She rolled her eyes. “I told Selene that she and Eli couldn’t come over until tomorrow at the earliest. They’ll be here as soon as school’s out for the day.”
I sat up straighter, suddenly remembering my educational duties. “Crap, I have exams coming up.”
Mom waved. “Don’t get excited. With everything that’s happened, you’re being given a pass in all your classes with the Magi Senate’s approval. It’s the least they could do. I expect sooner or later they’ll bestow some award on you, once things have settled down.”
I didn’t understand at first, but then I remembered Consul Vanholt lying dead among the ruins of the pavilion. No wonder things needed settling down.
“What about Paul? You haven’t mentioned him. Is he okay?”
Moira sighed. “He’s fine. He’s just … unavailable. He’s been placed in protective custody for his own safety. Word about his uncle has spread despite efforts to contain it. Brackenberry feared Paul might be in danger of retribution. The attack on Lyonshold was the biggest in the island’s history. Seventy-two magickind dead.”
I swallowed, my throat and eyes burning. So many lives lost. How many were my schoolmates? Even knowing that there could’ve been a lot more didn’t make me feel any better. And poor Paul. It was so unfair. He’d escaped the threat of his uncle only to be put under this new threat.
But maybe there was a light at the end of the tunnel. “And what about my cell phone? Were they able to identify Marrow’s supporters?”
Moira huffed, clearly not wanting to talk about it any longer, but I held her with my gaze, insisting she go on. “By the time they caught up with Magistrate Kirkwood the cell phone had been destroyed.”
“But that doesn’t make sense. Why would he destroy it?”
“He didn’t. It was some kind of self-destruct mechanism.”
All the air whooshed out of my lungs, making my head spin. He lied. Paul had lied. After all of that. Only … the pass code had worked. I’d seen it with my own eyes. But then I remembered how he had wanted to make sure the app was hidden again when he first showed us it inside the Kirkwood mausoleum. Maybe the app had to be shut down properly or it would self-destruct, just another one of Paul’s insurance methods.
With an effort I pushed thoughts of Paul from my mind. Maybe there was an explanation for what had happened to the data and maybe not. Either way, it didn’t matter now. The list of Marrow supporters was gone.
* * *
True to their word, Selene and Eli arrived the next day, both of them eager to see me. Selene hugged me so hard, I didn’t breathe for a full twenty seconds.
“I’m so glad you’re awake. And if you ever go unconscious for that long again, I’ll never forgive you.”
Eli hugged me next, far more gently than Selene had. His touch was tender and intimate, full of the longing that still existed between us. But no sooner had he wrapped his arms around me than he pulled away. We were in the living room, and he walked to the farthest sofa and sat down.
I looked at him, sadness squeezing my chest. Nothing had changed. He still believed in the dream-seer curse. I’d known better than to hope things would be different, but it still hurt.
Thank goodness for Selene—she managed to draw my attention away from Eli with talk about school and all the things I had missed. She and Eli had attempted to learn more about Titus Kirkwood’s death, but they hadn’t gotten very far. “But the most surprising thing that’s happened,” Selene said, “is that Miss Norton gave Eli her talking stick.”
“What?” I craned my head at him, noticing the bracelet on his wrist for the first time.
Eli rubbed a thumb over the smooth leather. “Yeah, she says the wand has formed some kind of connection to me. I guess the magic in it has been mostly dormant for a long time, which is why she used it the way she did in class. But for some reason it’s started working again. For me.” A slight color rose up in his cheeks. If possible, it made him even more handsome. “But personally I just think she feels guilty about the part her precious Terra Tribe played in the disaster at Lyonshold.”
Selene snorted. “I think it’s probably a little of both.”
I smiled halfheartedly as my thoughts drifted to the sword sitting on the dresser in the spare room. Eli’s situation with the wand made me wonder about my own with Bellanax. Had it chosen me? It certainly felt that way.
I glanced at Selene who was watching me with open concern. I pushed hair out of my face. “So speaking of the Terra Tribe, who all—” I paused, swallowing. “Who all made it?”
Eli and Selene both shifted in their seats, neither wanting to go first.
At last Selene drew a heavy breath. “More than you would’ve expected, mostly thanks to the ritual itself. I guess after they lit the bonfire, they were supposed to walk to the nearest natural water source and extinguish the flames. Melanie was the only one who didn’t make it.”
I stopped breathing, a terrible pressure wrapped around my entire body. Melanie Remillard was dead? I remembered all too well how we’d fought the last time I’d seen her. And now I would never see her again. I would never have the chance to right that wrong. Tears stung my eyes and I couldn’t hold them back this time.
“Who else?” I said, wiping the dampness from my cheeks.
Eli sighed. “Nobody we knew, a couple of seniors and a freshman. Nine students in all. They’re holding a memorial service for them next week at Arkwell before exams start.”