The Rose Society
Page 73
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Enzo approaches me first. He offers a hand, then helps me to my feet with one effortless tug. I tremble at his touch. “Steady, little wolf,” he says gently. The words are so achingly familiar that I want to collapse against him. Behind him, Magiano looks away.
I shake my head and let my hand fall away from his. “I thought I saw something,” I mutter. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure—?” Sergio starts to ask.
“I’m fine,” I spit back. He blinks, startled at the venom in my voice. I’m startled too. Immediately I tone it down, then sigh and run a hand through my short hair. Beside me, Enzo watches me carefully. I know he felt the way my energy lurched through our tether. He knows. But he doesn’t say anything.
I can’t stand everyone looking at me. “I’m fine,” I repeat, as if saying it enough times will make it true. The image of the pale eyes appears again in my mind. I shudder. Suddenly, the room feels too small, the air too thin. I turn away from everyone and hurry out into the narrow hall leading down to the stairs.
“Hey.”
Magiano catches my arm and spins me around. His pupils are round now, and his eyes a soft honey. He frowns. “Another illusion out of control, wasn’t it?” he says. “Has this always happened with your powers?”
“It’s not unusual,” I grumble, even though I know it’s not true.
“When did it start?” When I don’t answer right away, Magiano’s voice hardens. “We have pledged ourselves to putting you on the throne. We deserve an answer. When did it start?”
I’m silent.
“Was the time in Merroutas your first? In the gondola?”
I feel as if illusions were lying in wait right outside my line of sight, ghosts waiting to appear. I can’t hide it from Magiano. “It happens after I kill,” I whisper.
After I killed Dante, my uncontrollable illusions caused Enzo’s death. After I killed the Night King, I saw my father in Merroutas. And after I killed the Inquisitor that night in Estenzia … this. I shiver uncontrollably.
“I’m fine,” I say over and over again. I glare at Magiano, daring him to question me.
He steps closer, then reaches down to touch my cheek. “Adelina,” he murmurs, then hesitates. I think he’s going to tell me to be more careful, that I shouldn’t stay on this path. Instead, he sighs. As always, I find myself drawn to his warmth. He is truly alive, and this moment feels real. I’m still trembling. Why can’t I stop my illusions anymore? Behind him, the others emerge from the room and look on.
Finally, he nods back toward the window. “You said you know a way for us to save those malfettos,” he says. “Well, what? What’s your plan?”
I squeeze my eye shut and take a deep breath. Calm yourself, I command. Magiano’s presence steadies me. I look up at him. “Teren is down there right now, in the malfetto camps,” I say. “We can trick him to work in our favor.”
“In our favor?”
“Yes.” I look from Magiano to the others. “If Teren is at odds with the queen, he’ll want retaliation. He’s doing it right now. He can be our way into the palace, and to the throne.”
Enzo approaches and a surge of anger travels through the tether that links us. “And what makes you think you can bend Teren to your will?” he says. “His disobedience to my sister will not make him our ally.”
“Enzo,” I reply, “I think I know why Teren has been banished. I think I know who came between them.”
At that, Enzo’s expression changes instantly. His anger becomes confusion, then realization, all in the blink of an eye. “Raffaele,” he says.
I nod. “I think Raffaele is in the palace. I don’t know what he has done, but if the Daggers are working to break the two of them apart … then we might be able to find the Daggers by going to the palace. In order to do that, we’ll need to trick Teren into working with us. He will be able to get us in faster than we can do it ourselves.” I hold up my hands. “I can only disguise so many of us, and only for so long.”
“We don’t have much time,” Magiano adds, looking in the direction of the burning camps.
Enzo considers my words. The thought of reuniting with the Daggers and with Raffaele has given him some spark of life, and I can feel it burning within him. Someday, he will figure out what I did to Raffaele at the arena. What will happen then?
The whispers surface. Then you must exert your control over him.
After a moment, Enzo straightens and walks past us. “Let’s hurry, then.”
Teren Santoro
I’m not supposed to be here.
Still, Teren marches down the rows of the malfetto camps. “There,” he says, pointing, leading a squadron of Inquisitors behind him. Giulietta may have stripped him of his Lead Inquisitor title, but he still has patrols at his command. Now he motions for his men to head to each of the longhouses where the malfettos are. “Get them all inside.”
Inquisitors push frightened malfettos back into their assigned quarters. Their shouts ring out across the camps. Teren waits until each longhouse is filled, and then he nods again at his men. “Lock the doors.”
As Teren marches down the row of longhouses, the Inquisitors lock each door behind him, metal scraping against metal as the doors are bolted shut.
