I look down at the blood that drips into my lap—Ash’s blood—and when I look back up, Charles’s face has twisted into something primal, something filled with hatred. For a second, I can’t make sense of any of it—the chaos among the other students. Ash’s arm with the knife in it. Charles. I touch my leg and my fingers come up bright red. Then all at once it seems like everyone is moving again. The guards run for Charles, Brendan blocks their path, and Nyx topples chairs into the aisle.

Ash stands and pulls the knife out of his arm, spraying the ground in front of us with droplets of red. Charles’s glare is still fixed on me and I can feel his determination in my bones. He wants to kill me. Ash holds the knife in front of him, but Charles doesn’t slow. Just when he’s about to collide with us both, I hear a low whistle and a thud. Charles’s chest arches forward unnaturally and his eyes widen before he slumps to the floor.

The guards have already brought Brendan and Nyx to their knees. Blood begins to pool under Charles. His mouth opens, but he doesn’t manage to form any words. He takes one final strangled breath, his eyelids closing and his chest deflating. My own chest heaves, like it’s trying to breathe for him, and my eyes fill.

“No,” I say barely above a whisper. “No. No. No.” Because now I understand. That whistle…that thud? It was an arrow, and it must have hit an artery, and now he’s…

I look up at the platform, where Blackwood lowers her bow, giving it back to the guard on her right. “As I said, there will be no trial.”

Nyx wails helplessly and struggles against the guard, who drags her out of the room. Brendan follows, also restrained. The metallic smell of blood fills the air, and I can’t seem to get my bearings.

“With the guilty party dealt with, your schedules will resume as per usual,” Blackwood says. “Go to your classes, everyone.”

Still in a daze, I turn toward Ash, who is holding his injured arm up, blood dripping down his elbow. Conner and the armed guards are next to us in a flash, retrieving the knife.

“Let’s get you to the infirmary,” Conner says to Ash without sparing me a glance.

I want to thank Ash for saving my life. I want to sob and scream and throw up. But I just stand there frozen, unable to utter a word.

Chapter Twenty-two