by LJ Swallow
“I get that, but Tobias slaughtered her family,” I whisper, one eye on Maeve.
Jamie sits beside me on the bed and sighs. “Whatever our opinions, we support Maeve's decisions. She needs our strength and not our discord.”
“What?” I retort. “You mean we should forgive that lying, murderous bastard?”
“Whoa, Andrei.” Jamie puts a hand on my arm. “I always had my suspicions about the guy and I’m fucking furious too, but I’m scared for Maeve. I hate to say this, we can't push him away completely if he's here to protect her. Tobias will stay in the background and do what he’s cursed to, if he’s sensible.”
Is Jamie fucking insane? Maeve won't forgive Tobias.
Standing, I approach Maeve’s bed and kneel on the floor, reaching out to stroke her hair. She murmurs and pulls the duvet closer to her face. Jamie yawns softly.
“Get some sleep, dude. I’ll stay with her.” Jamie flicks a look between me and Maeve. “I’ve slept most of the day. Nights are my time, remember?”
“I promised I’d stay with her.”
“Jamie. Sleep. You’re no use to Maeve tomorrow if you’re screwed because you’re exhausted.”
“I guess.” He stands by me, over the bed, as if we’re visitors to a patient in the hospital. “I didn’t sleep last night. I hung around the common room in case April came back.”
I nod, as neither of us want to admit that she won't. “Theodora might be able to divert attention from what’s under Petrescu, but she can't keep a student's disappearance quiet.”
“If I were Theodora, I’d evacuate the school.”
“And alert the Dominion and Blackwoods that we’re onto them?” I look back at Maeve. “I think Theodora is treading carefully.”
"I hope the Confederacy persuade her to." Jamie yawns and rubs his eyes.
“Dude. Sleep.”
“Okay. You stay. I’ll come back before dawn.”
Dawn. Missing the day never bothered me until Maeve, but now my nightwalker state takes time away from us and I hate that. “Thanks. One thing, though—I don’t know anything about the Winterfalls, apart from what she told us tonight."
Jamie’s tired eyes widen. “What? Everybody knows from Magical History class.”
“I don’t study, remember?” I say through gritted teeth. “Who were they?”
“Powerful, Andrei. I’ll find you a history book; I doubt you’d know where to look in the library.”
“Ha ha.” But he’s smiling. Accepting. I stroke Maeve's hair again. “Maeve is strong enough to get through this. She always is.”
“Yes, but she lost some of that strength today, and until she’s herself, we don’t leave her alone. Between us, we’ve got this.”
We both look at Maeve, peaceful in sleep as she escapes her day. Please don't let her have nightmares.
But if she does, I'm here and always will be.
I lie on Amelia’s bed, holding my phone above my head as I scroll through music and movies—the only side to the human world that interests me. I steer clear of horror movies nowadays; watching the bloody scenes didn't help my 'condition'. These days I stick to action movies, or anything that switches my brain off.
After Jamie left, I tried to talk to Maeve, to let her know I'm here, but she never responded. I fought with myself because I wanted to climb into the bed and hug Maeve close, but I don’t want to frighten her.
Especially as I've sensed her wariness around me after the images she saw in my mind.
Where did the thoughts come from? The buried instinct attempts to push through my self-control every single time, but I've never fed the hemia lust with my imagination. Not willingly.
Maeve's witch blood is part of what drives my desire for her, so am I lying to us both when I tell Maeve I don't want her blood? That I can deny this side of myself forever, even with Maeve?
“Jamie!” I drop my phone as Maeve calls out his name then drags the blankets away and stands. “Jamie! It's still happening.”
She looks from side to side in panic, her eyes the same as the day she burst into Petrescu looking for the heartbeat.
“Jamie's sleeping. I’m here instead,” I say softly. “More nightmares?”
Maeve frowns at me for a second then rubs her eyes and nods. “Andrei. I thought the heartbeat stopped. I haven't heard it since...the tunnel.” She shivers slightly and in seconds, she's in my arms as I give Maeve the hug I’ve ached to, holding her soft, warm body to me.
She pushes her face into my chest and grips hold of my T-shirt. “We’ll fix this,” I whisper and stroke hair away to kiss her cheek.
“Some things can never be fixed.” Maeve's arms tighten around my waist.
“Sleep. You’ll feel better tomorrow,” I say, and the words sound useless. I wasted my energy on anger with Tobias when Maeve needs everything I've got right now. “Here, I’ll lie down with you.” I guide Maeve back to the bed and smooth the covers. “If you want me to,” I add.
She gives a sleepy smile. “Why would I say no, Andrei?”
I shuffle into the small bed beside Maeve as she lies down, and I pull her against my chest. As I stroke her hair, Maeve's tense muscles gradually relax and her breathing shallows.
“Did you hurt Tobias?” she murmurs.
