Page 42 of Embracing Darkness

My body is flooded with adrenaline, and every muscle is tensed to its breaking point. I see Yoru assume a fighting stance and turn to face the corner of a building. So I turn my attention there too and send odeon to Yoru so that he can attack if necessary.

“I know where you’re hiding,” I shout again. I hope I’ve interpreted Yoru’s actions correctly.

“Don’t kid yourself. You wouldn’t have noticed me if it weren’t for your key spirit,” Frances snarls as she steps out from behind the building. She fixes me with an icy stare.

“What the hell are you doing here?” I snap at her. My heart is hammering in my chest. But I try to stay calm and not show any fear. “I thought you promised Noah you wouldn’t fight me. So what do you want with me?”

Her lips narrow, and I can see that she’s wrestling internally with herself. Her arms are folded in front of her chest, and she doesn’t move. So she doesn’t intend to attack me. Then what is this about?

Suddenly, a thought occurs to me. “You’re here to spy on me?” I can’t say exactly what prompts that idea. Maybe the way she’s looking at me – so piercing, probing, calculating. “So? Did it help? Did you find out what you wanted to know?” I hiss at her furiously. It’s not a nice feeling, knowing she’s been sneaking around after me and spying on me. How long has she been doing that? What did she see? The enchantment placed over the school means the Noctu can’t find it. So she can’t have been tailing me for long. But still...

“Don’t kid yourself. I just want to make sure Noah’s keeping his promise and has actually cut contact with you. You’re not goodfor him; you’re nothing but a huge risk to him.”

“So why don’t you sneak around after him then?” I know she’s lying. “Tell me! What are you really doing here?”

Her eyes dart around restlessly.

Suddenly, someone appears behind her. “She wants to know what’s so special about you that I keep meeting with you and basically committing high treason against the Noctu.” Noah and Rain step through the portal that has just opened behind Frances. He eyes her angrily. “It took me a while to find you,” he says to her.

Frances stares guiltily at the ground. “I didn’t do anything to her,” she mutters.

“That’s lucky for you because if you did, you’d get to know a whole other side of me.” He sighs loudly. “What were you thinking? What are you hoping to achieve? You need to leave Teresa alone. You got that?”

“And leave you to your fate?” she snaps at him furiously. “I know you’re just waiting for me to become less vigilant so you can continue this...” She waves her hands in the air. “...whatever perverted kind of relationship you guys have! Sooner or later, another Noctu is going to find out about this, and then it’s all over. You won’t just be ostracized. You’ll be killed – and so will she by the way. If you won’t do it for yourself, then do it for her sake. Her life must be worth something to you.” Her voice is quaking with agitation and anger. She looks imploringly at Noah, but he brushes her off coldly.

“I can take care of myself. And if you weren’t constantly creeping around after me, you would have never found out about Teresa. And nor will anybody else – at least as long as you keep your mouth shut.”

“I would never betray you; you know that. But it’s crazy to think you’re safe. You’re not invincible, and someday you’ll make a mistake.”

Noah groans quietly and shakes his head. “Even if a Noctu saw us together, it’s fine as long as they don’t see Teresa’s key spirit. They’ll just think she’s an ordinary person, and I’m allowed to have contact with them.”

“Who do you think you’re kidding? You know you’re on thin ice,” Frances warns him.

“Just drop it,” he replies. “Come on, it’s late. We’re going back. And I’m warning you: if I catch you sneaking around after Teresa again, then our friendship is over.”

Frances reluctantly summons a portal but doesn’t step through it because she’s waiting for Noah.

He comes to me and says, “I’m really sorry about this. I hope it wasn’t too upsetting. After everything you’ve been through, it must have brought back some scary memories.”

“It’s all good,” I reassure him, bending down to scratch Yoru behind the ears. “I have him, and he looks out for me.”

I smile and look up at Noah, who’s suddenly chalky white, staring at me with wide eyes, speechless.

“Noah, what is it?” I ask.

I straighten up, and that’s when I notice that he’s staring at something in particular. When I bent down to Yoru, the chain with my key and Frida’s ring on it must have slipped out of my shirt. It’s now hanging around my neck for all to see. My hand instinctively goes to my key and clasps it to my chest. Noah has never tried to take it from me, as the other Noctu allegedly do. What’s up with him?

As if in a trance, Noah reaches out, but not for my key. Instead his fingers close around the ring. “Where... where did you get this?”

My heart races when I see the look of horror on his face. I’ve never seen Noah look so worried, scared even.

“I found it in my great aunt’s stuff,” I reply.

I sense that this ring is associated with something terrible. SoI quickly tell him about the hidden room and the double blood seal. If I thought he looked stunned before, that was nothing compared to how he looks now.

When I’m finished, he stares at me for a while, lost for words. Then he mutters, “That’s a Noctu vessel. Most of us have them.” He pulls a chain out of his pocket with a similar ring on it. Except that his has a dark blue stone.

“Vessel?” I murmur, but I know exactly what they’re used for.

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