by Candy Crum
A half-smile spread across Arryn's lips at the Dean's sarcasm. While she couldn't stand her, she did appreciate a good sense of humor.
"Thanks. I think I will." There was a pause as Arryn sat there, studying Talia. She looked into her eyes to search for something redeemable, but she couldn't see anything, good or bad. More confusion. She didn't like it.
Arryn leaned forward and reached her hand across Talia's desk, palm-up, as if she expected Talia to lay something in it.
Talia looked down at Arryn's hand before meeting her eyes again. "What? I don't understand."
Arryn smiled. "I didn't either the first time a druid extended her hand to me, but I learned. Now, I'm extending my hand to you. I'm asking you to take it because I want to know who you are. I can't get a read on you. And I'm done with playing mind-fuck games. Either you're good and I owe you an apology, or you're a piece of shit and I need to rip your fucking head off. So, let's play, shall we?"
There was a moment of disbelief in Talia's expression before it changed to one of annoyance, or maybe even worse. Finally, Talia's eyes narrowed as she leaned forward on her desk.
"Those are pretty brave words coming from someone who has absolutely no idea who I am. If I'm as bad as you think, then what is stopping me from turning you to ash? What is it that keeps me from turning this entire building," she laughed then, lifting her hands and motioning to everything around her before returning them to her desk, "hell, this entire city into my own personal fire pit?"
Arryn pulled her hand back and relaxed into the chair, crossing her arms in front of her as she glared across the mahogany desktop between them. She shrugged.
"You know, I've been asking myself that for a while now. Kept going back and forth with it. Everyone around me said that I was crazy. Hell, I even started to believe that I was crazy. I mean, what person in their right mind meets someone and just automatically hates them?" Arryn asked.
Talia shook her head. "If anyone had asked me that before I met you, I would've said that I didn't know. But now that I've met you and developed quite a hatred for you, I would have to say you and I are a lot alike in that department."
Arryn laughed. "You and I are nothing alike. I know you'd like to think that. You have everyone else fooled, even Amelia. The woman who desperately wants to see the good in everyone. But you’re the fool if you think that’ll last forever. She’s very gullible, but she’s not an idiot."
Arryn knew damn good and well that Amelia was smarter than her words let on, but she wanted to place the idea that she and Amelia weren’t as close as the Dean would choose to believe.
It was only a small thing, but Arryn didn’t want anything to happen to Amelia while she was baiting Talia and hoping to out her.
A dark smile spread across Talia's lips. "And what would you say about that delicious friend of yours?"
Arryn's expression became amused as she realized Talia was trying to use Cathillian against her. "Well, he is certainly pretty to look at, but there's not a lot going on upstairs. So yes, I would call him gullible as well. Me? Not so much. You see, it took a long time, but I finally realized why I'm clinging to this feeling so hard."
"Is that so? Please, do tell."
"I'm so happy that you asked!" Arryn chirped. "When I came to the Dark Forest, Elysia, the daughter of the Chieftain, told me that she chose to trust me because of my potential for power. Not only physical, but with nature. She said that I was strong, pure. She once told me that I had likely been touched by nature magic all my life, but I didn't know it."
Talia rolled her eyes. "Fascinating."
Arryn laughed again. "Thank you! I'm so glad you think so. Because here's where it truly gets fascinating. Of course, the last few days I've been thinking hard, and then even harder on top of that. And finally, I remembered something. I met Adrien once. I even shook his hand. The funny thing was, when he touched me, I felt cold. I felt empty. There was something about him that I just didn't like. I'd forgotten about it, but lately lots of memories have been coming back, including the one where my father told my mother that Adrien had a daughter."
Arryn paused, letting that sink in. Talia's eyes briefly widened before her stony mien returned.
