Tor glances at the others. She was willing to chastise me, but she’s smart enough to know she’s outnumbered. “Sar?” She turns to her girlfriend, hand open to lead her away, but Sarah wraps herself in a hug and shakes her head.

“I’ll see you back at the room, babe.”

Tor looks stunned for a moment before stubborn fury returns to her features, bringing with it a flash of red to her pale cheeks. “Fine.” She stalks off to the driveway, her ponytail bouncing with every step.

“All right there, Sar?” William asks, and Sarah nods.

“She’s just…” Sar inhales, watching Tor’s receding figure. “We’ve all been on patrol the last few nights. Out late.” She looks at me, sighing. “No excuse to be rude to you, though, Bree. I’m sorry about her.”

I hold her gaze for a moment. “Her behavior is not your fault.”

Sar lifts a shoulder in a half shrug, looks away. “But I haven’t stepped in to stop her either, have I? So, this is on me, too.”

There’s an awkward, uncomfortable silence.

Pete speaks up. “If you hadn’t said something, Bree, I would have, I think. They sprung this on us. All of us.” He sniffs, looking back over his shoulder and lowering his voice. “Never expected that the first time the Regents showed up, they’d take Sel’s title and call him a traitor.”

“Well,” William intervenes. “Stripping Sel of his title doesn’t mean much given the current circumstances.” He looks at me meaningfully.

“Why would they interrogate him like he’s a criminal?” I ask. “When we know it was Rhaz and Lord Davis opening those Gates—”

“Kingsmages are guardians of the chapter,” says William. “Which means he’s responsible for knowing how and why they died. I’m sure the investigation is just protocol.”

“That has to be it,” Greer says. They step closer, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “Just part of the process, right?”

“Then why’d he run?” Pete asks, voicing the unspoken.

William shakes his head, his gaze on the ground. “I don’t know.”

“Bad time to skip town,” Greer mumbles.

“I’m sure he has his reasons,” William replies, but his voice doesn’t sound very sure at all.

I groan as guilt swirls around in my chest. The way Sel and I left things last night… it wasn’t good.

And now he’s who-knows-where, running from custody. The Mageguard are formidable. What if they catch him? Lock him up, even… there are Merlin prisons…. I want nothing more than to get out there and find Nick, but I’ve never once imagined doing it without Sel. Is this what kings do? Make other peoples’ lives harder with their own bad decisions?