Chapter 18 MORGANA'S RAGE
CHAPTER 018: MORGANA'S RAGE
The detention tower Is at the edge of campus. I can feel Morgana in there even though I'm three buildings away.
It's not a thought or a vision. It's a pulse. A constant hum under my skin that won't shut up no matter how hard I try to ignore it.
Her fury burns in my chest. Her shame tastes bitter on my tongue. And underneath all of it there's this desperate clawing need for revenge that makes my hands shake.
Sofia holds my arm as we walk through the main hall. Her grip is tight like she's afraid I'll collapse again.
Maybe I will.
Students press against the walls as we pass. Their whispers scrape against my ears.
"She's cursed now."
"Bound to Morgana? I'd rather die."
"I heard if one of them dies the other goes too."
My stomach twists. I want to ask Sofia if that's true but I'm too scared of the answer.
We make it to the library and Sofia sits me down at a corner table far from everyone else. She disappears into the stacks and comes back with three books, all of them old and dusty.
"Anything on soul bonds?" I ask.
She shakes her head. "Most of the books are gone. Burned or locked away." She drops the three she found onto the table. "This is all I could get."
I flip open the first one. The pages are brittle and half the text is smudged beyond reading. What I can make out talks about bonds between mates, between families, between warriors who fought side by side.
Nothing about enemies.
Nothing about being tied to someone who tried to kill you.
I slam the book shut harder than I mean to. Sofia jumps.
"Sorry," I mutter.
"It's okay." She reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. "We'll figure this out."
I want to believe her but the bond pulses again and Morgana's rage floods through me so fast I have to grip the edge of the table to stay upright.
"Thalira?"
I look up and Zev is standing there. His dark hair falls into his eyes and his expression is blank in that way that means he's hiding something.
"You shouldn't be alone," he says.
Sofia bristles. "She's not alone. I'm right here."
Zev doesn't even glance at her. His eyes stay locked on mine. "I meant without one of us."
"I'm fine," I lie.
He moves closer and the air shifts around him. It always does. Like reality bends a little when he's near.
"No you're not." His voice drops lower. "I can feel your fear."
I frown. "Through what? The bond with Morgana?"
"No." He pulls out the chair across from me and sits. "Through the bond with me."
The room feels too small suddenly.
"What are you talking about?"
Zev leans back and his eyes glow faint blue. "You really don't remember do you?"
"Remember what?"
"All four of us are tied to you Thalira. Have been since the first time you died." He taps his chest. "Kieran feels your pain. Alaric feels your heartbeat. Cassian feels your heat. And I feel your fear."
My throat goes dry. "That's not possible."
"It's been happening for fifty years."
I stare at him. Sofia stares at him. Even the dust in the air seems to freeze.
"You're saying I've been connected to all of you this whole time and nobody thought to mention it?"
Zev shrugs. "You weren't ready to know."
"That's not your choice to make."
"Maybe not." His gaze doesn't waver. "But this bond with Morgana? It's different. Dangerous. It's not like ours."
"How?"
"Ours are anchors. Hers is a chain."
Before I can ask what that means a sharp pain rips through my chest.
I gasp and my hands fly to my ribs. The mark burns hot like someone pressed a branding iron against my skin.
Sofia shouts my name but I can't answer.
The library dissolves around me.
I'm somewhere else now. Stone walls. A single barred window. Morgana's cell.
She's standing in the center of the room and her hands are glowing with shadow magic. Three guards are trying to restrain her but she's not letting them.
One of them grabs her arm. She twists and a wave of darkness slams into him. He flies backward and hits the wall so hard the stone cracks.
The other two hesitate.
"Stay back," Morgana snarls.
Her voice is raw. Her face is streaked with tears but her eyes are wild. I feel everything she feels. The humiliation of losing. The shame of being bound to me. The rage that's been building since the duel ended.
She wants to hurt someone. She wants to burn the whole academy down.
One of the guards pulls out a binding charm. Morgana sees it and laughs.
"You think that'll hold me?"
She raises both hands and shadows explode outward. The guards are thrown back. One of them doesn't get up.
Morgana turns toward the door. Her magic melts the lock.
She's leaving.
The vision snaps and I'm back in the library.
I'm on the floor. Zev is crouched beside me and his hands hover near my shoulders like he's afraid to touch me.
"What did you see?" he demands.
"She's breaking out," I gasp.
Sofia's eyes go wide. "What?"
"Morgana. She's escaping right now."
Zev's jaw tightens. He stands and pulls me up with him. "We need to find the others."
Before we can move alarms start blaring.
The sound is deafening. Red light floods the library and students start screaming.
Sofia grabs my arm. "That's the breach alarm."
"She's already out," I whisper.
Zev curses under his breath. "Come on."
We run.
The halls are chaos. Students are shoving past each other trying to get to their dorms. Teachers are shouting orders but no one's listening.
Zev pulls me through the crowd and Sofia stays close behind us. We burst through the main doors and into the courtyard.
Kieran is already there. So is Cassian. Alaric appears a second later moving too fast to be human.
"She's loose," Kieran growls.
"I know," I say breathless. "I saw it."
Cassian's hands are already burning. "Where is she now?"
I close my eyes and reach for the bond. It's easier this time. I don't have to fight it.
Morgana's presence slams into me. She's close. Too close.
"The east wing," I say. "Near the dueling grounds."
"Of course," Alaric mutters. "She wants a rematch."
"She wants revenge," I correct.
Kieran's eyes flash gold. "Then let's give her a fight."
"No." I step in front of him. "You can't kill her."
"Watch me."
"If she dies I die."
That stops him cold.
Cassian swears. "Is that true?"
"I don't know," I admit. "But I'm not willing to find out."
Alaric looks at Zev. "Can you get inside her head? Stop her before she does something stupid?"
Zev shakes his head. "The bond blocks me. I can't reach her."
Another alarm blares. This one's different. Sharper.
Sofia's face goes pale. "That's the lockdown alarm."
"What does that mean?" I ask.
"It means something worse than Morgana just happened."
The ground shakes.
Not a tremor. A deliberate vibration like something massive just landed nearby.
Kieran's head snaps toward the east wing. "What the hell was that?"
Through the bond I feel Morgana's rage shift. It's not just anger anymore.
It's fear.
"She's not alone," I whisper.
Cassian's flames flare brighter. "What?"
"Someone's with her."
The sky above the east wing darkens. Not with clouds. With something alive.
A figure rises into the air silhouetted against the moon. Wings spread wide. Eyes glowing red.
My blood turns to ice.
"No," I breathe.
Alaric's voice is deadly calm. "Is that who I think it is?"
I nod because I can't speak.
The Hollow King has come to Duskmoor and he's not here for Morgana.
He's here for me.