Two forms. Does this mean that the killer hadn’t worked alone?
Chapter 22
As I fly again, I zoom out of there. The boys aren't anywhere to be seen, and I dash back to the cottage, flying a bit too on the nose for an actual fly, but I don't care. I need to get back as soon as possible.
The moment I fly into my room, I shapeshift back to my normal self, full height.
Orchid’s sitting on her bed. She just eyes me and shakes her head. “Do I even want to know?”
I rub the back of my neck, take a step, and nearly fall over. The heavy use of magic has me so dizzy that I have to sit down. The nearest furniture is Orchid’s bed, and I sit on the end of it.
“What’s wrong?” she asks, sounding alarmed instead of her earlier wry tone.
“I’m just a little out of it. I’ll be fine.”
“You aren’t pregnant, are you?” she demands.
My laugh is weak. “You have to have sex to be pregnant.”
“I know, but—”
“I only had sex the one time, and that was two years ago. No, I’m definitely not pregnant.”
Orchid gives me a look and flies out of the room without another word. When she returns, she has an array of bread and cheeses that, thankfully, aren't almost moldy.
I start to eat, but I still don't feel right. Orchid leaves and returns with water. I down the entire glass, and only then can I eat some of the food. Once I swallow the last bite, I feel a bit better.
My phone is vibrating like mad, and I pull it out as Orchid takes the plate and empty cup away. The boys are frantic, wanting to know if I’m out of there.
I smirk as I create a group chat and text back that they're lucky that I'm out of there, or else my phone blowing up from their texts would've outed me.
“Where are you?” I text them.
Now, their phones go silent.
“You aren’t locked up, are you? You can’t be. You have your phones,” I text.
Still no answer.
“Guys, please. I’m sick to my stomach worried here.”
Still nothing.
“I won’t tell you what I learned until you tell me where you are.”
“We’re in the infirmary,” Damon texts.
“Just how badly did you two hurt each other?” I ask.
“We’ll be out in no time,” Sage texts.
“Why aren’t the fairy nurses or doctors healing you?”
“The guards told them to wait an hour,” Damon texts.
I rub my forehead. I’m exhausted, and the letters are swimming before my eyes, but I manage to text, “They want you to be in pain for an hour first?”
“The hour’s almost up,” Damon says.
“An optimistic half-demon. Will wonders ever cease?” I hit send and then cringe. What if he doesn’t appreciate the text?
Damon sends a string of crying/laughing emojis. Sage does too.
I grin and then yawn.
“Well? Your turn. Tell us what you found.” Sage’s demand comes through his text clearly.
“Nothing much, but I think I might’ve seen something that she saw shortly before she died. I think there might have been two killers, or at least the killer hadn’t been alone.”
There’s a long pause.
Finally, Damon sends, “So, where do we go from here?”
“You two need to heal and recover. Keep a low profile.” I hesitate, thinking and then hit send.
“And what about you?” Sage asks.
“I’ll let you know what I come up with for our next move.”
I fly over to my bed, collapse onto it, and promptly pass out.
When I wake, it’s the middle of the night. I’m hungry, so I make my way to the kitchen. To my surprise, someone’s already there. Wren’s staring at her mug as if she could melt it with her vision.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her.
She takes a big gulp. “Nothing,” she mumbles.
I help myself to some honey mead and grab some berries to munch on. After I settle beside her, I hold out the berries, but she ignores me. With a shrug, I start to eat.
The silence bothers me, so I clear my throat. “I was going to wait until the morning to ask you this, but do you think you could talk to Pine for me? See if they have anything yet? I really feel like I can’t move on. Professor Luna deserved more.”
“She does deserve more, but I won’t. I’m sorry. I’m not… Pine and I…” She drains the rest of her drink, staring straight ahead with glassy eyes.
“Wren, talk to me. Something’s bothering you. What? Is it something with the murder? Or with Pine?”
“Pine doesn’t think we should be together while he’s working here, not until after I graduate, and I’m done. I’m sick of being on and off. If we aren’t going to be together for real, then what’s the point in waiting?”
“Are you serious?” I gape at her.
Wren goes to drink from her glass again only to realize it’s empty. I push mine over, and she drains mine.
“Actually, he was the one to break us up,” she mumbles. “He thinks I’m too young for him. He clearly just wanted to chase my wings.”
“Oh, Wren.” I reach over and rub her back. I feel terrible for her. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Go back in time and tell me not to waste my time on him.” She heaves a sigh. “I’m sorry. If you want to try to talk to him, go ahead, but I won’t be your go-between.”
“No, no, of course not. I had no idea.”
“Yeah, well, I feel stupid. I should’ve realized that a guard wouldn’t want to be with a student. I just… I wasted my time here on him. Other guys tried to draw my attention away, but I was too drawn to Pine. He seemed so put together, you know? He had a job, and he knew what he wanted… Or I thought he did at least as far as women go, but no. He knew what he wanted career-wise, and now that he’s the top fairy, he has to focus on keeping it, especially since that position seems to be cursed lately.”
