her.

But Blake grabbed my arm just as another figure emerged from the grove of trees across the courtyard.

“Hello, Brother.”

Marcus Drakharrow stood on the other side of the court. Holding tightly to his hand was Lunaya Orphos. On his other side stood Catherine Mortis, mirroring Marcus’s cold confidence.

I furrowed my brow. Lunaya looked strange. Her usually serene expression had been replaced by an almost vacant look, as if she wasn’t fully there. Marcus tugged at her hand, pulling her forward and she moved in step with him, like a walking doll.

And then I saw them. Crossbows.

My breath caught.

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