“That’s kind. Thank you. I hope you have a lovely holiday, Professor Sheldrake.”
“You as well. And I hope you’ll take some time to rest this week, child. You’ve been quite busy, by the look of things.”
Aurelie winced. She knew how terrible she looked, with dark circles under her eyes and her work coat covered in oil and coffee stains. “No rest for the weary,” she said, thinking of Gareth.
“The weary are the very ones who should rest, my dear. Burn the candle at both ends, and you’ll soon find you’ve run clean out of wax.”
Chapter 22
Des
Reporting Aurelie’s demon to Commander Yew was one of the hardest things Des had ever forced himself to do, and that was truly saying something. But even if he had been willing to risk his own safety, he couldn’t jeopardize Daisy’s—nor that of the civilians who would suffer if Aurelie’s inventing wasn’t stopped. He had been the one to discover her in the first place, the one who had been tasked with watching her, and that meant this was his responsibility. He cursed her uncle for not returning when he was supposed to, for not keeping an eye on her himself. For putting Des in an impossible situation with a girl he was afraid he cared too much for.
It had been late Monday night by the time he made it to Commander Yew’s office, but the man seemed to be awake at all hours, writing in files that no one else ever saw, because they were kept locked up.
“Whitlow,” he said when Des knocked on his open door. “It’s late. What are you doing up?”
“I just came from the university, sir. I need to report a demon consorter.”
Yew placed his quill down and leveled Des with his stony gaze. “If this is about Miss Blake—”
“Sir, I saw it myself. Inside her secret laboratory, where she...”He had to swallow before he could say the word. “Where I have cause to believe sheinventsthings. She and her professor are working together to create demons, and while they seem to eradicate most of them, there is one living on the Wisteria campus. She needs to be stopped.”
There. He’d done it. He’d turned her in. And now he could stop thinking about her and focus on what really mattered.
Unfortunately, there was no immediate relief. Only an awful, sinking dread.
Yew remained silent, that iron gaze never wavering. Finally, he sighed and said, “Take a seat, son.”
Des did as he was told, though a strange sensation washed over him. Yew had never called him that before. No one ever had. And he realized in that moment he’d been waiting to hear that word for his entire fucking life.
“Whitlow, you’re an excellent guard. I’ve told you this, again and again, because I’ve known you since you were a child. You’ve always needed reassurance that you were doing the right thing, even though I’ve never met a more diligent and dedicated soldier. So tonight, I’m going to reiterate that you’ve done the right thing.”
Des felt the tension in his shoulders subside a fraction. “Thank you, sir.”
“I’m sending you out with the Iron Swords for your first mission. You’ll be back in plenty of time for your promotion. In the meantime, stay away from the university. I don’t want you feeling the need to check up on that girl. I’ll handle her myself.”
Des nodded. Aurelie was not his problem any longer. He’d done his duty, the way he always had. Perhaps she’d been put in his lifeas a test. And if that were the case, he had passed. He was a good man. A good soldier.
So why did he still feel so awful?
He hoped that for once in her life, Daisy wouldn’t wait up for him, that he wouldn’t have to confront what he’d done. It was easier to pretend that Aurelie would always be in her lab, tinkering with her beakers and hanging up bundles of herbs to dry, writing in her silly notebooks and tying ribbons around her throat. A throat he desperately wanted to kiss. Because apparently he’d lost his mind entirely.
But Daisy was there, as always, curled up and dozing on his bed. In that moment, he wished he loved her as more than a friend. It was impossible now. They knew each other too well, had spent too much time filthy and angry and afraid to allow any sort of romantic feelings to blossom. But life would have been much simpler if they could.
“Hey,” he said, nudging her gently. “You’re in the wrong bunk, Shaw.”
She blinked and curled away from him, clearly not intending to move. With a sigh, he crawled in next to her, wincing as something cold and hard dug into his ribs.
“What is this?” he asked, lifting an iron key from the sheets.
“It’s Aurelie’s key to the university,” Daisy murmured. “I stole it.”
“Youwhat?”
“Quiet. You’ll wake everyone.” Daisy finally rolled back toward him. “I took it off of her when she fainted, remember? To let us into the gates?”
“I remember,” Des said, voice strained. “I thought you gave it back to her.”