“Maybe he’ll return turning his wings on you,” I say sympathetically. “He’ll look back and realize he never should’ve picked his job over you, and you can tell him to fly away and leave you be because you have your life in order and don’t need him to mess things up.”
Wren smiles despite the tears running down her cheeks. “Thanks, girl, but I don’t have my life in order.”
“Just make sure that your clothes are in order in your drawer. Then you can tell him that without it being a lie. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
Wren giggles. “That’s something Bay would say.”
"No, it's what I would say because my friend needs to be uplifted. Besides, maybe he won't even solve the murder. Maybe I'll solve it out from under his wings, and he'll get fired." I eye her. "Do we want him fired?"
Wren sighs and shakes her head. “No. He doesn’t really want the job, but someone does have to solve the murder. Why not you? It would be his fault if he can’t solve it first.”
“Yes. So don’t you worry about talking to him. I’ll do my best without his help.”
“Good. Okay. Maybe I can sleep now. Are you going back to bed?”
“After I eat some nuts.”
“Goodnight, Rosemary. Thank you.”
“Anytime.”
Chapter 23
The next day, like it or not, I have to go to class. I can’t continue to pretend that my classes don’t matter. It’s so hard to have an empty period where Illumination once was. The professors have said that someone will step up to teach Professor Luna’s courses, but so far, no one has, and I hope they won’t. It hurts too much to think about another professor trying to get us to open our minds when our hearts are all affected by her death. Out of all of the professors on campus, Professor Luna had to be one of the most well-liked. She was smart and funny, kind and skilled. Some professors are very knowledgeable in their craft, but that doesn’t always mean that they can pass that knowledge off to their students. Professor Luna could, even
if I struggled. My failures were on me, and not her at all.
The whispers continue, of course.
“Demon-lover.”
“Why do you think she was able to solve those other crimes?”
“I bet she helped the others commit the crimes and then blamed the others.”
“I used to think she was light but not anymore.”
“Her sister is worse, though. She’s going to grow a demon in her belly one day. I just know it.”
I try to ignore them as best as I can. They’re terrible gossips, dark themselves for thinking such things, and that’s not counting their spreading rumors.
All I want is to be able to hold my head up high and spread my wings proudly. I will not let them cause me to cower. They can think what they want, but I know I’m in the right. They can say all they want that I’m dark, that I’m connected to the crimes, but it’s just not true. Everyone with a brain knows that.
Just outside of my first class, I notice Sage and Damon there. My smile is wide. Seeing them together is enough to make me grin. I’ve missed them so much, and I hate that we don’t have any classes together this year.
“We waited for a text about what you want to do next,” Damon says.
"No idea just yet. For now, we need to go to class. If there are two killers… if the killer isn't working alone… Without knowing the motive, we don't know if they'll strike again, but I'm not sure we can learn the motive." I bite my lower lip. "I might have to see about talking to a guard, but that's the last resort."
“It would help to know where she was killed,” Damon says.
Sage nods. “Was it in the office? Is that why you were able to see something?”
“Maybe. Or maybe I didn’t see the killers. Maybe she was being blackmailed for something?”
Damon grimaces. “She doesn’t strike me as the kind to have any darkness in her for anyone—”
“Didn’t,” Sage corrects quietly.
I wince. “I agree. I don’t know if anyone would blackmail her. Maybe they wanted something from her? Wanted her to do something for them? If she refused, and they were desperate, maybe that’s why they killed her.”
“Too many ifs,” Sage says.
“Learning the murder location might help,” Damon says.
“And how exactly she was killed,” Sage adds.
“We’ll see if we can find that out,” Damon says.
“Be careful,” I murmur. “People are watching you.” I let out a breath. “And me and Bay.”
Sage grimaces. “I don’t like the idea of people watching you.”
“It’s because of me, isn’t it?” Damon’s scowl is fierce.
“It’s because I’ve put my nose into the previous crimes,” I say.
“Don’t be naïve,” Damon growls. “It’s also because of me.”
I shrug. After all, I can’t deny it. We both know it’s true.
“Just don’t get caught snooping around or asking someone who you might not be able to trust,” I plead.
Damon winks. “You don’t need to worry about us, darling.”
"I'm just glad you're willing to let us help instead of tackling all of this by yourself." Sage reaches out and squeezes my shoulder.
My heart flutters, and I grin at them both. “You two are the best, and I don’t deserve to have you both in my life.”
“No, you really don’t,” Damon jokes.
“You deserve the world,” Sage says.
“A safer world,” Damon interjects.
“I’ll make the world safer,” Sage counters.
“I’ll protect her.”
“She doesn’t need protecting, do you, Daredevil?”
I just shake my head at them and hold up my hands even though I don’t miss that he’s called me by my nickname. “Get to class. You’re going to be late.”
"Worth it," Sage whispers in my ear.
I shiver and watch as he flies off, a guard hot on his tail.
Damon cups my face. “You need a new nickname.”
