by Candy Crum
"I know this is motivated by the whole Talia thing, but—" Amelia began, but Arryn quickly cut her off.
"Oh, no. Not you, too. Don't start talking like I'm crazy. Talia came over to the house and left a fruit basket for me. She spent enough time there to convince Cathillian that she was an angel."
Amelia laughed." Oh no! That bitch! How dare she bring you a gift?"
Arryn sighed. "Please, just stop and think for a minute. How many other teachers has she given a gift to? And personally delivered it to their home when she knew they were still in school. Yes, I find it very strange. But all that aside, someone is in my head multiple times every day. They’re after something."
Amelia threw up her hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I get it. I'm not going to call you crazy like Cathillian apparently did, but I am going to tell you to talk to her personally. I'll make you a deal. If you go to her office, speak to her one-on-one, and still get bad vibes from her, I'll teach you how to guard your mind. See if you get that feeling while you're in there. If you do, it's her. Then again, if you don't get it, that doesn't necessarily rule her out either."
Arryn nodded. "That's exactly what I was thinking. Whoever is getting into my head has to know I'm aware they're in there. So, if it is her, she's not going to risk it in close quarters. At least, I’d imagine she wouldn’t."
"I guess it just depends on how badly she wants information. If she wants to know why you're there, she’ll risk it, especially if you go in there acting like you want to make peace. In fact, make that your experiment. If she’s as bad as you think she is, then she knows you don't like her. Even if it's not her in your head, it'll more than likely be someone she's close to. Go in there and pretend that you want to be her best friend. Use that gift as a gateway. If she’s a good person, she's going to buy it without question. But if she's everything you think she is, then you're either going to feel someone getting in your head, or you will very soon after."
"So, you believe me?" Arryn asked.
Amelia shook her head. Arryn couldn't see her expression because she was still following her, but she could read her relaxed body language.
"It's not that I do or don't believe you," Amelia told her, "but that I would be very irresponsible if I just let this go. If the content of my interaction with Doyle proves to be true, anyone around us could be the person who’s seeking to destroy the city. I would be a fool to dismiss anyone—even you."
"I'll take it. It's not perfect, but it's good enough for me," Arryn agreed. "So, if she does get in my head, what should I do?"
Amelia laughed. "Well, that's the fun part. You have enough hatred for her that this should be easy for you. If she gets in your head and it’s been her from the beginning, then she's up to no good. That means I don't give a shit what happens to her. It also means that you're justified in hating her. So, what you're going to do is put on your best performance. On the outside, you’re going to be her brand-new best friend. On the inside, I want you to imagine all the terrible things you plan to do to her if she is, in fact, a traitor. Because if she is a traitor, we want her to know her fate."
Arryn smiled, the very thought of it amusing to her. It made her happy that Amelia was helping her, even if she wasn't hundred percent sure. It was more than Cathillian had done for her.
The plan was simple enough. Be nice to Talia because she could be innocent. That made sense. However, if she was as bad as Arryn thought, and she was capable of mystical powers, then by Arryn thinking terrible things about her, Talia would know and more than likely give an indication that she did.
Easy enough, though Arryn wasn’t a big fan of this kind of behavior. She was the up front and honest type. Sneaking around and lying made her sick, even if she was trying to be diplomatic for her friend and superior.
They had almost reached the cells under the Capitol building when someone came down the stairs and down the hall, screaming.
"Amelia! Amelia!"
Arryn and Amelia both turned and ran back toward the stairs, meeting one of Cathillian's students at their base.
"What is it?" Amelia asked.
The guy shook his head, struggling to catch his breath. "It's Cathillian," was all he was able to get out.
Arryn stepped forward, a jolt of fear rushing through her. "What about him? What’s happened?"
He was out of breath, but he was trying hard. "He ran off… and stole a horse… from stables. He didn't… say what was going on… but we knew something was up." He took several more breaths before continuing. "Echo came for us and wouldn't stop screeching at us until we followed her. Four guards are dead by the gate, and Cathillian was unconscious just outside it."
"What?" Arryn asked, grabbing his arm. "Where is he now?"
"The other guys are bringing him to the medical building. I ran ahead to get Amelia. Her office window has been busted out, so I think Echo tried to get in that way."
Arryn looked at Amelia. "Cathillian must have sent Echo for you when he found the dead guards."
Amelia sighed, her eyes closing. "But we weren't in the office, and Marie was down in the Boulevard."
Arryn shook her head. "It doesn't matter now. Let's go."
Arryn ran past them, heading upstairs and through the halls to get out the front entrance. It no longer mattered that she was mad at him. Her best friend had nearly been killed, and there wasn't anyone else around who was skilled enough to help him. Not something she planned to let happen again.
***
It had been two days since Cathillian was attacked, and he was only now beginning to stir. Arryn had sat by his bedside for most of that time, with Samuel taking the watch during Academy hours, and Celine watching overnight to let Arryn sleep. During the twelve hours after class was over and before she had to go to sleep, Arryn sat by his bedside and wouldn't leave for anything.
