“Live deliciously.”
Her hand tightens, and then—
She throws me.
The void swallows me whole. I plummet, disoriented, weightless. The darkness stretches endlessly below me, the world above shrinking until all that remains is the echo of her voice.
“Get out.”
I slam back into my body violently, the force of it ripping me away from Millicent’s mind like a drowning man being wrenched from the depths.
The moment I return, my stomach revolts. Doubling over, I retch onto the floor, my entire body convulsing as the remnants of my dinner splatters onto the stone. Kalix curses, barely dodging the mess in time. “Gods, watch it!” He stumbles back, shaking his boot as if that’ll save him.
Iris rushes to my side, her hands warm and steady against my back. “Cage, you okay?”
I nod, sucking in deep, ragged breaths, trying to cool the fire in my lungs. The world tilts around me, disoriented and wrong, but I shove the nausea down. Iris straightens, her sharp gaze flicking between me and Millicent. “You weren’t supposed to attack.”
Her words slice through the air, but I barely register them. Millicent stands frozen, staring blankly ahead before she finally draws in a slow breath. Her eyes flicker as she blinks back to herself, becoming lucid.
She looks at me. Confusion. Something unsettled lingers in her expression, something that throws me off.
“Millicent,” Iris says again, more firmly this time, taking a cautious step toward her.
Millicent exhales, rolling her shoulders as though shaking off invisible hands. “I think he got past my wall.” Her voice issteady, but I see a flicker of unease in the way her fingers curl into fists. “What did you see?”
She is worried. Not just that I got in, but that I saw something I shouldn’t have. That realization twists something deep in my gut. She didn’t know I got in? She’s trained, skilled; she should have felt it. No witch leaves their mind unguarded without knowing. Yet, she’s completely unaware.
Which means …
I don’t know what the hell I just walked into.
“She didn’t attack me,” I say, my voice gruff, still trying to piece it together myself. “It may have been her subconscious.” They’re empty words, but I have nothing else to offer.
Iris exhales, some of the tension leaving her frame. She turns back to Millicent, her voice softer now as if handling something fragile. “Are you okay?”
Millicent watches me carefully. Calculating.
“Yes, I’m fine.” The answer is too quick. Too rehearsed. She turns the ring on her thumb, the only tell that she’s rattled beneath her collected facade. “I was unaware he got in. I’m not sure what happened. Did you see anything?”
She’s analyzing me. Waiting. Her apprehension confirms my suspicion that she has deeply guarded secrets. I don’t know what I saw. One thing is certain—Millicent doesn’t want me to know.
“A battlefield,” I say shortly. “Covered in bodies. And you.”
Her fingers still around the ring for half a second. Then, she forces an exhale, tilting her head slightly. “I’ve never been in a war,” she muses, her voice light, distant. “My subconscious, you say? Maybe that was it.”
The words are a deflection.
Kalix, who has been blessedly quiet for once, finally huffs a laugh. “That is a brutal subconscious. You need some sunshine or something, you little rain cloud.” His teasing grin breaks thetension as he strides toward the exit. “I’ll grab some cleaning supplies and water.”
As he moves past me, I push off the table and call after him, my voice hoarse.
“My puke. Let me help.”
He snorts. “Nah, you earned this one.” I shake my head, following him out. Whatever happened in Millicent’s mind, I’ll figure it out later.
For now, I just need to steady my own.
Chapter 18
