Chapter 43

ChapterForty-Three

Alistair stared up at the house where the gathering took place. It was made to look like a large greenhouse, but he knew there were living quarters hidden inside. Sometimes magic astounded him; other times, it reminded him just how terrible things could get.

Thea’s hand clenched on his arm for a moment before she smiled and pulled his attention to a man approaching them. “Ah, lovely. You’re here.”

Her words were so sarcastic he could only imagine who it was. And yes, of course. Marren.

Narrowing his eyes at the pale man who walked toward them, he bared his teeth in what he hoped looked like a feral smile. “Marren. Interesting to see you here.”

“I do work for the Academy as well.” He reached for Thea’s free hand and forced her to lift it. Then he pressed a kiss to the back of her knuckles, lingering a little too long for comfort. “Besides, I heard you were bringing such a lovely young woman with you.”

He wasn’t wrong. Thea looked splendent tonight. He’d dressed her in one of his mother’s best gowns, though the style was a little outdated. The blue fabric clung to her chest and stomach like sea foam, so light it was almost white. Then it burst into color around her hips in a beautiful sky blue that made her hair seem to shimmer with colors. Her bare arms were always delicately raised as though she were about to dance. And a tiny diamond necklace circled her neck—a gift from Alistair to remind the other men that she was already taken.

Alistair could feel the tension spreading through Thea’s body. She wanted to rip her hand out of this man’s grip, and likely slap him. Of course, she wouldn’t. This was too important for both of them, and making a scene as soon as they got here would only make more eyes follow them throughout the night.

She endured for him, and Alistair didn’t know how to repay her for that.

With a slight smile on his face, Marren let her hand drop and then turned to Alistair. “I hope you brought what the Headmistress asked for. She’s very excited to see what you might have planned.”

He had nothing planned. That was the problem. After a full week of talking it over, mulling through the possibilities of the lies they could tell, all they had come up with was telling the truth. And he knew that was a foolish plan. He knew that there were no good people in Wildecliff who would remark on the honorable way he handled this situation. Only bad would come of this.

But, as Thea had said when they were home, only good could fight evil. And if he wanted to beat them, they at least had to try to make it seem like they were on the better side.

He could attempt to reason with the Headmistress and would. She was not a foolish woman, and if he told her why it was a bad idea to see through the veil, then maybe she would listen. If none of that worked, he had promised Thea they would seek out the old gods and use them on their side. He didn’t want to. He didn’t even know the rules about dealing with such monsters, but... If they had to get the gods on their side, then they would.

“Are you ready?” he asked Thea, ignoring Marren.

“I’ve never been more ready in my life.” She gazed up at him as though he hung the stars from the sky. Thea placed her hand delicately on top of his arm, and he drew her into the greenhouse.

Alistair let his senses be filled with colors and light. So many rare plants grew here, most of them bought from far-off places and lands well outside their knowledge. The greenhouse itself must have cost a fortune to build, with all the glass structures and green-tinged copper framing. Paths meandered through the garden, and he steered them to the right, where many bright yellow roses grew.

They were familiar plants, and that would be less overwhelming to a woman whose whole life was blooms.

“I’m all right, you know,” she said with a slight laugh. “There are people here we need to speak with.”

“And people I want to avoid for a while.” A servant walked down the path toward them. The young man with fiery red hair held a drink tray with goblets of wine.

Just what Alistair needed.

He grabbed one as the servant passed and made sure that Thea didn’t want one. She shook her head with a wry grin. “I’d rather have my wits about me tonight.”

“To each their own,” he muttered, and he took a hefty swallow of the wine. “I’ll need a little liquid courage.”

“Why’s that?” A voice interrupted them.

Another couple had merged onto their path. The woman was stunning in a vivid ochre gown that offset the lovely gems in her curly hair. She’d coiled it up at the top of her head while a few tendrils framed her dark face. She taught astrology, he thought. The man beside her was a spell-casting professor, and he wore a red suit with gold edges. So many spells were sewn into his clothes that it would have been impossible for another person to even think about attacking him.

“Alistair,” Claudette said with a smile. “I’ve heard you have quite the spectacle to show all of us tonight.”

“I’m afraid you’ve been misinformed.” Damn it; the words made his entire body shiver. “The Headmistress has asked for something that is frankly impossible. We’re here to see the corpse flower. Nothing more and nothing less.”

