Page 14 of Darkness and Deceit
Bennett says nothing. But something in her expression shifts, like she wasn’t expecting Vaughn to speak. At least not likethat.
Kai moves then, stepping slightly closer to me, as if his presence alone is drawing a line she’d be wise not to cross.
He doesn’t speak. He doesn’tneedto.
Everyone knows Kai is quiet.
But this silence?
It’sintentional.
Bennett’s eyes flick toward him. “Is that supposed to mean something, Mr. Clarke?”
He meets her gaze. “It means I’m paying attention.”
She studies him for a beat longer than necessary. “And what have you concluded so far?”
Kai meets her gaze without flinching. “That you’re not the only one who can draw boundaries.”
And for the first time, something flickers in her mask—an almost imperceptible tightening around her mouth.
This is no longer a conversation.
It’s a standoff dressed as diplomacy.
Bennett’s fingers drum once against her desk, a subtle tell that betrays her composure. “Boundaries,” she repeats, the word sharp as a blade. “An interesting choice, considering the circumstances.”
I lean forward. “What circumstances? The fact that I’m a Dual? Or that I saw something in that forest you’d rather pretend doesn’t exist?”
Her gaze snaps back to mine. “Both, Miss Knight. Your... unique abilities make you a person of interest. And your claims about an imprisoned Dual?—”
“They’re not claims,” I snap. The heat in my chest is rising too fast to swallow down now, searing up my throat like a wildfire. “Iknowwhat I saw.”
My cheeks are flushed and burning, and I blink rapidly to fend off the sting of tears forming from sheer anger. My hands curl into fists against my thighs, nails biting into my palms to keep me anchored in this moment.
I’m done shrinking myself to be palatable. Done trying to fit into a box that was never meant for me. Done hoping someone will believe me simply because I asked nicely.
“Do you?” Bennett challenges, her voice still composed but edged. “From my perspective, you’re a first-year student with unstable powers making claims that could upend the entire realm.”
Something inside me snaps.
Becausefuck that.
Enough is enough.
I probably would’ve withered under this kind of scrutiny before. Doubted myself. Fallen silent. But not now. Not after everything I’ve endured.
Not with Simon beside me, tense and ready.
Not with Vaughn watching her like he’s daring her to push one step further.
Not with Kai near the door, silent but immovable—unmistakably on my side.
They’re here. All of them. And they’renotmoving.
Simon shifts beside me, tension rolling off him like heat from a forge. “With all due respect, Headmistress,” he says tightly, “Lilith has given you no reason to doubt her. She’s been nothing but cooperative—even after you locked her in a room for three and a half hours with the Keepers.”
Bennett’s eyes narrow. “Cooperation does not equate to truth, Mr. Blake. Especially when the stakes are this high.”
