“Blair…” Dax starts.

“It’s okay, Dax. You know where to find me. Make things right with Ryan.”

“You’re going right home, right?” Dax asks, still concerned for my safety. My heart aches, and I nod while holding back tears.

“This is just fucking rich,” Ryan says, and I try to stop my eye roll. Clover groans on the ground, and Ryan helps her sit up.

“Can we go somewhere more private to discuss some things?” Dax asks Ryan, and I force a smile as I turn on my heel and leave Lucia’s. Unshed tears fill my eyes as I walk out the front door. I still have hope that we can fix this, but I don’t see how thanks to the position my selfishness has put us all in.

I hear Ryan agree to talking with Dax, but that he needs to take Clover home first. Clearly I should have hit her with the frying pan just a little harder.

The bang of the heavy wooden door clears my thoughts as does the fresh air. Fall is right around the corner and the air feels cooler and dewy against my skin. As I look up, a handsome man with blonde hair and bright blue eyes wearing a dark black coat approaches me. “Are you Blair Bellamy?” he asks.

“Who’s asking?” I reply.

Someone stealthily approaches me from behind, placing heavy iron shackles around my wrists. “Blair Bellamy, you are under arrest for the kidnapping and attempted poisoning of Clover Simmons as well as attempted interference with an exsul’s memory. You will be brought in front of the council in approximately three hours.”

It’s the last voice I hear before everything goes to black and all rational thoughts escape me.

28. Blair

Chapter 28

My eyelids are heavy as I blink rapidly a few times. I go to move my hand to rub my eyes but cold heavy iron shackles prevent me from being able to reach my front. They clank as they fall back to the ground. My arms are sore from being bound behind me, and I groan, taking in the appearance of my cell.

Classic witch bullshit, all flare, no class. I’m in what I would consider a dungeon. There’s cold cobblestone flooring; it feels wet and musty down here. There’s a mattress that isn’t fit for any human to lie on in the corner, and a basin right next to it. There’s a trickle of fluid that drips against the cobblestone, and I shut my eyes just listening to the rhythmic patter of water splashing against the stone. Drip, drip, drip.