Nightworld Academy: Term Five

by LJ Swallow

  I don’t recognise this Tobias. In this moment, he looks younger, more vulnerable, and the earnestness in his voice and expression catch me off-guard. This was forced onto us, but as Maeve and Tobias, we’re more.

  "You came here knowing if they try to kill me that you'd die?"

  "Maeve, wherever I am with you, that's a possibility. You have too many enemies for me to count. In my heart, I don't believe the Blackwoods will, but their magic corrupts even the strongest witch." He tenderly strokes my face. "I'll ensure that doesn’t happen."

  We both tense at the footsteps moving along the hallway and I relax against him as they pass by. He pulls himself from the doorway and moves me away from him again. "I can't stay."

  My stomach lurches. “Don’t go.”

  Tobias holds the back of my head and kisses me gently on the forehead. "Someone might come. Sorry. Trust that I’m figuring out what to do, but don't consciously connect with me when the Blackwoods are nearby."

  I nod, suppressing the panic that almost has me clinging to Tobias and begging him to stay. But what's the point? Tobias can pick up on my fear.

  "Nobody will hurt you. They're too busy preparing for Gabriella's arrival tonight."

  Gabriella. I’m terrified what she’ll say or do to me. “Is she as powerful as the Blackwoods?" I ask with trepidation.

  "They complement each other. Maeve, again, I promise I'll keep you safe. We'll find a way out of the estate."

  With one final hug, he sneaks from the room. I sit back on the bed and try to calm the swarming emotions inside. I've dreamed of Tobias in ways I never should, and ached for him to kiss me, but now I know the reason he kept away; I wish I’d never shared that kiss.

  I’m lying to myself.

  His explanation fills me with dread, but I want more from Tobias even though this could kill one of us—or both.

  And Tobias feels the same.

  Chapter Eight

  MAEVE

  The woman who walks into the room is slender and with curves that remind me of Theodora. She’s wearing a short, business-like grey skirt and a red satin shirt, partially unbuttoned at the top to reveal a large onyx stone. The dark hair pulled from her pale face and into a ponytail reveals earrings matching her necklace.

  The day I saw Gabriella's photograph, I saw Andrei in her eyes and face. Although her image is blurred in my mind, as soon as I look into this woman’s eyes, there’s no mistaking who she is.

  This is where Andrei's perfect face comes from—she shares the same features as him, from the sharp cheekbones to the large eyes that match his deep green colour. I can't take my eyes from hers, mesmerised as if she were pneuma, not hemia.

  This woman holds a beauty beyond anybody I've seen—but there's nothing beautiful about the energy surrounding her.

  Her small mouth pulls into a smile and she tips her head as she digs into my mind. I instantly dismiss thoughts of Andrei, instead focusing hard on her fingers linked together in her lap.

  Gabriella’s laughter fills the room, as derisive as Anastasia's earlier, but with a chill that lifts hairs on the back of my neck. "I know you're close to my son, Maeve. I'm aware of all events lately. I do apologise for almost killing you; that wasn’t my intention."

  I look at a spot on the wall behind her head and clench my jaw. “Did you frame Andrei?"

  "No."

  "Then who did?"

  She sighs loudly. "The Confederacy."

  I snap my head around. "That's a lie."

  "Hmm." She taps her fingernails on the chair arm. "When will you and my son realise that you are fighting on the wrong side, Maeve?"

  I take a calming breath. Right now, I don't want to be on anyone's 'side'.

  "Can't you see they're suppressing your full capabilities?" she says in honeyed tones. "This witch you work with at the academy—Sofia? She's jealous and doesn't want you to grow into your full potential. She hates that you'll become more powerful than her. We don't want to hurt you, Maeve. The Dominion would like you to hold an important position. You belong with us. Both of you."

  "He's not interested. Nor am I," I say stiffly.

  "Your friends are planning how to find you, yes. They'll struggle but if they succeed, I hope they'll find that you don't want to leave. After all, Tobias is here and can show you the way."

  Anastasia opens her mouth to speak but Gabriella holds up a hand to stop her. "How close to him are you?" she asks and looks at me curiously. "As close as you are to my errant son?"

  "No," I mumble. Damn her and her mind reading.

