One of Katherine's crew stands at the bottom of the steps watching. The willowy dark-haired girl inclines her head. "I told you the witch was crazy. She doesn't have visions—she has mental issues."
"Shut the fuck up," I growl at her when I reach the bottom stair. She looks at me in alarm and steps sideways.
Several Petrescu kids are gathered with her and watch Maeve with amusement.
"I can hear it. Where is it?" Maeve asks in a panicked voice.
"What's 'it'?" asks a guy beside me.
Maeve holds her hands over both ears and shakes her head. "It's louder in here."
"What is?" Sergei appears beside me and crosses his arms, a sneer tugging his mouth up.
"The heartbeat!"
Katherine's friend looks at the guy beside Maeve and taps the side of her head, mouthing, "Crazy."
Reining in my temper, I shove my way past the gathered kids. "Maeve? What's happening?"
She blinks at me and then grabs my shirt to pull me to her. "Can't you hear the heartbeat?"
Her vacant expression scares me as much as the weird shit she’s saying. "No, I can't. Maybe you're panicking and can hear your heart?"
"No!" Her face pulls into annoyance and she drops her hold on my shirt. “I’m sure the heartbeat is in this building."
"Yeah, a few of us have hearts, sweetie," says the girl.
"No, no, no." Maeve grips her hair and turns in a circle. "Louder. Loudest in this building."
I attempt to take Maeve around the shoulders to move her away, but she lashes out at me. "I have to find the noise; I need to know where the sound comes from."
"Umm. In your head?" says Sergei with a laugh.
"Is she sleepwalking?" asks Katherine's friend, her green eyes wide. "Or did you upset her, and she left your room?"
"She wasn't with me!" I hold Maeve's cheeks and force her to look at me. "Maeve. Listen to me. Wake up."
"I am awake," she retorts.
"Then where are you?"
Maeve pulls my hands away. "In Petrescu. Looking for the thing."
Katherine's friend snickers and if she weren't a girl, I'd be tempted to slap her. "The thing, sweetie? That's not a nice way to talk about Andrei."
"Will you all just fuck off!" I turn and yell, my voice reverberating in the hallway. "Let me deal with Maeve. She's distressed."
Sergei pulls on his lip and nods behind me. "She's leaving."
Spinning around, I see Maeve walking along the hallway, banging on the walls and pressing her ear to the flock wallpaper in places. The snickering and whispering behind me grows. I could turn and tell them to fuck off again, but what if Maeve disappears?
"Somebody find Tobias," I demand. "He's house head; he needs to know."
A familiar blonde head appears, dressed in black silk pyjamas. "What does he need to..." She trails off when she spots Maeve. "What is she doing?"
Her friend gleefully fills her in on the events, and Katherine stands with a palm over her mouth, eyes widening.
Approaching Maeve, I place a hand on her bare shoulder, but she doesn't pay attention, instead continuing to mutter about heartbeats. "Somebody fetch Tobias!” I demand again.
"Why not Sofia? She's Walcott head," says Katherine. "Do you think a witch did this to her?"
"No. I don't know. Sofia is probably asleep—Tobias will definitely be awake."
Maeve's head snaps up and she seizes my wrist. "Tobias. Yes. He would know."
"How would he know?" I ask.
"He can show me." Maeve approaches the guy who spoke earlier and pushes him. "Find Tobias. He'll help me."
Hell, this is surreal. I drag hair from my face. "I can help you, Maeve."
"Can you?" She blinks at me. "Can you show me the way, Andrei?"
"How about you tell her to stop making so much noise?" retorts Katherine. "The last thing we need is someone marching in here and accusing us of assaulting a witch by using mind control."
"Accusing you?" asks Sergei with a laugh. "You're the one who abuses that power."
"Shut up," she snaps. "Andrei, can you get Maeve out of here? Take her to your room or something until she calms down."
"No! Everybody be quiet so I can hear!" shouts Maeve.
Katherine's aghast expression would amuse me if I weren't so worried.
Maeve cocks her head as everybody falls into bemused silence. A guy who's watched quietly whispers to me that he'll fetch Tobias and disappears through the main doors.
"Why can't I find the noise?" asks Maeve. "I need to get this out of my mind."
Alarmed when she starts hitting the sides of her head with her palms, I catch Maeve's arms and pull them away. "Stop! You'll hurt yourself."
She blinks up at me, eyes tearing. "Andrei. Make the noise stop."
Should I be relieved she's responding to me, or horrified by the despair in her eyes? Either way, I'm useless. I pull a trembling Maeve to me—all I can do is hold her tight and hope she stays in my arms. Who knows what she might do next?
Chapter Fifty
ANDREI
Maeve yields to me and tucks her arms against my chest as I grip her. Her heart beats faster than I've heard in a long time, intensifying her scent. I hug Maeve tighter in case she changes her mind, then pull her to sit on the stairs with me.
For a few minutes, Maeve's cheek remains pressed against my chest as I stroke her hair. The rapid breaths don't stop and neither does the muttering about heartbeats. My heart races too, because I don't know what the hell to do next. Onlookers become bored as Maeve's performance is over and they wander away.
Katherine sits on the step above us and chews her lip. "Is Maeve alright?"
"Are you actually concerned?" I ask.
"Well, excuse me if I am," she retorts.
Okay, the night has moved from surreal to impossible. "I don't know, Katherine."
"She hasn't been... right since the day I tricked her," she says in a soft voice. "Have I caused all this?"
Maeve shifts and puts her hands over her ears again.
"No. This isn't a dumb spell. Yes, what you did triggered visions, but other shit has happened to Maeve since then. Don't stress. Nobody will hold you responsible."
Katherine watches Maeve cautiously. "I feel sad for Maeve. Is it true people want to kill her?"
"Who told you that?" I rest a palm over where Maeve covers her ears.
"Just rumours. I mean, she's associating with you, and people want to kill you." I open my mouth to answer. "I'm not saying that to be a bitch, but because it's true. If I were Maeve, I'd ask the Confederacy to hide me."
"Confederacy," I scoff.
Katherine straightens. "Andrei! Don't say the word like that around anybody else."
Where the hell is the guy fetching Tobias? "You don't understand, Katherine. Everything is more complicated than you can understand. Just go away."