Rise Of The Mirror King

Chapter 16: Out of My Way

“Do I need to tell you two to behave?” Zudrik looked at Lucifero first, then his eyes darted to me. Neither of us answered.

He sighed.

“Your father decided to foster peace between our realms. I share your disapproval of it, but we cannot risk a war,” he said.

“He should have picked another academy aside from this one.”

I looked at Lucifero; his hand was on the hilt of his sword; his hand was always on the hilt of his sword. He looked taller now.

“And you?”

“I promise to stir no trouble,” I told him. He didn't look like he believed me.

“Symon, you've said those words to me so many times in the past, and each time you manage to do the exact opposite.”

“I have a sister to look after,” I said.

“Stay away from Mazikeen. I have a hard time trusting that demon.” Zudrik turned to Lucifero. “I need you to lead any mission those two are involved in.”

Lucifero nodded slowly, like he had no choice but to accept.

We left Zudrik's office in silence, which was somehow worse than if he'd kept yelling.

I caught up to Lucifero halfway down the corridor. "So. Partners, apparently."

He didn't slow down. "No."

"Zudrik seemed pretty clear on it."

"Zudrik can assign whatever he wants on paper." Lucifero finally stopped, turning just enough to look at me over his shoulder. "It doesn't mean I have to pretend to trust you doing it."

"I never asked you to trust me."

"Good. Because you'd be disappointed."

He started walking again. I fell into step beside him anyway, mostly out of spite.

"You do remember a demon prince and princess are wandering the halls now," I said. "Might be easier if we're not actively trying to kill each other on top of that."

"I'm not trying to kill you," he said flatly, without heat, which was somehow more unsettling than if he'd sounded angry. "I'm trying to stay as far from you as this academy allows."

"Why?"

He stopped again. This time he actually faced me, and for a second I saw something behind his eyes that looked less like hatred and more like exhaustion — like he'd had this exact conversation before, with a version of me that remembered the answer.

"Ask Symon," he said. "Oh, wait."

So Amelia told him I was a Twin-Souled.

"That's not fair."

"Nothing about this is fair." He glanced past me down the corridor, toward where Amelia and Astrid were disappearing around a corner, and something in his jaw tightened. "You don't remember what you did. Fine. Convenient for you. I still do."

"Then tell me."

"No."

"Lucifero—"

"Stay out of my way, Wardreth." He said my name as if it cost him something. "Do the mission Zudrik assigns, keep your head down, and stay away from Amelia while you're at it. That's the only working relationship you and I are going to have."

He walked off before I could answer, and I let him go, because chasing him down the hall would've just proven whatever point he was making.

I stood there a moment, turning his words over.

You don't remember what you did.

Whatever it was, it clearly wasn't small. Whatever Symon had done to earn this level of contempt — the kind that didn't fade even after weeks, even after a truce forced down both their throats by a king who wanted peace more than either of them did — I was going to be the one paying for it. Again. Same as everything else that came with this body.

"Grey."

The screen flickered to life beside me, patient as always.

"Yes, Lord Symon."

"What do you know about whatever happened between Lucifero and me?"

A pause.

"You instructed me not to speak of it. The same instruction that applies to Amelia."

I stopped walking.

"I told you not to talk about either of them?"

"Correct."

"When?"

"I don't have a record of the specific date. Only the instruction itself, which remains in effect unless you rescind it."

I stared at nothing for a second, turning that over. Whatever had happened, past-me hadn't just been ashamed of it. Symon had tried to bury it — deliberately, permanently, deep enough that even his own system wasn't allowed to bring it back up.

Which meant it was bad.

And I was going to have to dig it up myself, one furious glare and one clipped refusal at a time.

I felt a sudden surge of heat around my chest. Before I could say anything, Grey popped up.

"Lord Symon, something is going on in the great hall that needs your attention."

"What is it?" My heart thundered; it was unusual for Grey to sound hasty.

A short pause.

"Mazikeen found Vaxilith."

My heartbeat disappeared.