  "Liar. Or should I say, you'd like to be. So does Tobias, but he's holding back. The man fears you."

  "Why would he be scared of me?" I retort. "I should be scared of him. He kills witches."

  Anastasia steps forward. "Why didn't I see this? You're the witch he needs to avoid. So why would he risk his life by offering to help you? That isn't his style at all."

  "Explain what you mean," says Gabriella, cold eyes on me.

  "Tobias. A witch cursed him. If he ever loves a witch, he'll kill her in the most painful way possible in order to save himself."

  My stomach fills with acid. That's not the same story Tobias told me.

  "And he'll feel everything. Her shock. Pain. Terror." She wrinkles her nose. "Then he'll live with that for the rest of his days."

  Gabriella stands. "I hope you're not serious."

  "Remember his spectacular work in ridding the world of my least favourite witches? Tobias always thought he was untouchable, but he suffered for his arrogance. Yes, he killed a family as powerful as the Blackwoods, but not before the matriarch cursed him." Anastasia fights a small smile as she slides her eyes to mine.

  "Then you need to return Tobias to his witch-hating state straightaway and keep her away from him," she says curtly. "I can't risk this girl dying."

  "I'm working on that," snaps back Anastasia. "Where are your thanks for bringing him and the future-sighted witch back to us?"

  "You think that's all she is?" Gabriella laughs at her. "There are depths you're unaware of. She's not aware herself."

  Anastasia’s expression changes to distaste and her eyes harden. I’m a threat to her. “I want to see.” Her voice chills my blood. “Let me compel Maeve. Trigger a vision. Something. I'll see beyond what she's aware of.”

  “I wish to speak to her alone first.” Gabriella runs her tongue along her top teeth and my stomach lurches as she reveals sharp canines. This is the first vampire I’ve seen with fangs drawn. Anastasia doesn’t respond. “Thank you, Anastasia.”

  Anastasia’s displeasure radiates strongly enough for me to detect and I look down at my lap, smiling too. I don’t know why, because being alone in a room with one of the Dominion leaders isn’t something to smile about.

  The door closes and the room remains silent. I count the books on the shelves opposite, focusing on the numbers on the spine to disguise my thoughts. Where is Tobias? He said he’d protect me.

  “How is Andrei?” Gabriella purrs after a few moments.

  I want to snap back, ‘as if you care,’ but swallow down the words. “Andrei struggles but he’s doing okay.”

  “Has he recovered from his holiday at Ravenhold?”

  I scowl at her amused face. “I said, he’s doing okay.”

  Gabriella moves towards me and her eyes steel. “I’m tired of waiting for my son to join me. He cannot hide his nature much longer— he's his mother's son. Not a Petrescu. Perhaps without Tobias guarding him, Andrei will come to terms with who he is and the threat on his life. Andrei needs to be with his mother.” She touches her chest in mock maternal sorrow.

  “Andrei isn’t interested in joining the Dominion.” I keep an even expression, desperately fighting my memories of him.

  Gabriella moistens her lips as she studies me harder. I jerk in pain as if somebody grabbed my head and tore my skull apart. Crying out, I drop forward and stare at the floor blurring in front of me. The room disappears from view and I’m trapp
ed inside my mind, spinning around and looking for a way out. Images and voices flicker by like a movie playing in the dark and the pressure against my temples grows.

  I see my past entanglements with Andrei, feel his love as strongly as it radiates from his eyes. But his face changes into something darker as he suddenly grips my neck and squeezes tight. I cry out to him, but the words are strangled, and my scalp stings as he pulls my hair tight until my head tips back. The pain from his teeth in my skin rolls into my mind but I can't scream. I lash out, clawing him in fear for my life. His head moves back, eyes meeting mine again as my blood smears his face.

  Not Andrei. Tobias. I'm sinking towards unconsciousness as the blood spills from me and I beg him to stop.

  The pressure on my throat drops and I scream until everything fades and only the scream remains.

  The images shift again and I'm sitting in a room, sick with worry as my aunt and mother scream at each other in a downstairs room. I didn't want to come here. My aunt scares me. Pressing my hands against my ears, I close my eyes and retreat into the small dark box I hide in when I'm scared.

