The bleeding slowed a little, but that was the best I could do, and he'd already lost so much blood. I sat back on my heels, wanting to scream in frustration. What was the point of having the powers of gods if you couldn't help the people you loved?
Shivering, Archer grasped one of my hands with his. "Lost cause, Mercer."
"Don't say that!"I cried.
He shook his head. His teeth were chattering so hard he could barely speak, but he managed to say, "This was always going to happen...sooner or later. Wish...it had been...later."
I wanted to tel him no again, that he would be fine, but there was no point. Even in the darkness I could see how white he was, and how scared his eyes were. The pool of blood under him was so huge it was hard to believe there was any blood left in his body.
He was dying, and we both knew it. There was nothing I could do.
But there was someone who could.
I leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, "Cross, please, just hold on for a few more minutes, okay? You promised to make out with me in a castle, and I'm holding you to it."
He tried to laugh, but it just came out a weak gurgle. I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth to keep from crying out, and stood up.
His fingers grabbed for the hem of my robe. "Don't leave me,"he whispered.
It kil ed me to do it, but I stepped out of his reach. "I'm coming right back, I swear."
There was more I wanted to say, but we were wasting time. If he died before I got back...I couldn't think about that. Before I had time to second-guess myself or weigh the risks, I closed my eyes and vanished.
I reappeared in the hal way just outside my room, and dashed down to Cal's room.
When he opened the door, he looked rumpled and sleepy, and pleasantly surprised to see me. That was the worst part.
As soon as he realized I was covered in blood, however, his smile faded, and he clutched my arm. "Sophie, what happened?"
"It's not my blood,"I said quickly. "Someone is hurt, and I need you to get to the mil as fast as you can. Don't tel anyone. I'l meet you there."
He frowned, confused, but I teleported back to the mil before he had a chance to ask any questions.
I didn't know if it was al the practicing I'd been doing with Dad, or what, but it hardly took anything out of me to do such a huge spel . When I flashed back to the mil , I felt clearheaded and not even a little bit dizzy. But fear raced through me as I made my way back to Archer. Thank God his chest was stil rising and fal ing when I reached him, but he seemed to be breathing faster, and his eyes were closed.
"See, told you I'd be back,"I said as I crouched at his side. I tried to keep my voice light, like if he thought I wasn't afraid, he wouldn't be either. I'm not sure it worked, but he took my hand and, without opening his eyes, pressed my palm to his lips. I held his other wrist so I could feel his pulse.
I focused on that, each steady beat underneath my fingers, until at long last I heard Cal cal out, "Sophie?"
"Back here!"
I could hear him stepping over the loose rocks and fal en beams, and when he final y appeared in the doorway, I thought he might be the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. "Oh, thank you,"I breathed, but whether I was talking to Cal or to God, I couldn't have told you.
"What happened?"he asked, moving toward me.
And then he saw.
A mix of emotions crossed his face. He looked shocked at first, but that gave way to a cold, quiet anger. His eyes went hard and his mouth tightened.
"Cal,"I said, but it came out like a whimper.
"Move,"he said tersely. I scrambled to my feet, walking around to Archer's other side as Cal knelt where I'd been. He grabbed Archer's arm with none of the gentleness I'd seen him use healing other people, me included. It was like he was trying to touch him as little as possible. I had one horrible moment of doubt, but then Cal dropped his head, and little silver sparks started running over Archer's skin.
So I sat on the grimy floor of an eighteenth-century corn mil and watched my fianceheal the guy I loved.
"Wow,"I muttered. "I'm gonna have one messed-up 'How I Spent My Summer Vacation'essay when I get back to Hex Hal ."I lowered my forehead onto my knees, debating whether I should burst into tears or hysterical laughter.
After a few minutes, I heard Cal say, "There."
When I looked up, the blood underneath Archer was completely gone, and even though he was stil unconscious, his breathing was slow and regular. I scrambled over to them. "Thank you so much,"I said, laying my hand on Cal's arm.
But he threw it off as he stood, and turned away from me. Fury was etched in every line of his body, from his tense shoulders to his clenched fists.
I fol owed him and started to say, "I'm sorry,"but he cut me off.
"Don't. I knew you could be naive, but I never thought you were stupid. He's an Eye, Sophie. They kil our kind. What part of that don't you understand?"
Al I could do was blink at him.
"And this one is worse than any of the others,"he continued, "because he's technical y one of us. He's a traitor to his own race, and you just keep letting him in, and pushing...everyone else away."He looked up at me, and what I saw in his eyes made me flinch. Cal was so good at hiding his emotions that I'd never realized...God, how could I have been such an idiot?
"I am so sorry,"I said again. "I-I never meant to hurt you, Cal."
As quickly as it had appeared, the flash of pain was gone. "This isn't just about me,"he said. "You're supposed to be head of the Council one day.
Prodigium have to trust you, and that's never going to happen if you have one of them in your bed."