After a few moments, Arryn continued, "Then I remembered something else. I remembered the initial reaction I got when I met you. I smiled, and I was happy to see you. I was excited about what the future might hold, and then I took your hand. And I felt cold. I felt empty. It reminded me very much of the way Adrien had made me feel. Now, I have no way to prove you’re his daughter, but I do know that those memories are real, and so is the warning that Doyle gave. He told us that Adrien had someone inside the city. I have a feeling that was you."
Talia's eyes narrowed as she studied Arryn. It was obvious that she was weighing her words carefully. Finally, Talia said, "Again… If you are so sure that I'm bad, why the hell haven't I ended you? Why would I help rebuild a city I only planned to take down?"
Arryn shrugged again. "I don't know. Perhaps you don't want to be the Chancellor of a broken city. Perhaps you want to be Queen in your prosperous Queendom."
Nodding her head, Talia remarked, "Interesting theory. But like you said, there's no way to prove whether you are right or wrong, so I guess you'll just have to learn to trust me."
"Oh, I don't think so. Like I said, the only way I'm walking out of here trusting you is if you give me your hand. I might not be the mystic I think you have on your payroll who looks through my head all hours of the day—and yes, I can feel that—but nature magic is on my side, and that's all I need."
"And if you find something you don't like?" Talia asked, her voice low. Arryn heard the warning in it.
"I can't kill you today. I need to prove your guilt. I suspect that's the reason I'm still alive. Am I right? Amelia knows I don't like you. Amelia knows I don't trust you. If you kill me, you're the first person she'll start with. That's the only reason you haven't made a move on me yet. It's the same reason I haven't made a move on you. Because Amelia trusts you."
Talia stood, shoulders squared, and smiled down at Arryn. Taking the hint, Arryn also stood, mimicking Talia's confident stance.
As a dark smile spread across Talia's face, she extended her hand. Arryn took it, and that cold, empty, dead feeling almost immediately began rushing through her. It was only through sheer will that Arryn was able to hide it in her expression, but judging by the almost sadistic look on Talia's face, she knew.
Just before Arryn let go, Talia challenged her. "Let the games begin. And have fun trying to prove it."
Arryn smiled as she left the room, shutting the door behind her.
Now, I can really get to work. Time to do what I was meant to.
***
As soon as Arryn had left the room and the door was safely closed, Talia began pacing the room. She had no idea why she'd been so confrontational. It was the worst possible scenario, and she’d failed to act properly.
Nature magic was unfamiliar to her, so she had no idea how one's natural energy was any different than any other person’s. She’d assumed it was no different, just heightened by the nature magic.
Still, she couldn't help but wonder, if she'd focused on positive intentions could she have fooled Arryn's test? Somehow, Talia was certain that if there was anyone in the city capable of taking her out, it was the Arcadian druid, but that couldn't happen.
Talia refused at all costs to let it.
As soon as she was sure Arryn was long gone, Talia made her way out of the office and down to Scarlett's classroom. Before Talia had even reached the door, Scarlett was stepping outside, closing it and quickly striding toward Talia.
"You called?" Scarlett asked.
"How did you know?" Talia asked, her demeanor slightly off. She was well aware that she wasn't behaving the way that she normally would.
Scarlett looked at her incredulously. "Are you serious? I heard you mentally screaming my name all the way down the hall. What's going on?"
> Talia shook her head, nervously looking around for anyone who might be listening—especially Arryn.
"Just…" Talia nodded as she pointed to her temple, tapping it twice.
A few moments later, Talia saw Scarlett's eyes turn white and then widen, as they stared into her own before returning to normal. "I think you just fucked up. A lot. What the hell were you thinking?"
"I don't know!" Talia said, her voice quiet, but her actions explosive as she turned her hands in the air. "She was sitting there, confident, challenging me. I've never had anyone get under my skin like that. I've never met anyone like her. I have always been able to keep my calm, no matter what, but that girl…" she growled. "I want her gone. Now. There's no more ‘well maybe we can do this, or maybe we can do that.’ Now. It has to happen now."
