Page 207 of A Liar's Twisted Tongue

The better part of me knowing she’s gone.

The exhaustion I feel is being held at bay by adrenaline. A fight is coming, I’m certain of it. There’s one thing I have to do before it arrives.

Leaving my suite, I can’t tell if the academy is on some sort of lockdown or if the desolate nature of the hall is the product of the hour. Fleur opens the door, only by an inch, after I’ve knocked.

“What are you doing here?” she whispers.

“I need to speak to Lilac.”

“No, I mean, we were all told you wouldn’t be coming back.” Her eyes gaze over my body. “But I’m glad you did.”

“By who?”

“King Labyrinth made the announcement.”

If I could manage to not have to come back, I would’ve chosen that option.

Fleur’s tone shifts when I don’t respond. “Have you seen Eleanora? No one’s seen her since the lockdown began.”

I give it a moment of thought and answer, “No, I haven’t.”

“Okay.” The door opens and I walk past it, right to Lilac’s room. The moment I see her, she hugs me.

“Is it true?” she asks. “He’s dead?”

“Yes,” I breathe. “He’s gone.”

Lilac inhales unsteadily. “He’s gone.” It sinks in.

These are the consequences—my sister looking at me with tears in her eyes and pain in her veins as she realizes exactly what I can’t fathom: he’s gone. Our brother is gone.

“They say it was a fatta,” she squeaks.

It’s hard to get out the word, “Yes.”

“So, he’s…”

“Wendy took him to the mastick and anchored his spirit to a tree,” I say, though I’m not sure that’s what happened. I fear he was already obsolete by the time we made it. Lilac starts biting at her nails. Her eyes are on me, though I can tell she does not see me. “Have they evacuated the rest of the students yet?”

Her eyes become quickly alert. “Evacuate? Why?”

I whisper, “The Arcanes are coming. I can get you to Soma before they do?—”

“No.” Her hands drop. “I’m not going back there.”

“Alright.” I think. “We can find you somewhere safe to hide.” Could the Royal floor be safe? I don’t know where in any world would be safe against the Arcane.

Lilac shakes her head. “I’m not hiding this time.” She closes her door without moving an inch. “I’ve become a worthy adversary.” She stands a little taller too.

“If anything happened to you, Li…”

“Nothing will.” With a long exhalation and a crinkle of her eyebrow, she follows her last sentiment with, “I don’t know how many Lusia made me kill. But I have all of their power, I can protect you this time.”

Other people care about my life too. With Azaire, I think when I’d disregarded the consequences, I’d been thinking about them in terms of my life. To me, at that moment, it felt inconsequential.

It wouldn’t have felt inconsequential to Azaire.

Consequences be damned, as it turns out, was an entirely ignorant thing to say.

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