Even with Arryn healing him, it was obvious that he wouldn't wake up anytime soon. She wasn't sure what had happened to him, and she knew she wasn't the best healer, but she tried anyway, every morning and every night.
On the third morning, Arryn woke up and made her way into his room. Celine was sitting on his bedside, placing a cool washcloth on his forehead. As his eyes started to flutter open, Arryn rushed over and knelt on the bed.
"Cathillian?" she asked.
A hand wrapped around hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. Arryn looked into Celine's eyes as the woman shook her head and gave a sad smile.
"He's been doing that all night. I don't think he's waking up just yet, but he's getting there. Maybe he'll be okay after another healing. This is definitely the most awake I've seen him."
Arryn nodded before rising to her feet. Celine stood and moved out of Arryn’s way to give full access. After removing the washcloth, Arryn leaned forward and placed one hand on his forehead and the other on his chest.
Unsure of how much more of watching him lie there helpless without having any clue as to what happened she could take, Arryn began to feel desperate. She needed him to get better, even if it was just for him to argue with her about Talia. It didn't matter.
She felt her magic swirling around her as she tried to control it with her emotions high. Taking a deep breath, she decided to focus on the anger that someone had hurt him when she'd been nowhere around to help him, the sadness from having to watch him be so weak, and the desperation of needing him to get better.
Her magic felt stronger and far more powerful than any she'd called before while healing. Taking another deep breath, Arryn focused the energy and began channeling it through her hands into Cathillian.
She could feel the magic moving through him and pushing life into him. At that moment, she realized he hadn’t been injured by any traditional means. Magic had done this. Magic had literally sucked the life out of him. But who would do such a thing? Who could do such a thing?
She heard a deep breath, which forced Arryn's eyes open. Looking down, she saw Cathillian staring wide-eyed directly at her. As she pulled her magic back, h
is hand came to rest on hers.
"Cathillian?" Arryn whispered, her voice unsteady.
"What happened?" he asked as he looked around and realized where he was.
Arryn sat next to him, wondering what to say because she wanted to know the same thing. "One of your men chased you down after Echo came to get help. They found you unconscious just outside the gates. Four guards had been killed."
Cathillian’s brows furrowed, his eyes wandering around the room. He looked confused, like he was trying to remember.
"You've been unconscious for the better part of three days. I've tried healing you every morning and every night, but I'm not nearly as good at it as you. Something was different this time. It was like I could feel what had happened to you."
Cathillian’s eyes met hers as he turned his head. His expression still looked confused, but now he seemed more curious. "And? What happened?"
"It felt like someone had sucked the life out of you. There weren't really any bruises on you. It didn't look like any real damage had been done on the outside to cause you to be unconscious for that long. But when I healed you, I could feel something dark in there. I don't know how to explain it."
Cathillian’s eyes closed then as he sighed heavily. His hands lifted to his face, and he groaned before brushing his long hair back and pulling it out from under him.
"I remember. I remember what happened."
Cathillian tried to sit up, and Arryn moved to help him, but he smiled and waved her off. It seemed that he was able to move around relatively easily now.
Once he was situated, he continued, "Jenna has left the Dark Forest. She joined her brother, Aeris, and went with the dark druids. That darkness that you're talking about... it's dark nature magic. It's essentially the total opposite of healing. My grandfather told me about it once, but it was a long time ago, and I'd forgotten about it entirely until you said you felt darkness."
"What was the darkness that I felt? Shouldn't it have dissipated as soon as your magic left?" Arryn asked.
Cathillian nodded. "If a magician throws a fireball, it will naturally burn hotter than normal fire, so you can tell the difference between the scorch marks the fireball leaves and scorch marks from an actual fire. The same thing can be said of nature magic. The actual dark magic she used was gone, but you could feel what had caused the damage. It leaves the equivalent of a scorch mark on anything that it touches, even down to the arrows they make. Touching a wound made by them, you can feel how the energy has been drained. It feels like death. That's what you felt when your magic touched me. Excellent job, by the way."
Arryn smiled. Always the teacher, even when he was the victim. "So, Jenna did this? What was she even doing here?"
"I need to send word to my mother. Jenna came here to give me a warning that I needed to choose between staying here and protecting you or going home and protecting the Dark Forest. It seems that both are in danger. She came here hoping that I would leave with her, I think."
Arryn rolled her eyes and shook her head. "That bitch always was crazy. So, what do we do?"
There was a pause as Cathillian mulled things over. "We carry on as normal. I'm not giving in to her. We send word to my mother. If there is any kind of problem or emergency, she'll let us know that we need to come back. Otherwise, the two of us are not gonna make a difference in the Dark Forest. But if something happens here, where the army is weak, we could make a huge difference."
It surprised Arryn that Cathillian wasn't ready to abandon the city and rush back to the Dark Forest. That was his home, and it was where his family lived. She couldn't imagine just letting it go, but then again, he was right.
The druid warriors were fierce fighters. There was no way they would go down easily, and a single druid and an Arcadian-turned-druid weren't going make a difference. Well, as far she could tell, anyway.
“It’s the shower, isn’t it?” Arryn smiled. “That’s the real reason you’re staying in Arcadia.”
