Page 143 of Eternal Ruin
They didn’t appreciate being talked down to by a nineteen-year-old, but Kidan didn’t care. Osa tilted her head, her worn face smiling. “Whatever you say, Captain.”
Kidan turned to the other two, making sure they agreed before relaxing.
A moment later, a ping sounded and Yusef entered, shaking the rain off his shoulders.
Kidan quickly stood and went to greet him. She guided him to the bar, wanting to speak to him alone first.
He settled into the plush chair, studying the small establishment. “Much more relaxed than the 13th’s meeting room. I like it.”
Though Kidan suspected the 13th must be trying to secure his vote, a trace of betrayal expanded in her chest. She hated the idea of Slen and Yusef meeting up without her.
“I haven’t seen Slen around,” Kidan said slowly. “What’s she up to?”
Yusef ordered a minty drink. “Oh, you know her. Translating texts, drinking too much coffee, taking down an institution.”
Carefully, Kidan studied him. The tired grooves under his eyes, smile lines that were too forced. “You haven’t decided, have you?”
“No.”
“What have they offered you?”
Yusef took a sip, smiled without warmth. “I don’t think it’s wise to discuss that.”
She was almost proud of him for not sharing his secrets.
But now, more than ever, Adane House had to sustain its middle position. Kidan would need as much time as possible to inherit her mother’s culture therightway and set a law that would reveal the mask artifact.
“You said you wanted to see change,” she began slowly. “To make sure your children never become killers. And I finally get it, Yusef. Dranacti is the problem. It’s what needs to be changed.”
The image of June came to her, shaking with the knife, torn between killingher or not. Her sweet sister reduced to such a state had been more than a wake-up call.
“Dranacti is why we lost GK.” Kidan bit the inside of her cheek. “It’s what breeds resentment between the houses. Imagine if actis didn’t have to kill to share their blood with vampires.”
Yusef slowly set down his drink, his eyes slightly wide. “I’m listening.”
Her heart tightened with hope, and she looked to the corner where the Dirt Diggers sat. Yusef followed her gaze and finally noticed them. Adjoa’s sharp eyes were intensely focused, as were Osa’s and Mikhail’s expressions. They’d stopped fighting long enough to regard Yusef with suspicion.
Yusef waved at them, whispering to Kidan from the side of his mouth. “Why are they all staring at me like that?”
Kidan smiled. “Because I’m about to tell you a rumor about the Sage’s artifacts. Only it’s actually true.”
Later, Yusef sat with Kidan in Adane House, ready to serve as a test subject for Obsculion. Samson was with Professor Andreyas for his usual induction instructions, and they didn’t have long.
Before Samson arrived, though, Susenyos would come here and let her restrain him. Kidan swallowed nervously, hoping everything would go according to plan and Samson wouldn’t fly into a rage and instantly kill Susenyos. Her fingers shook, drawing a weak square.
Every few minutes, Yusef’s eyes would travel along the corridors, like his father once did looking for webs.
“It’s really here?” he’d ask. “Somewhere in this house is one of the Last Sage’s artifacts?”
Kidan would nod and he’d swear softly, awestruck.
She’d told him everything and, to his credit, Yusef had interrupted her only five times before she was able to finish her tale.
“There’s one more thing,” she said now, blood rushing through her veins. “I’m going to find the Nefrasi hideout from Samson and bring GK here. And one day, make him human again using a law.”
After Yusef stared into the space above her head with his jaw slackened, a small light parted his creased eyes. “You’re a genius.”
A huge exhale gusted out of Kidan. She knew Yusef would support this plan whereas Slen might have thought it naive.
