Des frowned down at the boy. “That’s impossible. Demons don’t communicate with humans.”
“I know,” Gareth said, flushing with embarrassment. “Never mind. It was probably nothing.”
“Nice night for it?” the guard in the tower shouted down as they approached the gate.
“Excellent!” Gareth called up. “My first kill!”
The guard whooped in solidarity, raising his sword at Gareth, who hefted his in return. Absently, Des hoisted his into the air as well, following Gareth through the gates. But even as he removed his armor and settled down in his rack, something gnawed at him.
Somniawere easy to kill and trap—oftentimes a sprinkling of salt was enough to paralyze them—but they still fled when they were spotted. They didn’t wait for death as though inviting it. And they certainly didn’t try to communicate with humans.
He pressed the heels of his palms into his eye sockets. What if he’d been wrong, and it hadn’t been asomnia? He should never have risked sending Gareth into battle alone, not for his first kill, not ever. Tonight had ended well, but it could have been disastrous for both of them.
There were three rules the Iron Guard upheld above all others: never hunt alone; never act on impulse; never underestimate a demon.
And tonight, he’d disobeyed all three.
Chapter 3
Aurelie
Aurelie sat at the far end of the long mahogany dining table, her uncle’s expression difficult to read from here. If she was being honest, Uncle Leo was always a bit inscrutable to Aurelie, who had never been very successful at masking her emotions. She wore her heart on her sleeve, according to Kiara, a generous euphemism for saying that if Aurelie was displeased, you knew it.
“How are your studies?” he asked, which was always the first thing he inquired about at dinner.
As always, she smiled and assured him they were going well.
“That’s not what I heard from Mr. Viridian,” Uncle Leo said, arching a dark brow.
Aurelie winced. Miles Viridian was a history student notable only for his height (“tall to the point of absurdity,” as she’d once put it to Kiara) and the fact that he seemed to always be lingering in Aurelie’s favorite corner of the library. When he’d asked about her upcoming exams, she may have mentioned that she was feeling a bit overwhelmed, but she certainly hadn’t expected him to go running to her uncle as though it were breaking news.
“I’m sorry, Uncle. My studiesaregoing well. I simply wanted to avoid a lengthy conversation with Miles.”
“Oh? And why is that?” Leo took a delicate bite of fish, chewingmethodically. He did everything in the same manner: neat, composed, calculated. His black hair was always slicked back with pomade, his beard trimmed just so. He was her mother’s younger brother, only in his mid-thirties, but he came across as older. Where Uncle Leo was reserved and focused, Claudine had been as wild and untamed as her garden.
Even if Aurelie didn’t abhor a sycophant, Miles’s decision to pursue a degree in history, of all subjects, hinted at a dire lack of imagination. Not that she could ever say as much to her uncle. “I had a lot of work to attend to before classes.”
Leo set his fork down and sighed. “I’ve told you a dozen times that you don’t need to continue with your menial labor. We have Mr. Morel and his daughter for that sort of work.”
Aurelie bristled, both at the insinuation that such labor was beneath them, and also that two people alone could maintain this entire institution. “They need my help, Uncle. Besides, I enjoy my work.” And sheneededit. It gave her access to tools and parts of the university others didn’t enter, and it helped hone her mechanical skills.
“Yes, yes. Your tinkering, as you call it. But if it’s interfering with your studies...”
“It isn’t,” Aurelie assured him. “I have plenty of time for both. Besides, I like making my own money.”
At this, Uncle Leo crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Aurelie, you are my only living relative. The idea that you would need money of your own is absurd.”
For the second time that night, Aurelie winced. When would she learn to think before she spoke? “My apologies, Uncle. I’m extremely grateful for your generosity. I suppose it’s that my parents alwaysinstilled the value of independence in me. And with them dying so young, I know full well that nothing in life can be taken for granted.”
Uncle Leo softened, as Aurelie had known he would. The carriage accident that had resulted in their premature deaths was never far from either of their minds. “Yes, well.” He gestured for the servant to clear their dishes. “Old habits can be difficult to break. But Mr. Viridian comes from a good family, and I believe he likes you, Aurelie. He is exactly the kind of young man I hope you’ll marry someday,” he continued. “After you complete your studies, of course.”
She forced a smile and thanked the servant as he cleared her plate, but inside, she felt a familiar twist of dread in her stomach. Every time Uncle Leo mentioned marriage, it was a reminder that the carefree days of her youth were nearly behind her. Leo clearly intended to pass her off to this imaginary husband as soon as she graduated, and no man in Wisteria would tolerate a wife having a secret laboratory.
Her only hope was to find a teaching position at the university herself, where she could remain close to home and her uncle, no husband required. It would be a disappointment to Leo on some level, she knew. He himself had never married, but he was old-fashioned when it came to Aurelie. If he had any idea what she’d just created in her lab only an hour ago, he’d be apoplectic.
In her defense, it wasn’t as if she’d sought any of this out. Inventing had been the by-product of loneliness, of not knowing her place in the world anymore. She’d asked Uncle Leo for a pet not long after arriving at Wisteria University, a request it had taken no small amount of courage to make.
“A pet,” he’d repeated, voice grave, though there was a twinkle in his dark eyes.