“Don’t think about him, or any of this. Sleep,” I whisper into her hair.
“Did he hurt you?” she continues.
“If you don’t stop talking, I’m going to kiss you until you shut up.” I nudge her hair to one side and place my lips on her neck.
I shiver as she strokes my arm with featherlight touches. “Then I really won’t sleep,” she says with a soft laugh.
True.
I hear every beat of Maeve's heart and the scent of her blood stirs more than the need to comfort, but I lie still. At times like these, my love for Maeve overrides the desire to possess her completely, that constantly roars through me when we're close. I can believe in myself, in us, and in a future together. But what does that future look like if I hold onto my denial?
Chapter Nine
MAEVE
I wake from a dreamless night with a clearer mind, although the heartbeat continues to thrum in my head. I've learned that if I ignore the sound, it fades into the background, but if I think about the noise it becomes a constant ringing in my ears like tinnitus after a night out with loud music.
Memories of yesterday faded a little overnight; I'm calmer and happy to be who and where I am. Whoa. What the hell did Jamie put in that potion? He promised me no mind-altering effects apart from sleepiness, and of course I trusted him. I'm more suspicious when I sit and my head spins. Blinking away the wooziness, I climb out and search for my clothes.
Where did Andrei go? The sun peeping through the slats in the white blinds answers that question, but I'm surprised I'm alone and I don't want to be. Annoyed that I can't find my phone after several minutes searching, I head out to find Jamie. Hopefully I'm not late for breakfast; without my phone, I've no idea of the time.
Jamie could be in his room, sleeping late from exhaustion too. The Walcott hallways are eerily quiet. I don't once remember passing along here with every room silent or empty. Even the common room usually has a couple of people inside, watching TV or chatting. Huh?
Jamie isn't in his room, unless he's sound asleep and can't hear my loud banging on the door. Turning away, I decide to find Ash. I left the cottage with Jamie before he returned last night and I'm sure he's worried.
The cloisters are empty too, with nobody sitting beneath the tree, or on mine and Andrei's bench. No students sit on the patches of lawn close by. Where are the Walcott kids who usually hang out here in the daytime?
That eerie silence continues as I cross the grounds, and dread begins to build in my chest. I step through the main entrance and trip over something. One of the house banners from the wall that faces the entrance lies on the floor, half torn in two. Walcott. The door slams behind and I jump to alert, but nobody walks in behind.
<
br /> I'm transfixed by the mess in the academy's welcoming entrance hall; the place Theodora displays her pride at her high-ranking institution. A second banner lies close to Walcott—the Petrescu one torn in two. Gilgamesh's hangs by a corner, ready to fall from its place and onto the floor.
What happened?
My heart lurches again and whispering voices in my head replace the heartbeat for a moment. Hurrying along the hallway, I make my way towards the hall the students gather in when Theodora addresses the whole academy.
Is that what's happening? An assembly to inform the students about the tunnels—or April? But that doesn't explain the torn banners. I push the handle down slowly and prepare to sidle into the hall. If the whole academy gathered inside, I don't want to make a grand entrance.
The door hits something and I look down.
A student lies face down on the ground, their blazer sleeves edged by Walcott green. My stomach turns over and I push the door further to take a clearer look at the hall.
Upturned chairs and bodies create a chaotic scene of carnage; bloody like a horror movie. I hold my hands to my mouth and fight vomiting, looking away before I recognise somebody. The silence hovering over the place is dark and dense; everybody and everything quiet and unmoving. I glance at the wall and my stomach turns over as I notice the blood streaking the cream paint. The blood on the wall closest to me is five long streaks and gouged into the wall.
Shifters.
Are they amongst the students? I squeeze my eyes closed and take a deep breath before turning back. On the stage, the mic stand lies on the floor close to the edge. The chairs the professors sit on are empty, but I can't see their bodies. Swallowing hard, my eyes move to the different places my guys normally sit, but without walking over and touching those lying on the floor or slumped in seats, it would be impossible to see who's who. There aren’t any obvious animal forms, though.
I'm not brave enough to do investigate further or stay in this room. Somebody on campus must be able to help. The guards. Where are they? Are they alive?
I tiptoe back and close the door, mind reeling with the images. Are some students still in the academy somewhere? Not everybody attends Theodora's academy meetings, even though they should.
I want to creep away, but I break into a run, through the main doors, almost tripping on a ripped banner as I do. Pausing for thought, I turn back and rush to Theodora's door. Calling her name, I bang the wood until my knuckles hurt. No response. The handle doesn't move when I yank it down.
What do I do?
I drag my trembling hands through my hair. The heartbeat thrums louder in my head and from the same direction as usual.
Petrescu.
We've screwed up.
Where's my phone?
Oh god, I can't believe this is happening.