“Oh, yeah? Warrior Babe doesn’t suit me anymore?” I ask lightly.
“If you’re being honest, you prefer Daredevil to Warrior Babe, don’t you?”
I say nothing because I can’t lie.
“That’s fine. You can pick his nickname so long as you pick me.”
“Damon…”
“You will have to pick. Once the killer or killers are dealt with.”
“Dealt with?”
“If we’re dealing with two, the fight they could put up will be far worse than Spring with her violence and Thistle and his going after you.”
“All the more reason for us all to be careful,” I say, my heart pounding this time in fear.
“I’m always careful.”
“Why do I doubt that?” I ask dryly.
Damon winks, and he takes off.
“About time you could join us for class,” Professor Fern Stone says.
I lower my head. Of course the professor who is taking over for Professor Luna at least for the day would be my old Magic of Music professor.
Quickly, I go to take my typical seat, only someone else sits there, and I have to fly all the way to the back to take the only desk still available. Along the way, I hear more and more comments, the majority referencing my sister until it reaches the point that I want to explode. They are torturing me, and there’s one way to end the whispers. One way for Bay to stop all of this nonsense. One way for the others to leave us alone now and forever.
My classes go by in a blur, and I zoom back to the cottage. All I want is to be able to talk to Bay, but she’s not here.
I call her, but she doesn’t answer, and my text is ignored for an hour.
“Don’t worry. I’ll come back to sleep in the cottage tonight,” she sends.
“If I’m asleep when you get in, wake me.”
“Is something up?” she texts.
“I just want to talk.”
“About?”
This time, I’m the one answering with silence. If I tell her, she might not come, and right now, I really need her to.
Unsurprisingly, I have too much on my mind to sleep. Considering I don’t even bother to lie down in bed, I can’t possibly try to sleep. I just pace back and forth in the kitchen since she tends to come in the back door versus the front. The thought crosses my mind time and again that I could wait in her room, but I don’t. The risk that she might find that offensive is too high. I don’t want to risk her wrath before I have a chance to explain my position.
When Bay flies in, she rolls her eyes but smiles. "You waited up for me?"
“It’s not that late,” I return.
“It’s after midnight.”
"Sometimes, I stay up until midnight doing work."
"Well after midnight." She waits for a beat. "Three in the morning."
"Oh. Time got away from me. And you too, maybe?"
“Maybe.” She sighs across from me.
“Long day?” I ask.
“Not any longer than usual.”
I lift my eyebrows. “You’ve been up for almost twenty-four hours straight.”
“I’m not sleeping much,” she admits.
“You and me both. Why aren’t you sleeping?”
She sets her teeth on edge. “There’s so much going on right now, you know?”
“Oh, I know. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. I was thinking… Hear me out, okay?” I blow out a deep breath.
Bay eyes me curiously. “What’s going on?”
“I just think you should cooperate with the authorities,” I blurt out. “Just let them use telepathy on you. You can prove your innocence just like that, and everyone will stop with the talking behind our backs. The whispers, the glares, all of that will just disappear.”
Bay’s face falls into a mask that conceals her every emotion before shattering into a perfect picture of anger and rage.
“You think I had something to do with our professor’s death?” she explodes
. “You think I should cooperate with the authorities? The guards and the police haven’t come around asking me any questions. They don’t suspect me, so why should you? Who gives a flying fuck what the other kids are saying? They’re beneath me, and they should be beneath you. They can say whatever the fuck they want, but you hear me out, okay? You ever suggest that I should just let them use telepathy on me again, and I’ll tell them to use it on you. How about that?”
“Bay,” I protest.
She holds up a hand. “Don’t talk to me.”
She blows past me to her room. I follow, but she locks the door. By the time I force my way inside, she’s gone. Her room is empty.
Fire and brimstone, that didn’t go as planned at all. Clearly, Bay’s done something she doesn’t want the police to know about. The only question is what?
Chapter 24
My heart’s broken as I sink to sit on the edge of Bay’s bed. She’s gone off to Zoth. She’ll tell him what I said, and it’s going to form a wedge between us. She’ll cling to him all the more, and she’s going to start to hate me.
Honestly? I’m starting to hate myself.
How could I have doubted Bay? I assumed the guards and police were considering her a suspect, and just by that assumption, a part of me, deep down, considered her one too. She had every right to be upset with me. What I did was unforgivable.
It doesn’t matter what everyone else is saying, what they’re whispering. They don’t know Bay like I do, and even I failed her.
I’m the worst sister in the world.
Not only do I have to clear Damon and Zoth, but I also need to clear Bay too.
The next morning, Sage texts in the group that they haven’t learned anything yet, but they’re going to keep trying.
I text back, “I’m going to talk to a guard too.”
"Are you sure?" Damon asks. "If too many of us ask the same questions…"
“I’m not going ask the same questions,” I type back. “Don’t make assumptions.”
“Hmm. I don’t mind looking at your ass,” Damon texts.
“I’ve grabbed it,” Sage adds.
Light Fae Academy: Year Three Page 11
