The Half-Class by Kayvion Lewis

Chapter Forty-Four

The day to end all days arrived.

Bridgette woke me before dawn. Even she seemed shadowed by the day. As we shared the breakfast she’d brought in for me, and as I bathed, we said almost nothing. What could be said about a day like today?

The first rays of sunlight beamed through the windows as Bridgette helped me out of the water. Sir West’s birthday ball, in alignment with his bright demeanor, was to be during the day. The last of the carriages had arrived during the night, and Bridgette told me that many more guests were making their way in from the city today. I wondered how all of Jace and Gilow’s allies, who were so used to hiding under cover of night, felt about making their grandstand in vivid daylight. It would certainly be easier to see their targets.

And more difficult if I slipped away with Cass. If.

Bridgette helped me dry myself then wrapped me in a thick white robe.

“If I don’t ever get to speak to you again, let me just say good luck,” Bridgette said.

I gripped the sides of my robe.

What would Bridgette do if she knew I was considering saving Cass for even five seconds? Lock me in this room? Threaten my life? If I were her, that might be what I would do.

“To you too, Bridgette.”

Geane and her assistants arrived within the hour, hauling in a sea of shimmering gold. Bridgette and the assistants pulled me out of my robe and all four of them, even Geane, helped me into the waves of fabric. I watched in silent amazement as they fitted me into the dress. It was a goddess of a gown. Golden silk, rippling at the slightest touch, danced around my body. Only my arms and collar were free from its embrace. Despite the sweeping width of the skirt, I felt as light as air moving in it. Capped sleeves were never my favorite in a dress, but somehow this golden piece managed to pull them off. They complimented the curled, brocaded design that swirled around the bodice and wrapped around my back, where the pattern disappeared into a sea of corseted ribbon.

Somehow, Bridgette managed to pull my hair into an intricate braid that descended down my head and behind my shoulders. She’d even managed to find a golden hairpiece to place across my crown. As Geane finished the ribbons, another assistant slipped on a pair of gold-trimmed slippers, and finally, another assistant clipped the late queen’s gold and emerald bracelet over my wrist. The green stood out dramatically against the vivid gold of my gown. I wondered if that’s what the king had wanted.

Time was shrinking away. Each second, each breath, brought me nearer to the party, nearer to Cass.

It was the end. I should have accepted that. I’d come too far to betray my cause now. The moments ahead were inevitable. The day unstoppable. Fate was sealed. Who was I to try to change it?

I swallowed and wiped my moist hands on my skirt, matching my gaze in the mirror. Be brave, Evie. Do the right thing. Change requires sacrifice. You know what to do. You have to let him die.

Geane and her ladies fiddled with the little nuances of my appearance. A flair of fabric here, a curl there. But they were soon finished with their work. There was nothing more to be done to me. I gazed into my mirror. Never before in my life had I been so beautiful, and likely never again would I be. This was the girl I’d imagined when playing pretend as a little girl, locking hands with her true love.

The confident decision I’d made only seconds ago already began to waver.

Bridgette, Geane, and the assistants bid me ado, then left me alone. The first in a series of painful events was about to unravel, and it would begin with my escort down the party. Part of me wished I could see Kat and Auntie Jen before this all began, but my falling out with Kat had put an end to any of that.

Cass didn’t even ask if I wanted to see them before we left.

A knock danced across my bedroom door. It cracked open.

“Evelyn?” Donnie peeked his head inside. Seeing me fully dressed, he let himself in. He looked so dashing in his black coat and silver sash. He grinned. “And I thought last night was the peak of your beauty.”

Donnie. I hadn’t even thought about him at all during the last few hours.

I forced a wide smile. “Always happy to surprise.”

He glanced down at my bracelet and nodded, then offered his arm to me. “Shall we begin our wonderful day?”

I took his arm. “We shall.”

Donnie was practically skipping as we made our way through the corridors of the castle. Cass had told me gatherings like this were his bread and butter, and his glee sent unbearable pangs through my heart.

How could you even think about saving Cass and not him? If you can’t save one, you aren’t meant to save either.

“When we get to Aurell,” Donnie began, “you have to let Lady Kaya and I take you to haberdashery.”

“The haberdashery?”

He beamed. “It’s the grandest shop on the edge of the city, full of things you can buy that have absolutely no purpose. Statues, empty books with beautiful spines, playing cards written in illegible languages. That sort of thing. I only think of it now because it’s where we’ve all gotten gifts for Sir West this year. We realized a while ago that there was nothing practical we could get him, so we decided to go in the opposite direction.”

I glanced away as we started down the steps. “I’m afraid I didn’t get him anything.”

Donnie placed his hand over mine. “Don’t fret about it. You’ll just have to get him something spectacular for his birthday next year.”