  I remember this, but hazily. I was fourteen and this is the day I had my first strong vision. Most I understood, but this felt like a hallucination. I saw a man die, his body broken and bloodied. Nearby, people screamed and I caught glimpses of terror and carnage, but I couldn’t see where I was.

  Someone pulled me back to reality before I moved close enough to see his body clearly, but I’m sure didn’t know these people.

  I didn’t see my aunt again after that day.

  I’ve buried that vision in the deepest recesses of my mind, and my body wracks with pain. The pressure in my head grows greater until I see the darkness that almost took me the day Jamie saved me. "You're killing me!" I rasp out as the shadows beckon. "Stop."

  "Dig deeper, Maeve," comes Gabriella’s voice from the edge of the world.

  "I'm dying!"

  The frightening void retreats and I'm aware of my heart thundering in my ears and the pain dropping. Was I dying? Or shouting out in desperation against the pain? I’m lying on the Persian rug close to the chair I sat in moments earlier—moments that stretched towards a dark eternity.

  Groaning, I turn onto my back and wipe at the tears on my face. My hands shake as I stare at the blood smearing my fingers. Somebody clears their throat, and I blink the world into focus.

  Gabriella looks down at me with disdain. “Honestly, Maeve, you could at least try to fight back.”

  “You’re strong,” I say hoarsely, throat sore from screaming. “And you took me by surprise.”

  She tucks a strand of her long black hair behind an ear. "I apologise again. I shouldn't have stayed in your mind as long, but your life over the last few months is fascinating. I'm rather curious about your past, though. Next time, I'll find my way there."

  "Fascinating isn't the word I'd use to describe my life," I mutter. Gingerly, I push myself to sit, tense in case she attacks me again.

  "Your relationship with my son and his guardian is particularly fascinating, although things could end badly between you," she replies, and there's intrigue behind her words. "Intriguing and useful. I must talk to Anastasia."

  Andrei would hate Gabriella calling him her son. I wipe blood from my cheeks with my bare arm, ignoring the sickening pain gripping my face still. What else did she see? More than I remember?

  "Oh, most I already know, Maeve. Confirmation is good and of course everybody has their secrets." She looks to the closed door. "Including our dear Tobias."

  Shit.

  The kiss?

  "I'm not telling Anastasia about your little tryst in the guest room." Gabriella presses her index finger to her lips. "I don't want to interfere with his training." She cocks her head. "Although I do worry that you saw how your relationship ends."

  I rest against the chair, one arm on the seat, and the defeat weighs me down. This woman can hear every one of my thoughts and knows all my secrets. The way she stands over me adds to my vulnerability in the situation, as does the fact I don't know what she's seen or heard. I pull on my weak magic energy to wrap my thoughts inside but the barrier is a thin gauze between us.

  Now I know why she leads the Dominion.

  "I do need to speak to Anastasia about the two things we most desire right now." She waves a hand at me "Apart from you, of course."

  I place my head on the red velvet chair cushion, eyes closed, and take steady breaths. How will I ever get out of this situation? If Gabriella heard that thought, she doesn't respond.

  "One last thing, Maeve."

  Lifting my pounding head, I look back to Gabriella, who holds a phone in my direction. "Smile."

  Stunned, I don't do as she asks. Tutting, she examines the screen. "I guess that will suffice. Thank you."

  Gabriella slips the phone back into the small clutch bag resting on the table and flashes me one last view of her teeth. "A holiday snap for your dear friends."

  I don't watch her walk through the door, instead I listen to my panicked breathing, relieved I'm too exhausted to cry.

  Where was Tobias when I needed him?

  Chapter Nine

  ANDREI

  I've cursed my nightwalker status over the years, but today is the worst. As I sit in my room, Ash and Jamie work towards our next move and all I can do is wait for text message updates from Ash. Unsurprisingly, Jamie hasn't contacted me. Last night, I lost my shit, but wouldn't have seriously hurt him. Yeah, physically, but not as a vampire hurts a witch. That behaviour in the school is what brought us to this place.