Cathillian sleepily returned the smile. “Ya got me. That’s totally why. I just really don’t think I can give ‘em up. It’s how I relax after a hard day of dealing with you.”
Arryn laughed. “Dealing with me? Sir, dealing with you is a full-time job.”
He shook his head. “You don’t know you like I do. Hell, I’ve been debating on going down to the factory and applying for a job. I’ll go hang out with sweaty men all day.”
Quirking an eyebrow, Arryn asked, “Oh! I get it… You’re considering our business plan! Damn, I’d nearly forgotten. Rest that pretty face of yours, and we’ll put it right to work. You’ll make a fortune now that the Arcadian men have a solid income.”
Cathillian sighed, his expression still amused. “Not even death excuses me from your prostitution jokes, I see.”
Arryn shrugged. “Well, death would have.” She patted him on the shoulder. “But you aren’t dying. Not today, anyway. I saw to that. We all did.”
She winked, but was quite surprised when he pulled her down into a tight hug. His body had been quite chilled the past few days, but he finally felt warm—very warm.
“Thank you,” he whispered before letting her go after several long moments.
"I have to get out of here," Arryn told him. "I want you to get something to eat and drink, but then I want you to rest. Samuel will be here soon, and Celine is here, of course. I've been leaving the Academy early in the afternoon, so I will today, too."
"Well, look at you. Taking care of me even though you hate me." He laughed.
Arryn sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Don't remind me."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Amelia sat in her office, staring at the box that Arryn had brought back to her. Her eyes were locked on it as though it might grow legs and run away. The past few days had been quite eventful, and it didn't look as though there would be an end anytime soon.
Cathillian had been attacked, and she had no idea who or what did it. Four guards had been lost as well, and Amelia couldn't deny the signs any longer. The Guard needed to be more heavily trained, and someone definitely had it in for the city.
It occurred to her that since the attack had happened at the entry to the city, just outside its walls, it had been an outsider who had attacked, but that didn't matter as much as a few other things.
Were they gone?
Had they come into the city and stayed?
Were they from outside the city?
Was it a resident?
There were far too many variables, and she would have no answers until Cathillian was ready to talk. The Matriarch knew that the dead sure as hell weren't talking.
But that hadn't been the only thing…
That whole mess had started when Amelia had tried to take Arryn to see Elon. She wanted Arryn to be able to talk to him and try to get answers. After everything that had happened with Doyle, Amelia had needed time to try to get anything out of him that she could, but it was obvious he had no plans to help her unless she helped him first.
But her attempt to get him to talk to Arryn had been thwarted by the attack on the gate. She and Arryn rushed to the medical building to see Cathillian and find out what happened. There weren’t many answers to be had, but Amelia had helped Arryn get the druid home safely.
When it was obvious that Arryn wouldn't be back to speak to Elon right away, Amelia had taken it upon herself to do it for her. As she sat there in her office, staring at the box that she had looked through a hundred times, she thought back over everything he’d told her.
Elon had paced back and forth in his cell that day, ignoring Amelia’s presence. That hadn't shocked her, though. She wasn't his biggest fan, and he knew it. And until Amelia gave him what he wanted, he didn't plan to give her any information.
But what he wanted wasn't in Amelia’s power to give. He wanted his son, Gregory.
When the airship was being built and Adrien had needed more power for it, Elon had tethered his own child to it, sucking the power—and the life—directly out of his son t
o fuel the airship. Gregory had been betrayed by his own father and there was no fixing that, but it didn't stop Elon from trying to use Gregory as a bargaining chip.
He wanted to beg his son for forgiveness.
Elon refused to believe that Gregory was no longer in the city. He'd left with Hannah, Parker, and the Founder to go on another quest. There were bigger things at stake now, and Gregory wanted to be a part of them, and there was little left for him in Arcadia.
No matter how much Amelia wished she could give Elon what he wanted so she could get the answers that she so desperately needed, there was no way for her to make that happen.
And when she'd gone to see him just after Cathillian was attacked, after making sure he was settled and safe at home, she was pissed. She wasn't taking no for an answer this time.
"I didn't come here for me this time," Amelia began. "This time, I'm here for someone else."
"Is that so?" Elon asked incredulously. It was obvious that he still didn't care. "And do you have Gregory? Because if you don't, I don't give a damn who you're here for."
Amelia had exhaled heavily. The past couple weeks of irritation had already brought her rage to the front. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she took a moment to steel herself, knowing that it would take patience to get anything at all out of him.
"I know you don't care. I'm just hoping that somewhere in the blackened heart that was capable of trying to murder his own son for nothing more than a moment of appreciation from the monster he served I will find even the tiniest shred of humanity. I doubt I will, but I have to try. For her."
"Her who?" he asked, stopping his pacing for a moment.
"Her name is Arryn. Ten years ago, she fled the city with her mother on horseback. Two Hunters chased her into the woods to the west as they rode for the Dark Forest. Her mother was killed, but Arryn made it the rest of the way to the Dark Forest, where she was raised with the druids. Now she's back, and she wants answers."