A sharp pang shot through my heart. “Yes, I will.”

We reached the bottom floor, and the party truly began.

Laughter and smiles coated every inch of the floor and didn’t disappear in any part of the castle. Donnie was kind enough not to abandon me immediately and led me through the hosts of full skirts, polished boots, piled curls, and clinking glasses. Many—most, even— stopped to greet or at least look at me as we made our way further into the castle. Some of them I’d met the night before, but many faces were new. Almost all of the guests were light-class, but a few dark-classes were scattered about as well. I thought I’d be able to tell who was from Morra and who was not by the clothing the guests wore, but I was wrong. Very few people, even the ones from Morra, had chosen to dress in our signature bright colors. I think my eye-catching gold was the brightest color there. It made me stand out. Yet another deterrent, or perhaps sign, that I wasn’t meant to be able to slip away easily.

Everyone had a drink in their hand, and every table hosted a game. I noticed the occasional dark-class servant making their way through the floors as well and did my best not to look at them. Though I knew for sure some of them were looking at me.

“Donestan!” Lady Irene shouted.

Donnie and I turned back from the conversation we were having with a younger man who claimed to be from Hythe. Lady Irene, dragging Sir Percy along behind her, scurried up to us. “Oh, Miss Evelyn, you look lovely.” Her gaze fluttered over me.

“Quite so,” Sir Percy added.

“Have you seen the jester?” Lady Irene asked Donnie.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Then you must come!” She grabbed Donnie’s arm and yanked him away.

With only a slightly apologetic glance back at me, Donnie let her whisk him away.

Sir Percy nodded to me and followed leisurely behind them.

I sighed. That might have been the last time I’d ever get to speak to them.

“It’s Hildeguard, correct?” My heart tremored at the sound of Cass’s voice.

He strode past the man I’d been speaking to and settled at my side. Though he’d obviously been speaking to the man, his gaze was on me. I bit my lip and glanced down as he took my hand in his, but I forced myself to look up as Cass entertained some sort of conversation with the man. I may have spoken at some point too, but for the life of me, I couldn’t recount what I’d said. I only knew, at some point, Hildeguard went away, and Cass and I were left alone in the busy room.

“Have you been meeting lots of interesting people, Lovely?” he asked.

“Too many.”

He frowned. “Are you alright? You don’t look well.”

“I’m wonderful,” I insisted. “There’s just so much going on today.”

He stroked my cheek, then left a kiss on my forehead. “It won’t always be like this, I promise. Now’s just an opportunity for everyone to see your face.” He squeezed my hand. “And your hand in mine.”

I nodded. No, it would not be like this forever.

“Perhaps we can slip away to the library for a while before we leave.” He leaned in to whisper to me. “A party full of strangers reminds me of Taliver volume twenty-nine.”

“Ah, I’m sorry, Lovely. No spoilers, right. Even if I have learned to hide my tell.”

I could hardly bear to look at him as he looked me dead in my eyes, reminding me of our second night together. After today, that little gesture would mean absolutely nothing to anyone besides me. It would be only a memory. He’d be a memory.

Do something, Evie.

But as I tried to move to pull him away, a warning and an alliance inside me kept me still.

Don’t you dare.

At least another hour passed. Cass and I made our way around the castle, spending most of our time in the great room, which had become a miniature circus. The jester Lady Irene mentioned hogged the room’s attention, filling it with laughter. Countless party games played on along with so much dancing. Maybe Cass and I would have participated, but he seemed more concerned with pulling me to every little group just to kiss my cheek and squeeze my hand as much as possible. I suppose directly saying “this is my new mistress” wasn’t the proper way of doing things, so this was how he did it instead.

We ran into a few other members of the court, and I noticed they were all wearing the same silver sash as Donnie. The longing glances I saw other guests cast their direction told me they were a great source of envy for many who didn’t have them. Today it would only make them a target.

The festivities bore on. My heart raced with every passing second. It wouldn’t be long until--

“Are you ready?” Cass pulled my gaze from the juggler. He was tucking his batons away now. I hadn’t even noticed he stopped juggling.

“For what?”

“To go outside and watch Sir West bathe in the attention of his birthday song.”

It was time.

I wasn’t ready. I…I hadn’t decided yet.

My throat was almost too dry to speak. “Yes.”

People were already making their way to the courtyard. Sir West’s biggest mistake was telling me that was where he would have everyone assemble to wish him a happy birthday.

Because that was where I told Gilow he could find everyone all at once.

