Nathaniel unfolded the document and read it over. Then he signed it with a flourish. Julian plucked it from his fingers.
‘You think you’ve won.’ Nathaniel looked around the circle of faces. ‘You think this is over. Well, I have news for you. This will never be over.’ He pointed at Allie. ‘I will dedicate myself to destroying you the way I destroyed Lucinda. Your inheritance will be blood and pain.’
It was too much.
‘Stop it,’ Allie snapped. ‘Will you just stop. Stop this stupid vendetta. You have your victory. You won Orion. You have full control. Go and be happy with it. Leave us alone to live our lives. We’ll stay out of your way. You stay out of ours. We are no threat to you. ’
She thought he would shout back. Instead, Nathaniel studied her face.
‘Lucinda always said you were clever,’ he said after a long pause. ‘She also said you were reckless. She was right on both counts.’
With that, he turned on his heel and walked to his car. He climbed into the drivers’ seat. The engine roared to life; the headlights lit up the trees. Tyres spinning, he sped away.
And just like that, it was over.
37
‘Come on,’ Allie said. ‘We have to go.’
She tried to rise, but Carter pulled her back down. She landed on his chest. He smiled at her lazily.
‘There you are.’ His lips teased her mouth, softly nibbling at her bottom lip until she turned her mouth back to his, parting her lips so his tongue could brush lightly against her teeth.
His arms tightened around her. In a single smooth move, he flipped her over until he was above her, and she lay on her back, looking up at the high, ornate ceiling of the great hall.
The vast ballroom was empty – no one ever came in except the staff, who dusted and swept it once a week. Tucked away behind stacks of chairs and tables, they were perfectly hidden.
‘Now I have you right where I want you.’ He whispered the words against her cheek, his warm breath feather-light against her skin. ‘But I’ll stop if you want.’ His lips traced a line along her jaw.
Each syllable sent heat rushing into her veins.
‘All you have to say…’ He reached her ear, tugging the soft skin of her lobe between his teeth. His tickling breath was maddening. ‘… is stop.’
His lips moved to her neck now, and Allie whimpered, arching her back as he made his way in a line of fire down to her shoulder.
‘Do you still want to leave?’ He raised his mouth from her skin to look at her enquiringly. The desire in his eyes made her shiver.
She reached for his neck and pulled his mouth roughly back to hers, parting his lips with her tongue as her answer.
He groaned deep in his throat and pressed his body against her. The muscles of his chest were rock solid and she ran her hand across his shirt, threading her fingers between the buttons to feel the warm skin beneath.
‘We can be late,’ she breathed.
He raised himself on to his hands, lifting his weight off her. One hand rested on the warm skin of her thigh and she was very conscious of that hand. Its every movement made her twitch. Right now his fingers traced slow circles on her skin there, raising a Braille pattern of goosebumps.
Even after two weeks, it was still a wonder to her to have Carter back. To see him at her table at breakfast in the morning. To have him appear at her bedroom window after curfew, standing on the ledge smiling at her with eyes like the night.
She never wanted to be apart from him again.
When they strolled into the library a few minutes later, Rachel shot Allie a knowing look.
‘You’re late,’ she complained.
But her indulgent smile belied her words.
‘We lost track of the time.’ Carter’s arm hung loosely across Allie’s shoulders.
‘Again,’ Allie added apologetically.
Rachel was not alone. Katie and Lucas sat across from her, their faces illuminated by the low glow of the table lamp in front of them. Zoe was at the end of the table ignoring them all as her pencil flew across the page, creating long, complex equations.
Christopher sat in a far corner, engrossed in a book. Allie was getting used to seeing him there. He kept to himself, most of the time. Although occasionally he let himself be included in their conversation.
The one person significant in his absence, in fact, was Sylvain.
As he’d warned them, he went home to France a few days after the meeting with Nathaniel. He’d left without saying goodbye. One morning the students got up, and he was already gone.
It wasn’t clear if he was coming back this term at all. His father’s recovery was slow, and Isabelle told Allie he was considering trying a Paris school for a while.
Like Orion in Britain, Demeter ran several boarding schools in France and Switzerland. He’d only ever stayed at Cimmeria because he wanted to be there.
After the fight with Six, Sylvain had avoided Allie. When she did manage to catch him alone, he wouldn’t let her thank him.