Her partner frowned and eyed Thea with distaste. “Isn’t she your maid?”

He’d forgotten the two of them had been at the dinner party. They would have seen Thea then, and of course, that would confuse them as to why she was here. None of the others in Wildecliff seemed to understand that he could fall in love with someone who performed manual labor for a living.

Although he had forgotten, he was still paying her a wage. They needed to figure all of that out sooner rather than later. She didn’t deserve to be an employee of his when she was so much more. She could have all his money if she wanted it. He didn’t care.

“Alistair?” Claudette asked, breaking him out of his thoughts.

He realized everyone was staring at him with rather curious expressions on their faces. Even Thea looked at him with wide eyes, waiting to see what he would say.

“She was employed in my house, yes,” he stammered over the words before gaining confidence. “But she’s much more than a maid. I’ve known her my entire life. I’d appreciate it if you called her by her name.”

“Which is?” Claudette asked though she didn’t sound snippy about it. Instead, she sounded rather... kind?

Thea stepped forward, holding out her hand. “My name is Thea. I’m from Waterdown and have known Alistair since we were children, like he said. It’s a rather long and complicated story to explain how I ended up here.”

“And one I hope to hear someday.” Claudette shook her hand, even though she looked at the dirt underneath Thea’s nails for a little too long. “You are a very curious woman, Thea. I rarely say that.”

“Then it’s an honor to be so named.” The grin on Thea’s face lit up the entire greenhouse with so much happiness. Alistair felt it like a punch to the gut, and it seemed the other two people were unaffected.

Did they not see how much she could bring happiness into this dark world? She smiled, and it was like all his worries floated away. Surely they could sense the same thing?

They must not have because their demeanor didn’t change at all. But Claudette looked over at him with a surprised expression before clearing the emotion from her usually glass-like face. “She’s good for you, Alistair. Take care of this one, would you?”

Goodbyes bidden, the other couple drifted away from them to wander through the flowers a little longer before the great spectacle of the night.

“See?” Thea said, nudging him with her elbow. “Not everyone in Wildecliff is like your family. I think we could be friends with them.”

“Her husband is a boring fool who only talks about spell casting and what the students aren’t doing right.”

“And you’re being a little judgmental.” She never once let that smile budge. “I think there’s more to this place than you give it credit for, Alistair.”

They’d have to agree to disagree on that one. But maybe he could be convinced otherwise.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he tugged her into his arms. “You make me see things differently, I’ll admit.”

“Oh, do I?” She looped her arms around him as well. “You know, it’s inappropriate for you to touch me like this in public. What will all the esteemed people in the Academy think of their history professor?”

“They’ll think he’s madly in love with his maid,” he muttered. Alistair leaned closer, wanting nothing more than to kiss her. “And I will tell them they are correct. I have fallen in love with a woman from Waterdown, and I would never want another in my life. Not for a single second of the day.”

“How sweet.”

He kissed her once, softly, just enough to satisfy the urge in him that said he had to tell her how much she meant to him. That she needed to understand how she had changed his life for the better.

“Alistair.” The sound of the Headmistress’s voice shattered any good feelings he had.

He pulled back from Thea, almost throwing her into the bushes to keep her away from the horrible woman that strode toward them. Four other people followed her, one being Marren and the other two taking up spots on the board of education that ran the Academy.

“Ma’am,” he said, casting his eyes down onto the floor as he prepared himself to disappoint her. She would soon realize that he would not do anything that she wanted. And he needed to prepare himself for the inevitability of her wrath.

“You were tasked with bringing something to this party,” she said. “And have you?”

“I have not.” He would be strong. Alistair squared his shoulders and met her angry gaze head on. “The fae are not to be played with. Their world remains hidden from ours for a reason, and I will not give you a way to see through the veil. My gift was a mistake, and should never have been given to any of our kind. We all know that.”

The silence and shock that radiated through the air felt like electricity. No one seemed to know what to say. He wasn’t certain that anyone had ever told the Headmistress “no” to an order before. Even she seemed a little thrown off by his declaration.

She let out a little snort. “You are a bigger fool than I thought. Your father was right about you, Alistair. You are no good for the school or this city if you won’t do what it takes to protect it.”