  According to Ash, they've spoken to Theodora again and she's settled on a story that Maeve is taking time out, and Tobias has been called away. She now agrees not to tell the story that they're together. Is there any point? Even the simplest people will put two and two together. For Vincent, she'll tell the truth: Theodora hasn't heard from him and has no idea where he might be. Will this help Gilgamesh settle or has he already caused too much damage?

  The sun finally drops below the horizon and I'm out of my room in seconds. We've an hour before class and a lot to talk about—like how the hell we get Maeve out of the Blackwoods' clutches. A day alone with my thoughts and fears for Maeve has wound me tight again; I barge my way into the cafeteria to meet Jamie and Ash and the room quiets. Not an unusual situation—students still point the 'murderer' finger in my direction. Maeve's disappearance will ramp up the prejudice.

  They can think what the fuck they like. I'll be out of this place looking for Maeve as soon as I figure out how we reach her.

  Jamie looks at me through narrowed eyes as I stand over the table, where he sits with Ash, who's shovelling chips into his mouth. "What's happening?" I ask.

  Ash chews as he looks at me. "Nothing."

  I suck air between my teeth and lean forward with my palms on the cool table top. "Where is she?"

  "Do you think we've discovered that in twelve hours?" asks Jamie.

  "Doesn't Theodora have any clue? You must've spoken to her." I drag a chair out and sit beside Ash. "Anything?"

  Ash shakes his head and his mouth turns down. His dull eyes are shadowed by tiredness, and Jamie doesn't look much better. They won't last the night.

  "If Anastasia Blackwood took her and Tobias, they must be at the Blackwood estate. It's a no-brainer," I say in exasperation. "We need to go there."

  Jamie prepares to answer but something behind me catches his eye and he stops. Someone shoves me in the shoulder and I'm out of my seat in seconds, ready to face whoever touched me.

  Yvette's hard eyes meet mine and I groan inwardly. "Where's your girlfriend, Andrei?" Before I can reply, she cranes her head to look at Jamie. "Or is she your girlfriend? Or yours, Ash?"

  "None of your business," replies Ash gruffly.

  "I haven't seen her since yesterday evening and she's usually glued to at least one of you." She jerks her chin at me. "I hope she's alright, Andrei."

  I clench my jaw to avoid res
ponding.

  "She's taking a couple of days away from the academy. The last couple of weeks have affected her badly," says Jamie.

  A curly-haired girl with Yvette makes a derisive noise. "Another cover-up?"

  Ash's chair scrapes loudly across the tiled floor as he stands. "Think what you like, Yvette."

  "I will. I'm watching you all." Yvette and Ash look at each other in challenge, which ends in an exasperated sigh from Ash.

  "Come on," he says to me and Jamie and walks away without waiting for an answer.

  Outside, I kick the stone steps with my heavy boots and swear. "People will blame me," I say. I'll always be blamed for anything happening to a witch, but the thought anybody would accuse me of harming Maeve pisses me off.

  Nearby, two girls in uniform occupy mine and Maeve's bench, intent on phones and ignoring each other. My stomach knots at another reminder she's missing.

  Jamie stands at the bottom of the steps close to the cloisters and his wary look remains. "Yeah, some will blame you for Maeve disappearing. Others will point a finger at Tobias once they realise he's missing too."

  "Only those who know he and Maeve are close," says Ash.

  Jamie shakes his head and I have to agree. This won't look good for him. "We need him right now," I say and look to the star-lit sky. "He's the one who always has a plan."

  "Which is exactly why I'm happy he's with Maeve," says Ash.

  I perch on the wall beside the steps as students wander from the building and head towards the classrooms. "Can't you get in touch with her, Jamie?"

  "Her phone isn't working."

  "No." I tap my head. "Your bond. Can't you speak to her? Matt and Amelia did...do."

  "No." I've hit a nerve because his face sours further.

  Ash rests against the wall beside me, arms crossed. "Where do the Blackwoods live?"

  "No idea," replies Jamie.

  "I don't know the exact location either."

  Both guys stare at me. "Have you visited them?" asks Jamie in horror.

  "Uh. That's how I know the witch last night is Anastasia. We're not best mates, if that's what you're implying. I was young and don't remember much, or how I got there." I scuff my boots again. "If I knew where, I'd already be halfway there."