Giulietta’s words ring in Teren’s head over and over again, becoming a cacophony of betrayal. You are no longer my Lead Inquisitor. He pledged his entire life to her, but she no longer wants it.
I shake my head and let my hand fall away from his. “I thought I saw something,” I mutter. “I’m fine.”
“Are you sure—?” Sergio starts to ask.
“I’m fine,” I spit back. He blinks, startled at the venom in my voice. I’m startled too. Immediately I tone it down, then sigh and run a hand through my short hair. Beside me, Enzo watches me carefully. I know he felt the way my energy lurched through our tether. He knows. But he doesn’t say anything.
I can’t stand everyone looking at me. “I’m fine,” I repeat, as if saying it enough times will make it true. The image of the pale eyes appears again in my mind. I shudder. Suddenly, the room feels too small, the air too thin. I turn away from everyone and hurry out into the narrow hall leading down to the stairs.
“Hey.”
Magiano catches my arm and spins me around. His pupils are round now, and his eyes a soft honey. He frowns. “Another illusion out of control, wasn’t it?” he says. “Has this always happened with your powers?”
“It’s not unusual,” I grumble, even though I know it’s not true.
“When did it start?” When I don’t answer right away, Magiano’s voice hardens. “We have pledged ourselves to putting you on the throne. We deserve an answer. When did it start?”
I’m silent.
“Was the time in Merroutas your first? In the gondola?”
I feel as if illusions were lying in wait right outside my line of sight, ghosts waiting to appear. I can’t hide it from Magiano. “It happens after I kill,” I whisper.
After I killed Dante, my uncontrollable illusions caused Enzo’s death. After I killed the Night King, I saw my father in Merroutas. And after I killed the Inquisitor that night in Estenzia … this. I shiver uncontrollably.
“I’m fine,” I say over and over again. I glare at Magiano, daring him to question me.
He steps closer, then reaches down to touch my cheek. “Adelina,” he murmurs, then hesitates. I think he’s going to tell me to be more careful, that I shouldn’t stay on this path. Instead, he sighs. As always, I find myself drawn to his warmth. He is truly alive, and this moment feels real. I’m still trembling. Why can’t I stop my illusions anymore? Behind him, the others emerge from the room and look on.
Finally, he nods back toward the window. “You said you know a way for us to save those malfettos,” he says. “Well, what? What’s your plan?”
I squeeze my eye shut and take a deep breath. Calm yourself, I command. Magiano’s presence steadies me. I look up at him. “Teren is down there right now, in the malfetto camps,” I say. “We can trick him to work in our favor.”
“In our favor?”
“Yes.” I look from Magiano to the others. “If Teren is at odds with the queen, he’ll want retaliation. He’s doing it right now. He can be our way into the palace, and to the throne.”
Enzo approaches and a surge of anger travels through the tether that links us. “And what makes you think you can bend Teren to your will?” he says. “His disobedience to my sister will not make him our ally.”
“Enzo,” I reply, “I think I know why Teren has been banished. I think I know who came between them.”
At that, Enzo’s expression changes instantly. His anger becomes confusion, then realization, all in the blink of an eye. “Raffaele,” he says.
I nod. “I think Raffaele is in the palace. I don’t know what he has done, but if the Daggers are working to break the two of them apart … then we might be able to find the Daggers by going to the palace. In order to do that, we’ll need to trick Teren into working with us. He will be able to get us in faster than we can do it ourselves.” I hold up my hands. “I can only disguise so many of us, and only for so long.”
“We don’t have much time,” Magiano adds, looking in the direction of the burning camps.
Enzo considers my words. The thought of reuniting with the Daggers and with Raffaele has given him some spark of life, and I can feel it burning within him. Someday, he will figure out what I did to Raffaele at the arena. What will happen then?
The whispers surface. Then you must exert your control over him.
After a moment, Enzo straightens and walks past us. “Let’s hurry, then.”
Teren Santoro
I’m not supposed to be here.
Still, Teren marches down the rows of the malfetto camps. “There,” he says, pointing, leading a squadron of Inquisitors behind him. Giulietta may have stripped him of his Lead Inquisitor title, but he still has patrols at his command. Now he motions for his men to head to each of the longhouses where the malfettos are. “Get them all inside.”
Inquisitors push frightened malfettos back into their assigned quarters. Their shouts ring out across the camps. Teren waits until each longhouse is filled, and then he nods again at his men. “Lock the doors.”
As Teren marches down the row of longhouses, the Inquisitors lock each door behind him, metal scraping against metal as the doors are bolted shut.
Giulietta’s words ring in Teren’s head over and over again, becoming a cacophony of betrayal. You are no longer my Lead Inquisitor. He pledged his entire life to her, but she no longer wants it.