Somehow, the entirety of our party managed to squeeze into the courtyard. Barely so. A few groups spilled out into the hallways, but the crowd had kindly left enough room to walk through them. Well, for Cass and me to walk. We were some of the last to assemble with everyone else. A crimson aisle shot out from the courtyard doors, leading all the way to a vast stage in the center. It climbed only a few feet off the ground, but enough to raise those on it above all the rest. Most of the court had already assembled on the platform, along with His Majesty, who whispered with Lady Lilith off to the side.

The murmur of the crowd was pulsing. Everything was pulsing.

I felt weak. My legs were thin blades of grass.

I gripped Cass’s arm tighter than I intended to.

“Relax,” he whispered. “We’re just going to sing for him, then we’ll step down. That’s all.”

A few in the crowd bowed to us, to Cass, when we passed. As we approached the stage, Sir West’s waved to us. His careless smile shattered my heart a thousand times over.

“I thought it was my birthday, yet you seem to be the center of attention, my dear.” West offered me a hand. We climbed the couple of steps up to his side.

“Not my intention at all.” He didn’t seem to notice the hitch in my voice.

West pouted. “Well, when we celebrate your birthday, Miss Evelyn. I shall arrive in a coat made of pure gold and steal all the attention away from you. It’s only fair.”

I could barely muster a weak smile as the final courtiers, Sir Percy and Donnie strode down the courtyard. Donnie went to accompany his mother, and Sir Percy went to the other end of the stage to be at Lady Kaya’s side.

My heart quivered. Everyone is here.

It’s too late. You already decided, Evie. It’s over now.

My eyes scanned the second and third-story windows. Jace said she would be up there, waiting to shoot.

“Thank you, friends,” Sir West projected over the crowd, immediately quieting their buzz. “I am so very glad you all ventured here to celebrate the beginning of my twenty-fifth year of life.”

A wave of laughter rippled through the crowd, but I didn’t contribute.

“Yes, you’re turning twenty-five for the twenty-fifth time!” Lady Irene shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear. Another burst of laughter washed over the courtyard. I swallowed, drawing my eyes away from the windows above for only a split second.

Sir Percy grabbed West’s shoulder and looked out over the crowd, a wide smile on his face. “Let us sing this song before he starts regressing in age!”

My hands trembled.

Sir Percy cleared his throat and raised his hands as if conducting an orchestra. The courtyard inhaled in unison. All except for me.

“For he’s a…”

The windows were still. There was no movement past the curtains, no figures pacing behind them. What were they waiting for?

“...jolly good fellow. For he’s a...”

Cass’s voice echoed in my ears. And the court’s, and Donnie’s too. The lightness in them was excruciating. I needed it to end. It had to be over soon.

“...jolly good fellow.”

A flare of light sparkled across one of the windows right above us. It was so small that I knew no one else had noticed it. All eyes were trained upon West.

“...for he’s,”

A window opened, and a thin bow pierced out of it, pointing our way. My entire body stilled. My throat dried.

“A jolly good fellow…”

Cass’s hand slipped into mine. I took in a sharp breath. His touch was delicate. This would be the last time I’d ever touch him.

A thousand moments washed over me. Cass betting all his coin during our card game. Laughing on the floor at the apartment. Him teasing me at the races. The moment he kissed me over our first chess game. The lights dancing over us at the impossible pond. Chasing me through the castle halls. Saving me from that dreadful moment with the twins. Telling me he loved me. The first time he called me Lovely.

It was already over. I should have taken my hand from his.

But...I couldn’t.

I couldn’t let him go.

“Which nobody can den—"

“No!” I tackled Cass to the ground. The arrow shot past my head and plunged into the crimson aisle.

We had barely a moment before chaos shattered the courtyard.

Arrows rained down into the courtyard. Dozens of windows flew open, beginning a brutal assault. In an instant, Cass rolled on top of me. The guards formerly lining the walls frantically pushed towards us. A frenzy of fabric and screams encircled us. Heaving under Cass’s protection, I watched helplessly as bodies collapsed into the grass. A scream escaped my mouth as another arrow pierced the aisle inches from my face.

“Keep your head down!” Cass tore me up from the ground.

A set of guards formed a shield around us. We rushed towards the castle doors, striking down everyone in our way. Two of our protectors fell before we made it inside. As we pushed our way into the castle, I tripped over my dress, ripping it up the side. Cass hauled me back to my feet in an instant.

The Rylanders ran in a violent panic, darting in every direction. Most sprinted towards the main hall. I looked around. Torn coats laid across the carpet. Streaks of blood smeared a nearby wall. At least three limp bodies laid across the hall, people frantically scrambling over them. Where was Donnie? Where was West? Where was the king?

Cass and the few guards left with us pulled me ahead. We raced down the halls in a chaotic clatter before I realized where we were going.

“No!” I jerked to a stop. The castle’s entrance was just at the end of the hall.

