hands through his hair front to back, back to front. “And interrupt your time with Ryker? You’re newly bound.”
“You know that it’s not real. Besides, this is more important than bindings and Ryker.” I drop to my knees next to Eloise. “How do you feel?”
“Weak. But the healer says if I drink this, that I’ll feel like my old self in no time.” She points at a steaming mug of questionable contents and laughs again before taking a long sip. “What?”
When she looks at me, I realize I’ve brought my fingertips to my mouth. There are so many things I want to say to her, starting with, “What were you thinking?” but this isn’t the time.
“I’m just relieved.”
Eloise drinks again. When she’s done, Henry takes the mug from her hands, and she rests the side of her head against the chair back. Her chest lifts slightly, then falls. Her eyes flutter before closing completely.
Alarmed I start to rouse her, but Henry stops me. “There’s Sleep Tea in the medicine. Let her rest. She needs it.”
I hesitate. After sleeping for nearly a week, does she really need anymore? “The healer gave her that?” I ask.
“Yes. I saw it prepared with my own eyes.”
“And you know the exact contents of what they mixed?”
Henry chuckles. “Lark, I wouldn’t let anyone give Eloise anything questionable. I swear.”
Satisfied, I stand and stretch my legs. “Is Mother treating you well?”
“Everything is exceptional.” He frowns, two tight lines that cause wrinkles near his eyes. “I heard about your outbursts.”
Heat builds in my chest. “It’s getting worse. I don’t realize what I’ve done until after.”
“I had hoped it wouldn’t be like this for you.” Henry twists his hands together. Wringing and rewringing them until I fear they’ll fall off.
“Why didn’t you tell me Mother was a pure Dark witch?”
My uncle taps his lips. “I can’t. But I should have at Summer Hill.”
“Did you hope my father’s Light magic would be enough to prevent me from becoming like this?”
He bobs his head. “You’re so different than Malin. Perhaps it was naïve of me, but yes, I did hope.”
“All those times at Summer Hill when you swore I’d be different. You convinced Beck to bind us because it would keep his Light magic locked in me.” I glance at Eloise and lower my voice. “You told him it would protect me from going completely Dark. Was it all based on guesses?
“And you told me that Mother blew up Northwoods. Did she kill your mother? Is that what you’ve been keeping from me?”
Henry watery eyes find mine. “Yes.”
“Yes, what?” I say more sharply than I mean to.
“All of it.”
I rub my eyebrows. This is my future. Killing. And more killing. Unless I die first.
“Lark? Are you okay?”
Nothing is going the way I had hoped. Or the way Henry had promised Beck. And despite this, I feel no anger toward Henry.
“I’ve been better.” I force a smile. “At least Eloise is healing.”
Henry rearranges the blanket on her lap. “Small miracles.”
“Indeed.”
#
There’s a certain kind of sadness that hangs over the condemned. I saw it the night I snuck out to the club. It was present in the way the Sensitives shuffled around on the stage with the weight of their sentences crippling them. It blotted out any other display of emotion.
That’s how I feel. Trapped under a cloud of misery. Unable to feel anything else.
Oliver’s been trying to distract me for the past hour by playing with magic. But I can’t bring myself to pay attention.
“Do you want to talk about it?” He flops down on the other end of my office couch where I’m balled up. “Fio says I’m a great listener.”
It takes me a minute to remember that Fio is his mate. I give him a weak smile. “I’m not sure you can help.” I pick at a piece of lint on my tights. “I’m going crazy.”
He scratches the back of his head. “Tell me what crazy is.”
I roll my eyes. “Are you serious? I blew up the binding hall. ”
“At Malin’s order.”
“I set my mate’s clothes on fire.”
“A trick you learned from Malin,” he says.
“I tried to choke Annalise and Maz.”
“Can’t help you there. But knowing Annalise, she probably deserved it.” He grins at me and I can’t help but chuckle. “I’ve noticed when you get stressed, you default to offensive rather than defensive magic. I’d wager it’s because no one’s really taught you defensive skills.”
“Annalise showed me how to shield,” I say.
His eyebrows jot upward. “Did she? Well, that’s