Chapter Ten

The following morning, I meet with Wilde before my class with Professor Cicero. Our meetings since the first one have become a weekly occurrence, a welcome constant in my otherwise chaotic life.

"I'm sorry about what transpired yesterday," she says, sitting in a chair beside me. "I should have requested Silas be moved to a different class. I still can, if you want."

"No. I'm not afraid of him."

Wilde grins. "I know you aren't, but he's a shit-stirrer."

I shrug. "Silas is the least of my problems."

"Ah." She pats my leg. "Tell me, then. Whenever you're ready."

I've become more relaxed after confiding in Wilde. She never presses when I pause, only encouraging me if she feels it necessary to relieve my burdens.

"The usual," I start. "I still have no control over the third snake-head, I still can't look at Southgate, and Nick and I…" I turn from her to stare out the window.

"I'm sorry things with you and Nick ended badly." Her voice is soothing. "Break-ups are never easy, less so if you have to see your former partner on an almost daily basis." Wilde again pats my leg, commanding my attention. "As for the other two things, those will resolve in time with training and patience."

We speak for a bit longer about my concern that my classmates fear me, an apprehension that Wilde shuts down.

"It's natural for any creature, human and monster alike, to initially fear something unknown," she says. "But they know you, Rhi. And they see in you exactly what I do."

"And what is that?" I quietly ask.

"A strong woman who is fiercely loyal, and who will sacrifice herself to save those she loves."

I bite my tongue with sharp teeth as a distraction from the stinging in my eyes. If she only knew exactly how much I sacrificed, that I die a little each day Nick and I grow further apart, yet need to stoke his hatred along to save him .

Still, the words are a suture against my shredded heart.

Wilde surprises me by giving me a hug before I depart for Cicero's class. Her arms wrapped around me imbue me with a sense of comfort, and I am again grateful for her guidance and companionship.

Upon entering Cicero's class, he greets me with a hard-pressed scowl.

At least he's consistent.

Zo and I sit together in the middle of the classroom in Advanced Transmogrification, Cicero's prattle fading while I attempt to reach the seductive voice I'd heard in Wilde's class yesterday. I tried again last night at dinner, and then before I endeavored to sleep, to no avail.

"Am I boring you, Owens?" Cicero's tone drips with sarcasm.

My cheeks burn, and I catch Zo furrowing her brows in my direction.

Are you okay? she mouths.

I nod and meet Cicero's scathing glare. He shifts his attention back to the entire class, to my surprise, and continues his lecture.

"This semester, we are implementing a new lesson. Because of the tragic events of last March, Dean Talbot has decided that you will not only focus on strengthening your monstrous abilities, but learn to wield them alongside physical combat techniques."

The class murmurs in excitement. I exchange a startled glance with Zo, whose mouth quirks up. The intrigue is infectious, and I find myself grinning wickedly, the thought of being able to physically fight alluring. It can only serve to make me stronger and less reliant on the Scylla, whose third snake head is proving to be an insubordinate pain in my ass.

Cicero dismisses us early but with more required reading on combat, and, of course, a paper due tomorrow.

"Owens," he calls as I file out the door.

Zo side eyes the professor before telling me, "I'll wait outside for you."

I turn from the doorway and approach his desk, my mind still baffled at how a man as large as him fits comfortably in a normal-size desk chair. Staring at the top of his dark hair while he ignores me in favor of paperwork, I clear my throat. "Yes, Professor?"

"I hear you've got another passenger tagging along." Cicero keeps his head down, his hand moving as he scribbles away.

"I beg your pardon?"

He looks up at that, aggravation apparent in the annoyed huff he releases as he drops his pen. "Another head, Owens."

"Oh. Yeah. It showed up last March."

He sits back in his chair, the seat creaking loudly beneath his weight. "I know. I must admit, I was surprised to hear you gained the power of mirror-vision. I figured if that showed up at all, it would occur last."