“Come on!” Cass grabbed both my arms and tried to drag me forward.

“Not here.” I struggled against his grasp.

The castle’s doors flew open ahead of us, and an assault of arrows shot in. The cluster of guests ahead of us, only paces from supposed freedom, shrieked as the arrows plunged into them. Those who could, stumbled back. Two of the guards with us were pierced, and the remaining two rushed in to fight back the tide of fast-approaching invaders.

Without a word, Cass grabbed my arm again, and we ran further back into the castle. My shoes flew off in our frenzy, I ran barefoot under my gown.

He dragged me down hall after hall. I didn’t know where we were going. I only knew the people around us were dwindling, and soon we were running alone, with the cries of terror and chaos behind us, through a nearly empty corridor.

Two servants flew out of a doorway, directly into our path. No, no servants at all, though they were dressed like it. One wielded a small harvesting scythe and another a tall bow. Cass pushed me into the wall as the archer raised his bow. He lunged forward into the man, and they both crashed into the floor. The man’s quiver and arrows splayed across the carpet.

The other man let out a ferocious battle cry and lurched toward Cass, still wrestling the other man on the ground. He raised his scythe, ready to plunge it into Cass’s back.

In one fell swoop, I dropped to the floor, swiped one of the arrows from the fallen quiver, and threw myself into the approaching attacker. I slammed him into the wall, piercing the arrow into his heart.

He dropped the scythe and clawed at his bleeding chest, but it was no use. I forced the arrow even deeper into him until I could feel the point of it scraping against the stone wall behind him. Deep red rinsed over my hands. He stopped fighting and slumped down the wall.

I scrambled back. My chest heaved.

A disgusting squelch drew my eyes back down to Cass. His hand had found its way to the scythe, the scythe which was now coated in fresh blood. A new wave of crimson gushed from his attacker’s throat, his life pouring over Cass’s cream coat before his desperate gasps for air slowed to complete motionlessness.

I trembled as I watched Cass stumble up from the man, and more blood pooled over the floor.

Dropping the scythe, he reached for me.

I flinched, but he gripped my arm and tugged me through the bodies. “We have to keep going,” he said.

I tried to keep breathing. We weaved through the castle, through rooms and corridors and bodies. Screams and footsteps echoed behind us. Most were doomed, trapped as they were in this maze of a castle.

Cass pulled me into a servant’s passageway. The same passageway I’d first entered the castle through.

Why? What was I doing? We couldn’t escape, could we? Would I let us?

We reached the end of the passage, bright, vivid light shining, guiding the way.

“We’re almost there,” Cass panted.

We raced for the open doorway toward freedom, and burst out into the day. Bodies littered the lawn.

My stomach churned. The only bodies out here were in servants’ clothes. These were supposed to be allies.

As we ran, I looked back to the castle. One of the rounded towers at the corner of the castle hadn’t fallen. Its sentinels aimed arrows down. The allies who had come this way hadn’t even made it inside. Luke hadn’t attempted to come in this way, had he?

Across the grass, bordering the edge of the forest, a row of carriages and horses sat idly. Figures flickered in the forest past them. A handful of steeds and thick fabrics flashed through the trees, including a few flashes of silver. Some of the court had gotten away, and so had we.

We ran toward one of the carriages. Over half of them had their horses stripped away, so perhaps more than just a few Rylanders had escaped. I tripped over something as we neared the carriages.

An ally. I recognized him. It was Thomas. Fresh blood gushed from his chest. A crossbow, still loaded and unused, laid beside him.

I covered my mouth and willed myself not to heave over. It wasn’t hard at all to find her too. Only a few feet away, Maxine, facedown, her stolen servants’ clothes drenched in red. Cass finally released his hold on me. He raced to free one of the remaining horses from its carriage.

So many people lost. People who were supposed to be my friends. My family. I let this happen to them. I let them die. I killed one of them myself...for Cass.

Three people dressed in servants’ clothes sprinted out of the castle. They were a distance away but approaching fast, swords and clubs in hand. I didn’t know who the two in the back were, but I recognized the leading man’s figure. It was Luke. They were almost out of the shadow of the castle, almost in range of the sentinels above, ready to shoot down any invaders in sight.

I threw my hands up and begging them to stop. Please, please don’t come any further.

Luke halted, stopping his companions at the edge of the wall’s shadow. He surveyed the bodies between us. How much had he seen?

Had he seen me save Cass’s life?

The moment’s pause that spanned the distance to Luke was shattered as Cass heaved me onto the horse and swung into the saddle behind me.

He darted us into the trees. I clutched his waist but kept my eyes back toward the castle—toward Luke, toward my family—as we ran away.

And I knew they might never want me back.