Scarlett nodded, gently running her hands down Talia's upper arms in an obvious attempt to soothe her. "Right. We can do this, but remember what you said. It has to be thought out, planned. It can't be random, it can't be what I would consider my way. I feel like in the condition that you're in, you'd be willing to walk right into her classroom and tomahawk her in the face, and we can't do that, now can we?"
Talia didn't much care for being talked to like a child, but hearing facts and logic from Scarlett in a soothing tone was proving surprisingly helpful. At that moment, her annoyance with her partner was lessened, and she felt grateful.
"Amelia went to talk to Elon recently," Scarlett told her. "I snaked that out of Arryn's mind. Amelia told her that he knew all about her father. Maybe we can…"
Talia smiled. "Yes. Elon was my father's engineer. He knows almost as much as Doyle did. I want you to sneak in and talk to him. Also we need to find out which students have any kind of attachment to Arryn, but I assume that we're looking for a noble. When we find the person, we will kill them, take their blood as we have been, and we’ll make sure that Arryn gets caught."
Scarlett smiled in response. "Oh, I believe I can help with that."
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The past couple of days had been difficult for Amelia. Not only did she have everything inside the city to worry about, but the outside of the city was proving to be just as terrible.
Over the course of the past two nights, the remnant had destroyed two farmhouses and a small village. Nearly a hundred people were dead, in total. There had been only a single survivor, a man who had seen his entire family ripped apart by the beasts.
When he’d arrived at the gate, he'd been covered in blood and was almost hysterical. Nothing he’d said had made sense, and his words were slurred from the post-adrenalin fatigue and the sobbing. The guards had thought he was crazy and arrested him, believing he'd been the one to kill his family.
But Amelia knew better.
All the warnings she’d had were coming to fruition. She'd believed that the remnant would never come close to the city, but now she was worried it might happen sooner rather than later.
Given that they were getting braver and braver and the invasions seemed planned and organized, she was beginning to wonder if maybe there wasn't an outside source causing all this.
Regardless of what her worries or thoughts might have been, there was a lot of work to be done to keep the Arcadian people calm. They were beginning to fight in the streets over various plans, and Amelia was worried she might lose control of them.
The people were losing their restraint, something that she absolutely could not allow to happen. She couldn't lose control of the city no matter what.
A knock on the door startled her, and she reached up to wipe away the tears that she'd suddenly become aware of. Clearing her throat, she called for the person to enter. She almost immediately regretted it.
"Talia, nice to see you," Amelia said as Talia walked in, all smiles.
The Dean nodded and took a seat in front of Amelia's desk. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you had time to talk."
Amelia’s heavy sigh turned into an unamused laugh. "Not really, unfortunately. I'm sure that you’ve heard there was another attack last night. Two, actually. This time, it wasn't just a farmhouse, it was an entire village. Luckily, it was a small one, but many were lost."
Talia's eyes widened as she sat back in her chair, shaking her head in disbelief. "When is this going to stop? There's so much violence."
In her grief for the dead, her frustration for the duties surrounding those deaths, and her sensitivity to the fears of her people, she found herself desperately wanting to get into Talia's head, no longer trusting her.
Unfortunately, Amelia knew that if she even tried, Talia would probably be aware of it. Especially if Arryn was right and Talia had mystical abilities, or had someone working with her who did.
That was a risk that she just wasn't willing to take.
"Something has to be done, that's for sure," Amelia agreed. "I haven't quite figured it out, but I'm working on it. With the attacks getting closer and the disappearances increasing, the city is falling apart. The only thing we have going for us right now is that the factory is up and running and the men are back to work. That being said, it also causes concerns for the women left at home. They're worried about break-ins and things of that nature, or an attack by the remnant while the men are away in the factory. At this point, I'm at a loss. So, I don't mean to sound rude, but whatever it is, just spit it out."
Talia slowly nodded. "Right. Um… Well, I came here to talk to you about Arryn."