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. Cicero never has much confidence in my abilities, and even though I'm delighted at the idea of proving him wrong again, I fiddle with the strap of my bag on my shoulder. The amount of information he knows makes me uncomfortable, and the sharp sting of betrayal pokes me. It was no doubt fucking Wilde who told him. I don't need Cicero on my back, pestering me with lectures and pelting me with sarcastic remarks regarding my inability to control this third head and the power that accompanies it.

"Talking about a student's abilities makes strange bed conversation, Professor."

Cicero appears unphased, despite the fact that I called him out. His mouth splits into a grin. "It wasn't Sara who told me."

I force my expression to remain neutral, because if it wasn't Wilde who told him then -

"Nicholas informed me," he confirms.

Heat ignites low in my belly. "Did he?"

Cicero nods. "He was concerned, not that I'm surprised, given the two of you are…" he gestures vaguely.

Interesting. He has no idea the two of us are no longer in a relationship, and that's putting it lightly. I guess Wilde is keeping my secrets.

"Anyway," he continues, "in these additional classes, you will learn physical combat, but I want you to focus on using that third head, Rhi. You need to command it. Mirror-vision is an incredible asset, and Scylla was the only monster who proved able to wield it."

I blow out a breath. Great. Another characteristic to set me apart from everyone else.

"Is there a problem?" Cicero cocks his abnormally colossal head.

"No, Professor. I understand. When do the classes start? They weren't on the schedule at the start of the semester."

"Thursday afternoon. 3:00 pm. They will take place in the auditorium located in Southgate."

Southgate. I blink, Cicero and the mundane surroundings of a college classroom fading and bleeding into an image of the school's auditorium, only it's not solely in my brain. I'm there.

Leviathan looms before me, the horrifying three-eyed beast, his stare taunting and lethal. Bloodied saliva pours from his open mouth, corpses speared across his enormous, crude fangs. The bodies of my friends…

"Rhi?" A concerned voice pulls me from that horror, launching me back into Cicero's classroom. Blood immediately rushes from my head. Darkness slithers into the edges of my vision as cold sweat gathers at the back of my neck. I stare hard at Professor Cicero, battling my brain for dominance in forcing myself to remain upright, even as black spots dance in front of me, multiplying and enlarging until my periphery is entirely engulfed by them.

I stumble away from Cicero. Though he's shouting something - my name, I think - it sounds like nothing more than a soft, strangled whisper.

I grope blindly for purchase, my hands grasping at nothing but air. I've made it into the hallway, judging from the small perception I have. My pulse thrums in my ears, my heart thumping erratically. My breath slows, and finally, blackness swallows the remainder of my sight.

My body slumps to the floor, and I anticipate hearing a sickening crack as my skull smacks against the hard surface.

But it never comes.

An incessant clicking rouses me. When I open my eyes and assess my surroundings, I'm shocked to discover I'm lying in my bed, my purple sheets twisted around my lower legs like lavender vines.

I grunt as I kick my legs free.

Zo peers over her laptop, her dark eyes flooded with relief, and the obnoxious clacking ceases. "Oh thank gods! You're awake!" She closes her computer and places it on her bed before walking towards me. I sit up to make room for her.

It takes me a second to get my bearings before my brain decides to pepper me with images of standing in Cicero's classroom, moments before I fainted. "How long have I been out?"

"About two hours. How do you feel?"

I reach for the bottle of water on the desk by the side of my bed. "Like I've swallowed sand." I finish the water in two gulps. "But otherwise, fine. "

Zo's eyes crease as she scrutinizes me, no doubt attempting to unveil any lies.

"How did I get back here?" I ask, breaking her intense gaze.

She drops her stare. "You were carried."

My eyes roam over her slim frame. "Obviously not by you." Then a horrid thought crosses my mind. "Oh gods. Please don't tell me it was Professor Cicero." I cover my face with one hand in embarrassment.

Zo finally lifts her gaze, her eyes soft and cautious. "It wasn't Cicero, Rhi."

My hand slowly falls to my lap. "Then who…" my voice trails as realization sparks. "Nick."

