Why?

Chapter Sixteen: Burden of Proof | Part 6

“It took you long enough to realize Farish wasn’t coming,” Mercuria snarled. “I can’t believe you. I can’t believe myself for thinking I could trust you!”

Thirtyx threw his line of sight toward the mental chat, but it had dissolved. “Mercuria, what are you talking about?”

“I tipped Farish off—the headmistress too. I hope the Twins forgive me for letting a slimy Verith talk me into trying to get my own brother expelled!”

Tears hovered in her eyes, and after the panic and terror and frustration of the day, Thirtyx had to fight to keep them out of his own. “You said you believed me. You said you knew I wasn’t behind the attacks.”

“And I was an idiot!” The tears spilled over. She set her jaw, trying to look tough, but it didn’t disguise the heartbreak—heartbreak over something that wasn’t even true. “The Liamer family. The Dragonfolk. Thirtyx, why?”

“I had nothing to do with the attack on the forge! I don’t know who did! And apart from the auction, I never told anyone about the contract between the Liamers and the military. You have to believe me.”

Mercuria shook her head. “No, I don’t. And I wish I never had.”

She pulled one of her hands back as if to strike him. It was only then that Thirtyx noticed the vial of brilliant blue liquid she held.

He ducked free of the arm still holding him. The vial smashed against the wall where his face had been moments before. A few blue droplets splashed onto his hand, where they stung with a familiar sort of burn.

Thirtyx turned toward the showers, but the dissolved mental chat and the fact that Benn hadn’t come for him didn’t bode well. Instead, he launched into a flat sprint down the hallway, bound for the classroom where Rhea waited. Mercuria shouted after him, but he had rounded two corners, and still, no one followed.

His hand ached, but he focused more on the burn in his muscles and the strain of his lungs. As he approached the classroom, Rhea stepped into the hallway. She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him inside.

“Benn was startled out of the chat. He tried to come after you, but Dain stopped him—running interference for Mercuria. So I tried to recast the communication line, but I couldn’t reach you, and Benn had cast something to see you through the wall, and I saw Mercuria throw that vial, but then you got away, so I figured I’d stay put and give you a place to hide.”

She took her first breath of the conversation, grabbing Thirtyx’s hand to examine it. “Devil venom!” she squealed. “Mercuria could have blinded you!”

“I know,” Thirtyx panted. He braced himself before flexing his fingers, but the sting was already subsiding. It was far less potent when absorbed through the skin than when injected.

Unless, of course, it hit something like your eyes.

“As soon as I get back to my room and send Seerla on some side project, I’ll reach out to Grimm,” Rhea said. “Maybe we can send you to the palace for your own protection, at least for a couple of weeks. That should give us time to—”

“The palace? You’ve seen how hated I am here! Imagine what Grimmary’s inner circle would do!”

“Not if Grimm forbids it—if he’s the one watching over you. I think we’ve reached that point.”

Before that moment, Thirtyx hadn’t known he had bile that could rise into his throat. He started shaking his head and couldn’t make himself stop. “No. No! The king has way more important things to focus—”

The door burst open so hard it crashed against the wall with a noise like a thunderclap. Rhea pulled Thirtyx behind her.The headmistress stood in the doorway, her eyes gleaming with magic and fury. “My office. Both of you. Now.“