The Young Elites (The Young Elites #1)(60)
Author: Marie Lu

He’s trying to lure us out. The crowd shifts, uneasy and on edge. People look up to the roofs and down the alleys. Just as they did at my burning.

Teren narrows his eyes. “I know you’re watching. I’ve heard that this worthless boy is precious to you. So I will make you a deal. Turn yourself in. If you don’t, you will see me gut this boy right here on this balcony.”

Enzo won’t take the bait. We are completely trapped. I look desperately from Raffaele to the roofs where I think Enzo might be lying in wait, watching. There is no way to save him. None. We are going to watch him die.

Just as I think it is all over, a shout rises from someone in the crowd. Then, another. And up on the roofs, a shadowy figure stands up in front of the entire square.

It’s Enzo.

His face is hidden behind his silver mask, but his words ring out clear and sharp. Cold with fury. I look on with my heart in my throat. “Let me make you a deal, Lead Inquisitor,” he calls out. “And let us swear it here, on the gods. I challenge you to a duel. On the morning of the king’s funeral, I shall meet you in open combat in the Estenzia arena. I shall fight you alone.”

The crowd has gone completely still. They hang on his every word. Inquisitors on the roofs hurry toward Enzo, but I know he can disappear in the blink of an eye if any of them get too close. Teren must know it too, because he holds up one hand and signals for them to stop.

“If I win, Lead Inquisitor,” Enzo continues, “then the Inquisition will release the boy you hold hostage. He will be pardoned of any accusations of wrongdoing and allowed to walk free, unharmed.” There is a long pause. “If you win, then I will be dead.”

It is going to be a fight to the death.

Teren and Enzo stay facing each other for a long time. Neither speaks. Finally, a slow smile spreads on Teren’s face. He sends a single nod in Enzo’s direction.

“Very well, Reaper. With the gods as our witness, let us duel.”

Once upon a time, a prince fell madly in love with a demon from
the Underworld. When she disappeared back into the sea,
he ached so much for her that he walked into the ocean
and never returned.

—Kenettran Folk Tales, various authors

Adelina Amouteru

We head back to the safety of the catacombs. When evening starts to fall, stretching long shadows across the entire city, I finally dare to leave the tunnels again and lead Violetta farther into the city.

“Where are they headed?”

Violetta’s voice is strained and breathless as she hurries along behind me, holding my hand. We make our way through the dark streets in a blind rush, relying only on what I remember of the city’s layout. “They’re growing fainter,” she replies. “To the right. I think they might be going this way.” She gestures toward where a series of buildings surrounded by archways begins. The university.

“That’s one of their safe houses.” I shouldn’t be going back to the Daggers. But with Raffaele held hostage, and Enzo preparing to duel Teren tomorrow in the arena, I feel the pull of the bonds I’ve formed over the past few weeks. My steps quicken. I cannot leave Raffaele to die like this. Perhaps Dante was the only one who wanted to get rid of me. Perhaps I can still be a Dagger, and they care about me, and I can still belong.

Lying to yourself again, my dear? My father’s voice whispers in my head. I ignore him.

“This way,” I say after a moment. We hurry on.

Finally, as we near the university, I pause to find the entrance to the catacombs again and lead us down. It will be too dangerous for us to get inside the university out in the open, while Inquisitors might be patrolling its halls. Through the catacombs, I find the worn stairs that lead up to the dark hall inside one corner of the university. I take the steps one at a time, careful not to trip. Behind me, Violetta is tiring fast. Her power must drain her much more quickly than mine does.

“They’re here,” she whispers.

I stop in front of the door at the top of the stairs, then place my hand on the gem embedded in the wood. It opens.

We emerge from the underground. The hall is so quiet that we can still hear the commotion outside the university’s walls, the sounds of Inquisition patrols marching by, of raucous crowds. The next thing I hear are voices coming from within—voices that I know. I shrink into the shadows, and Violetta follows my lead.

The first voice I recognize is Lucent’s. She sounds frustrated. “He’ll kill him before morning even comes—how can you believe a word he says?”

I pause for a second longer, collecting myself, and then I start hurrying toward the voices. Violetta follows behind me. They lead us into the university’s main temple, where the doors are bolted shut. Light streams in from the stained glass high above us. And there, in the center of the looming space, stand several figures I know all too well.

They pause at the sight of us too.

I take a deep breath. Then I step out of the shadows.

“Where have you been?”

Lucent asks the question first. I have no idea how to answer. Where do I even start? Enzo requested a small room in the hall of the university temple’s apartments for us, and now Violetta and I are holed up inside, resting on the tiny twin cots. Lucent stands at the doorway, questioning me with her arms crossed over her chest. Enzo sits in the lone chair in the corner of the room, while Gemma and Michel perch on the edge of one of the cots. Violetta stays close to me on the other cot, silent and still, trembling slightly. I’m glad she’s too afraid to speak.

I glance at Enzo, who leans forward in the chair and rests his chin on top of his hands. He watches me in silence. “Teren threatened to kill my sister,” I reply. “He was keeping her in the dungeons of the Inquisition Tower.”

Enzo narrows his eyes. “When did your path first cross with Teren?”

Weeks ago. I can’t bring myself to say it. “He threatened me during the Spring Moons, before he fought you.”

Michel furrows his brows. “Why didn’t you tell us?” he asks.

I hesitate. “I didn’t think you would help me,” I decide to say. And it’s the truth. “It was too risky to involve everyone so close to the Tournament date.”

Lucent sniffs and turns in the doorway so that I see her profile. She doesn’t go so far as to accuse me of betrayal, but I can sense it in every line of her body. She doesn’t trust me. Her respect for me has withered to make room for suspicion. I tell myself to stay calm. Even though Raffaele’s capture is a large part of why I’ve come back to the Daggers at all, in this moment I’m relieved he’s not here with the others.