A combination of anger and embarrassment rushed through me, burning my cheeks. "Okay, first of al , no one is 'in my bed.'Second, Archer has saved my life more than once. He's not what you think he is."
Cal made a sound of disgust. "Oh, come on, Sophie. Don't you get it? He's L'Occhio di Dio's ultimate weapon. They used him as a spy at Hecate for years, so what makes you think that's stopped now? This is probably just his new assignment, getting close to you so he can use you for information about the Council."
"Actual y, I was just going to use her for her body, but that's a good idea, too."
Cal and I whipped our heads around to see Archer sitting up against the back wal , his dark eyes glittering. He was stil pale, but other than that, there was no sign that he'd been at death's door only a few minutes ago.
"So if you're so convinced I'm a spy, why did you heal me?"Archer asked, wincing as he pushed himself to his feet. "You could've just let me bleed to death and saved yourself a lot of hassle."
Cal scowled at him. "I did it for her."
Archer's smirk faded. "Fair enough,"he said softly. "Thank you."
They stared each other down, and while the dorky eleven-year-old in my soul kind of hoped that two hot boys might fight over me, the rational, seventeen-year-old knew that Archer needed to get out of here, fast.
"Okay, look, we can talk this out later,"I said, walking over to Archer. He slipped his hand into mine and squeezed it.
Cal's glance fel on our joined hands, and he turned away. "I'm heading back to the house,"he muttered, but when he turned to go, the doorway was blocked.
Dad, Lara, and the other three members of the Council were standing there, staring at Archer and me.
My memories of everything after that are a little jumbled. I remember Kristopher storming forward and kicking Archer's sword out of reach, before jerking his arms behind his back and securing them with that black cord that always hung from his waist.
I know that Lara grabbed Cal's arm and shouted something at him, while Roderick crossed his arms and scowled at me, his black wings making him look like the angel of death.
But mostly I remember my dad standing there, staring at me with a completely unreadable look. And when I tried to talk to him, he abruptly raised his hand and said, "Do not even attempt to explain this, Sophia."
The walk back to the house was the longest and most miserable half-mile of my life. I wasn't sure which to worry the most about-what they would do to Archer, or if Dad would ever forgive me. Up ahead, Dad and Lara conferred in hushed tones, and I tried to absorb the enormity of the trouble I was in. I had been caught with one of Prodigium's greatest enemies. Something told me that punishment would be a lot worse than writing a thousand words on some obscure topic.
Thorne Abbey was dark and silent as we marched inside. Only once we'd been led al the way back to the main foyer did Dad final y say something.
"We're cal ing an emergency meeting of the Council for first thing in the morning. Sophie, Cal, the two of you are to go to your rooms and stay there until someone comes for you. Kristopher, secure Mr. Cross in one of the cel s downstairs."
My gaze locked with Archer's as Kristopher began dragging him away. "It's okay,"he mouthed, but it wasn't. It never would be.
After he was gone, I walked over to Dad. He stil wouldn't look at me, and was holding himself with that same rigidness Cal had shown in the mil .
"Dad, I know 'I'm sorry'doesn't even begin to cut it."
Breathing in deeply through his nose, Dad said, "Until your testimony is over, I can't speak to you. Please report to your chamber until tomorrow morning."
My eyes flooded with tears. "Dad-"
"Go!"he shouted, and I clapped my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out loud.
He walked away without even glancing at me.
"Come on,"Cal said. "There's nothing you can do right now."
"Did you tel them?"I demanded. "Is that why they came to the mil ?"
Al of Cal's earlier fury seemed to have completely drained out of him. "No,"he said. "I have no idea why they showed up when they did. Unless it has something to do with those tests they've been running on me. Maybe they traced my magic. Who knows?"
He turned to go, and even though I wanted nothing more than to run after Dad, I fol owed Cal away from the foyer and up the back stairs to our rooms. Our footsteps were muffled by the thick carpet, and the dim light from the sconces made our shadows waver on the wal s. I felt the eyes of al the portraits lining the staircase, like they were judging me. Al those nameless Prodigium, hunted through the centuries by Eyes, and Brannicks, and God knows what else.
Chapter 19
I did it for a good reason, I wanted to tel the painted faces. And Archer isn't one of them, not really. Somehow, I didn't think the portraits would believe me.
"What do you think they'l do to us?"I asked Cal, my stomach icy with fear.
"It won't be as bad as you think,"he replied, but he didn't sound whol y convinced. "You're James's daughter, and you're important to them. They aren't going to throw you to the wolves over something like this."
I wondered if being thrown to the wolves was a literal punishment in this case. I real y didn't want to know.
"They may stretch your sentence at Hecate by an extra year or so, but I think that would be the worst of it,"Cal continued. "With me-"
"You were just helping me,"I said as we turned down our hal . "Tel them that, okay? Tel them that you were, like, honoring our betrothal vow or something. They'l go easy on you, I bet."