Zo nods. "It was…bizarre. He wasn't anywhere to be seen, and the next thing I know, he suddenly appeared right as you fell."

"What?"

"You came practically falling out of Cicero's office, and I had just looked up from my phone when I saw you go down. I thought you were going to crack your head open, the way you fell." She shakes her head. "And then he was just…there. Like he appeared right out of thin air. Nick scooped you in his arms, told me to follow him, and brought you right back here."

"Did he…" I draw in a shuddering breath. "Did he say anything? "

Zo blinks several times. "No," she finally admits. "He placed you on your bed and left without saying another word."

My fingers dance over my bare throat, shaking as they search for a necklace that is no longer there. Still, the motion of caressing the pendant as though I still wear it calms me.

Zo and I sit in a companionable silence before I finally speak. "Good," I force out. "That's good."

"It is?"

"Yes. He needs to hate me, Zo."

"Oh, Rhi," she murmurs, her voice heavy with sorrow. "That's not hate. Not even close. Nick may not want to speak to you, or even speak of you, but that's because he's feeling the same way you are."

"You can't know that," I whisper.

"I do. It's not something that's visible, Rhi. You can feel it just by being in the same room as both of you. It's devastating and stifling." She shakes her head. "I know you want to protect him. Believe me, I don't want anything to happen to Nick either, but…" Zo stops and licks her lips, her dark eyes bright. "Are you sure this is the right thing to do? Staying away from him?"

My lips tremble. "It has to be. I don't know how else I can save him, Zo. I'm on borrowed time. The Moirai promised that if I unveiled my Thread, they would see to it that he lives."

She sucks in a sharp breath, eyes widening. "So he's the one you made the Bargain for." Zo releases a heavy sigh before rolling over onto her back next to me. She drapes an arm over her eyes. "I trust the Moirai even less than I trust Circe, but in order to keep you safe too, we need to figure out how to unveil your Thread."

I blow out a breath and lie down next to her. "I know, but we haven't found anything." A thought punctures my brain. "Except…when I went to the library two days ago, a book fell from one of the stacks downstairs. I never got a chance to see what it was, because the Harbinger came, and then I ran out of there."

"I'll go," Zo immediately says, turning towards me. "Where exactly was it?"

I face her. "Behind the very last bookshelf at the back wall."

"Ok. My first class isn't until eleven tomorrow, so I'll go right before it. What's your schedule tomorrow?"

I run through tomorrow's classes. "Poisons Lab at ten, followed by Psych, then a break, and then…"

My breath catches in my throat as I realize the class I have that afternoon .

"Oh!" Zo says excitedly. "We have Combat together tomorrow."

I attempt to mimic her enthusiasm. "It's going to be great."

My voice is flat, but Zo doesn't catch on as she rises from the bed.

"Come on," she insists. "I'm starving, and you definitely need to eat."

I follow her lead, though I don't reply. The fact is, my appetite has been non-existent ever since I took my final steps from Nick's room. It's as though I left it with him, along with my heart. I bite back laughter as it dawns on me that the only time I've been hungry is when I have the desire to eat a person .

Monster, indeed.

That leads me to remember I never responded to Jesse's text message from two days ago. Fuck. I promised him we would remain friends, and I'm acting anything but.

I get up and grab my phone to shoot him a quick apology, but drop it almost immediately when Zo opens the door and lets out a startled gasp. "What are you-"

I look up to see Nick stalking toward me, his prior apathy replaced by heated rage. His eyes are a golden inferno, and I have a feeling if the sun exploded it would look exactly like his stare. My phone falls from my hand as he approaches and towers above me, his wrath a tangible, suffocating blanket that strangles my ability to speak. Nick leans down, his mouth barely a breath from mine, and gods, the raw, undiluted power emanating from him is staggering. So much so, I place my hand on the desk behind me to brace myself.

Those gilded, burning orbs dip towards the hollow of my throat.

The bare hollow of my throat.

"Where the fuck is your necklace?"