“My father never wanted to protect this city. He wanted to protect his own assets, his greed, and his pride. The thought of protecting the people here or our way of life never crossed his mind, and I think you know that very well. You suffer from the same faults he did.” Alistair took a deep breath, steeling himself. “I have no interest in playing your games, Headmistress. I will not be gifting you any magical object or spell that will satisfy your curiosity.”

“Curiosity?” she chuckled. “That’s what you think this is? You think I want to toy with the gods because I want more power? Dear boy. As long as the gods have us in a chokehold, how will anyone in this city ever truly flourish? The gods rule over us and as long as they do, that means we cannot rule over our own city.”

Thea curled her hand around his arm, holding onto him as she replied, “The gods have a right to that worship. All you will do is make them angry, and I can only imagine that angry gods would flatten this city to the ground.”

The Headmistress blinked at Thea a few times as though surprised the other woman would even open her mouth. “Who are you?”

“Thea.” She dipped into a slight curtsey. “And I agree with him, ma’am. There is so much we don’t know or understand about their world. We cannot afford to anger them when we need them to protect us.”

“You both know so little about this world.” The Headmistress sniffed and looked Thea up and down. “You have a small gift, girl. What right do you have to tell me how I should think?”

“It’s not small,” Thea said. “My gift is powerful for myself, and for no one else.”

“And therefore useless.” The Headmistress turned her disappointed attention to Alistair. “I already warned you about what would happen if you refused me. I’m sorry to see that our lives will turn in this direction, Orbweaver.”

A small bit of his nerves eased. At least she wouldn’t insist on punishing him in front of everyone. He had time to prepare. Time to figure out how to unbind himself from the damned house and maybe leave with Thea. They could go to Waterdown. They could hop onto a ship in the harbor and disappear from everyone’s lives.

He nodded. “I knew the risks when I came to deny you.”

“Then drink and enjoy your last night.” Her lip curled, and she shook her head again. “You fool.”

They walked away, and he sagged against Thea. “We did it,” he whispered. “And she didn’t try to kill us. That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

“I think so.” Then Thea pinched her nose. “I think the corpse flower is blooming. As disgusting as it smells, I would like to see it.”

Ah, the aptly named corpse flower. Of course. At the very least, they should see the spectacle that only happened once every fifty years with this bloom. She’d wanted to see it so much, anyway. And he felt.... well. A bit like he had triumphed over an adversary that had dogged his steps for years.

If anything, he had been brave in front of Thea.

He tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow, and together, they walked toward the flower. He grabbed another glass of wine from a nearby servant who walked past them, and he let the anxiety ease from his shoulders. They were safe tonight.

The crowd of people standing around the corpse flower was impressive. He hadn’t seen this many people from the Academy together in a very long time. Sipping at his wine, he tried not to let the smell overpower the taste in his mouth.

The flower was nearly six feet tall. And though the outside was a rather startling shade of vomit green, he’d heard the inside was a deep purple, like the inner muscles of a person’s body. The stench was horrendous, but somehow he didn’t mind it as much as he thought he would.

The petals shuddered. Everyone gasped at the slight movement from the flower. It seemed to open just slightly, then close again. Then another movement as the petals finally drew down.

“Look!” Thea whispered in awe. “It’s blooming!”

A few people around them were whispering the same thing. Alistair tucked his arm around her and tried to contain his grin. Yes, the flower was impressive. But what he was most excited about was standing amongst his people with Thea at his side. None of them gave her another look as they all watched the flower.

This was what he had dreamt of for so long. This was all he had wanted.

His vision skewed to the side, and he shifted his weight a little more into her. Shaking his head, he tried to gather his wits again.

Except... Why was the world spinning?

He had a moment to look at the glass in his hand before he realized what a fool he was. The Headmistress wouldn’t give him the night to prepare. She’d put something in his drink, although he didn’t know how. He’d walked past the servant who had... only one glass left.

“Thea,” he whispered, although the word came out garbled.

“Alistair?” she asked, and her voice sounded so far away. “Alistair, are you all right?”

He feared he wasn’t. His stomach twisted in pain, and he dropped to his knees. All he could see were the spinning faces of the Academy, all watching with disinterest, as it felt like he had died in front of them. And the smell of a corpse. His?

No.

The flower.

“Alistair!” her scream echoed in his ears, but he could not drag himself back to her. No matter how hard he tried.