Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
The cistern went quiet.
I pulled up a video on my phone. The recording was paused, and on the screen Phillip, a thin blond kid, was caught in mid-shout, his mouth open and his face weird.
Tia hadn’t disabled her bodycam. She also thought I had seen the footage, because she figured out that I’d talked to her stepmother, who had access to it. Mrs. Madero had gotten worried and came to the gym just as we finished our light workout. Tia became heated with her stepmother, and Mrs. Madero explained that she hadn’t watched the footage, because she respected her daughter’s privacy. Then Tia needed a moment and went to the bathroom for a while. I got my footage and Phillip’s location and got out so they could have their family time.
I restarted the recording and turned the sound up.
“Stop! We’re not done!”
“We are so done, Phillip. We are over.”
“Tia! I said you can’t leave! TIA! I said STOP!”
On the screen, a sheet of blue ice shot from Phillip. For a moment it blocked out the view and then Tia’s fist smashed into it. Cracks fractured the ice wall. She hit it again, then again, and the ice bubble burst.
“You iced her.”
“I didn’t hurt her! I just didn’t want her to leave!”
“You encased your girlfriend, the person you’re supposed to love and care about, in a block of ice, because she broke it off with you after you embarrassed her in front of everybody.”
“I didn’t mean...”
“Phillip. This is not high school. This is big-boy, adult shit. You attacked a member of a combat House. There are consequences. This could start a feud. Your mom and dad can’t get you out of it, because if this comes out, they will be too busy screaming while Dave Madero twists their heads off.”
Silence.
“He can’t do that. There are rules,” he said finally.
“Oh good. How could I forget that House Madero is famous for their rule-following. Let me explain to you what will happen: this footage goes public. Dave Madero gets his brothers, and the five of them go over to House Seaton. House Seaton views that footage and realizes that you are at fault. Sure, they can feud with the Maderos, but it will be dangerous and expensive. You are not worth it.”
“My dad—”
“Will be very upset, but he has to think about your mom and your two brothers. Why should they pay for this mess you made? If Dave is feeling charitable, you will be jailed. Your family will still likely pay a massive restitution.”
“She put me in here! Doesn’t that count as kidnapping?”
“It does, but I just recorded you saying that you wanted to kidnap her first.”
“I didn’t!”
I replayed the recording for him. “I just didn’t want her to leave!”
Silence.
“Why are you doing this to me?” he asked.
“I’m not doing anything. You did all of this to yourself. You didn’t even ask me if Tia is okay. Being iced hurts. Ice that cold burns when it touches you. I know you can’t feel it, because you’re an ice mage, but surely somebody explained that to you before.”
I added the second fence post to the first one and knotted it up.
“Is she okay?” he asked.
“No. She is hurt and angry.”
More silence.
“Something bad is happening to you, Phillip,” I said. “Tia told me that when you first started going out, you were a kind kid. Now you’re stalking influencers and reading books written by losers.”
“Areston isn’t a loser.”
“Of course he is. Anybody who has to beat his own drum that hard is a loser. Who is the scariest Prime you can think of?”
“Mad Rogan.”
Serendipity. “Do you see Mad Rogan running around Houston telling people how alpha he is? Do you think he’s on Herald, talking about peak protocols?”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“He is Mad Rogan.”
I twisted the fence posts. Metal groaned.
“What is that noise?”
“Don’t worry about it. Tia said that when you’d just started dating, she’d had an accident and hid in the bathroom. She didn’t know anybody who would help, so she texted you, and you left campus, bought her tampons and a new pair of shorts, and snuck it to her in the girls’ bathroom.”
Silence.
“That Phillip had Tia. This new ‘peak’ Phillip lost Tia and is now stuck in a cistern, trying to figure out how to keep his family safe from the mess he made.”
“What do you want?” he asked. He sounded defeated.
“I want to go home and take a nap. Right now, though, I want to save you from yourself because of that tampon run.”
I pulled his phone out of my pocket, stood on my toes, and tossed it through the gap in the top of the cistern, which Tia had left so he wouldn’t suffocate. Tia had taken his phone after their fight, and I had confiscated it from her. I also explained to her the pitfalls of keeping evidence that can incriminate you for future reference.