Page 102 of Sanctifier

“Yes, you will,” said Lady Bellenet, breathing hard and eyeing Ru as if she were a disobedient dog. “But you defy anddefyme. You lack the proper motivation. Hugon failed to push you over the edge.” Her eyes flashed. “Let me remind you of your place here, Delara.”

Ru didn’t know what to do. Whatcouldshe do but watch in abject horror as her friends were lined up before their executioner? Archie had the audacity to smile at Ru, a crooked, wan thing. As if he were reassuringher. Gwyneth sobbed once, broken and loud.

Lyr, glassy-eyed, shoved the academics to their knees.

Lady Bellenet placed her hands on their heads. And as the blinding white light poured forth from her like a scream, Ru fell to her hands and knees and wretched.

When at last the light was gone, and Lady Bellenet lowered her arms, Ru knew she would never see her friends again. She tried to catch their gazes, her most beloved companions. But they were only dark silhouettes, her vision still blurred and spotted from the burst of power.

Ru blinked until she could make out her friends’ stony faces, desperate to catch a glint of recognition.

Gwyneth turned to Ru, her face no longer crumpled in anguish. Tears still stained her face, but they had ceased to flow. Her expression hung slack, vacant.

They were gone.

“Bring me the artifact,” Ru said, her words grazing a sore, tattered throat. Had she been screaming? It didn’t matter. All she wanted was to end this.Fine.You want me in the darkness? I’m here.

Lady Bellenet opened her mouth to respond, advancing on Ru like a demonic specter. But the lady paused at the sound of a door opening. Ru turned to see Lord D’Luc silhouetted in the doorway, his face shadowed.

“What’s this?” he said, his prim voice at odds with the situation. The door swung shut behind him, and at last Ru could see his features. They were handsome and cold — he gave nothing away.

“She required motivation,” said Lady Bellenet, who had become once again the delicate lady with rosy cheeks and shining eyes. But Ru saw malice behind that innocent gaze. “It is nothing to fret over.”

Hugon strode forward, frock coat billowing. He knelt before Archie and Gwyneth, one knee to the floor, and took each of their faces in turn, gripping their chins and staring hard into their eyes. Then he stood, smoothing his waistcoat with a tight-lipped expression.

“You risk pushing her too far,” he said at last, not once acknowledging Ru’s presence. “We had agreed—”

“An agreement long since forfeit,” Lady Bellenet spoke over him, half-smiling, though her voice had a frozen edge. “I will do what I must to ensure the success of the Great Cleansing.”

“As will I, my lady, but surely this was… unwise.”

A storm cloud settled over the lady’s face. “I see,” she said. “Unwise, you say. The great Hugon D’Luc says that I have been unwise. Is he certain he’d like to stand by such an accusation?” She stretched her fingers, and though her hands hung at her sides, they had begun to glow once more.

Hugon took a step back. “No, my lady,” he said quickly. “I only meant the timing… but you were right to do it. Forgive me. I was wrong.”

“We will go to the artifact,” Lady Bellenet said. “I want to see what you’ve been doing these long weeks. If I find that either of you has failed me in some way…” she looked at Ru, her icicle gaze penetrating the soft tissue of Ru’s heart, “it’s your brother who will be next.”

The cavern wasa reflection of Ru’s nightmares. The subterranean room, dimly lit and stale, was frigid and lifeless. Ru would have shivered anyway, her skin and muscle clenching in the gasp of cold air that came seeking through that unseen draft. But the violence of her reaction to returning to this place — teeth chattering, hands clenched and fingers clenched, a blur at the edges of her vision — was more than just a chill.

She could not stop replaying the moment over and over in her mind. Archie and Gwyneth kneeling, the flash of light. Their blank, empty eyes. She hadn’t been able to save them. And the artifact waited for her, cold and black.

Shame overtook her, and she cried out, a sound of anger and frustration, self-hatred and helplessness.

“I can’t do this,” she rasped.

Lady Bellenet said, “You will. The Cleansing approaches, and you still have not mastered the artifact.”

Lord D’Luc said nothing.

Ru glanced hopelessly at Lyr, who had stationed himself at the base of the stairs. She imagined rushing at him, taking his weapon and turning it against him. The thought choked her. As long as he looked like Lyr, sounded like him… she would never be able to harm him. And he, no longer the guard she so deeply cared for, wouldn’t hesitate to fight back.

Out of options, Ru went to the table and stared down at the black stone. The artifact, gleaming in low light. There was only one option, one choice.

“Lyr,” said Lady Bellenet, her voice echoing harshly. “Stand beside Delara. Watch her. The moment you see the artifact react, I want her unconscious. Is that clear?”

The guard said nothing but took up his station, flanking Ru. Lady Bellenet had faith. She believed that Ru could do this from the depths of her despair. And for the first time, Ru wanted to prove her right.

She couldn’t lose Simon.

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