Amelia knew that was why she'd come. Arryn had tried to tell her about something that happened between the two of them, but she hadn't had time to listen to it. With bodies being brought in, Amelia had no time at all. All she'd gotten was a warning that Talia might come to her.
"Okay, what is it?" Amelia asked as she changed positions, preparing for whatever story might be told.
Was Talia the evil monster Arryn believed her to be? Amelia had no way of knowing. All this time that Arryn had been coming to her, telling her how obsessed she was with Talia and how worried she was, and she'd blown Arryn off. She now understood just how crazy it could make a person feel.
With Adrien, everything had been straightforward. There was no requirement to figure it out, especially once he went crazy. It was easy to see that he was a dark man with terrible intentions.
Both Talia and Arryn had worked so hard to help build the city up. Was it possible that Talia really was the threat Doyle had warned her about?
"Chancellor?" Talia asked, her voice cutting through Amelia's distraction.
Amelia shook her head, trying to free herself of those intrusive thoughts. "Sorry about that. It's hard to focus. What about Arryn, now?"
"Again, I apologize for bringing this to you, but I feel as though it's worrisome, especially given all the other things happening around here. Arryn came to see me the other day, and she threatened me. She came barging into my office without a knock or appointment, sat down, and immediately began trying to intimidate me. I’m not exactly sure what this girl’s problem is, but I feel as though she's a danger to herself and to the city."
Amelia sighed, doing her best not to roll her eyes. "I don't know what's going on between the two of you, but it's getting out of hand. She doesn’t like you, you don't like her, and there's a conflict between the two of you. Clearly. There are bigger things in the city to worry about. Like the fact that Doyle, Adrien's right-hand man, informed me just before we took him out that Adrien had someone outside the city. Someone who is now inside the city. To me, that’s a bigger worry than some squabble between the two of you."
Arryn and Amelia had agreed days ago that they would no longer see one another and would no longer stand up for one another. It had been Arryn's idea, but it had seemed like the best thing to do. Being indifferent to Arryn was an excellent tool to use if Talia was in fact the enemy.
"I completely understand, Chancellor, but I believe this goes deeper. She mentioned something about someone named Elon and getting vengeance on him and anyone who might'v
e helped him. She's obsessed with her father and finding him. I don't know what's going on, but Elon and whoever was connected to her when she was a kid is in danger. I know a lot of people died in the Battle for Arcadia, but if they had anything to do with her father's disappearance, she's either coming for them, or she's coming for their kids. The same kids who go to our Academy. We can't let that happen."
Amelia narrowed her eyes.
"What do you want me to do?" Amelia asked.
Talia had leaned forward, ready to speak, when there was a knock at the door. Amelia groaned and called for the person to come inside.
It was a young woman, Mikhaila. She was another of the nobles in the Academy, and one who regularly stood up for her Boulevard classmates.
"Dean, Chancellor, I'm really sorry to bother you, but I thought this shouldn't wait," she started, her voice shaky.
Amelia nodded. "All right, go ahead."
The girl took a few steps more into the office and fidgeted with the long sleeve of her dress. "I was several minutes early to class today, and I saw something that I don't think I was supposed to see."
That was certainly news. "Okay," Amelia prompted, "what did you see?"
The girl swallowed hard as she looked at the floor. "I went to see Talia, but she wasn't in her office. Someone said she was out for the day, so I just went to class. When I got there, I saw Arryn and Jackson talking, but they weren't just talking. They were standing very close. It was obvious that there was more there than just a teacher and her student. Even still, that wasn't what bothered me most…"
The girl paused she looked from Amelia to Talia and back again. Amelia took the opportunity to study Talia's face and saw that she looked completely confused. It seemed that Talia was just as shocked by the impromptu visit as she was.
Mikhaila continued, "I overheard Arryn say something about Amos just before she said someone else was going to die."
Talia's eyes widened, her jaw opened slightly as she sat there staring at the girl in shock. Amelia on the other hand, had no idea how she felt personally. Something wasn't right.