I can barely breathe with panic, desperately hoping my friends aren't amongst the bodies. Do I go to Petrescu? Risk looking in the tunnel? Can I face what this is alone? My legs won't move because I can't grasp what's happening or what to do next.
Finally finding my feet, I stumble forward and reach the main doors. As I fly through them, I almost trip down the steps in surprise. The sunny day disappeared in the minutes I spent inside. I glance up at the inky black sky, where the moon struggles to shine behind the clouds.
What the hell is happening? Can Anastasia influence time and place at this magnitude?
That's impossible.
Isn't it?
Sliding my hands along my knees, I bend over and focus on calming my breathing. This is a vision. I whisper the words to myself over and over until they sink in. This must be—how could a day darken in a matter of minutes?
A rumble louder than I felt and heard in the library that day sends the ground below me shaking and a ripple moves beneath my feet, the growling from beneath me growing louder. I spin around as something thuds to the driveway behind. A chunk of large stone lands with a thud beside the first I heard, less than a metre from me. Fear spiking my heartrate, I look up at cracks appearing in the academy's thick grey bricks.
Stumbling back as the ground moves again, I watch with my heart banging against my chest as blue flames visible through the doorway lick the edges like a fiery portal to hell.
"Jamie!" I shout. "Andrei! Ash!"
I'm useless, constrained by fear and disbelief.
This is a vision. This isn't real.
But everything seems real from the sound and movement, to the smell of the smoke and heat from the growing fire.
What if I'm looking at reality? Then I've failed everybody. We've failed. Something opened the way through to the hidden part behind that wall in the tunnels. Whatever unleashed has caused this devastation.
Turning tail, I sprint across the lawns towards the woods and academy fence line, eyes blurring with tears as the despair washes over me.
If I'm seeing the future, please get me away from here.
"Maeve!"
At Ash's voice, my heart squeezes with hope and I turn, but I can't see him through the night.
"Ash?"
"What are you doing?" he asks.
"Where are you?" I call in desperation as I turn around and around, peering into the dark. Blue light from the building lit up the surroundings but doesn't reach this far. "We need to do something."
The sounds from the crumbling academy roar through my ears and a presence barrels towards me, invisible but becoming tangible as the shadow touches me and a voice whispers, "She wants your blood."
I scream out as I'm flung into black depths that consume me as I fall, and try to grab hold of something, but there’s nothing but the air around. Voices shout in the space above me, male and female. Gabriella? Anastasia? The heartbeat deafens me as the dark obliterates every sense. This is more than a void—this is the end.
Strong arms pull me from the darkness, and I'm lifted from the ground. My eyes clear and Ash's face comes into view. I pant out relief that the dark didn't swallow me, but that I landed on the lawn.
"What the hell is going on, Maeve?" he asks.
The world returned to the bright day I walked into and the heat on my face comes from the sun and not fire. The noise around stopped and the academy behind Ash is as intact as when I walked out yesterday evening.
But the truth blackens the day.
"I saw the end," I choke out. "I saw the end, Ash."
He clutches me to him, my face smothered against his hard chest as my legs buckle. "It's okay. You're okay," he murmurs against my cheek as he holds me upright.
I suck in what air I can to calm myself, but the hyperventilating prolongs the dizziness. How can I voice what I saw? Nothing made sense.
Ash continues to soothe me as he strokes my back and reassures me that I'm safe. As my breathing settles, I pull away and look around, almost too scared in case I see chaos. Ash wipes my cheek with a thumb and smiles, but his expression is shadowed with more than concern for me. My words scared him.
"Everybody's safe?" I croak out. "Nothing happened yet?"
He shakes his head. "An ordinary day. Well, as ordinary as we get."
I nod and slide my hands down my legs the way I did a few minutes ago, bending over to take in deep breaths. "We have to stop them. The Dominion are coming to the academy."
"We know they are, Maeve, and we will stop them." Ash crouches down and pushes my hair to one side so he can cup my cheek. "Things are fucked up for you right now, I'm not surprised you're—"
"Losing my mind?" I straighten again. "I lived the moments I just saw. I'm becoming my aunt." Tears well again. But how can I be like her? We may both be spirit-attuned, but I'm not part of her line in any way.
"We should find the others," says Ash gently holding out a hand.
I stare blankly at him, so he takes my fingers and clasps both of his hands around mine. I've never seen pain in Ash's face, but I am now. "I'm broken for you, Maeve. I can't believe what they've done to you."
They.
"I don't kn
ow what to do," I whisper. "I don't know where to go from here. How do I stop what I don't understand?"
Ash wraps me in his arms again, his powerful body cocooning me once more, away from the academy and the witches and vampires. I'm safe from that world when he pulls me into his. What does Ash have that makes me feel safe with him? Others in my life use their magic or powers to help, and Ash has none. But Ash's love is unmistakable to everybody who sees us, and the gentle care from a guy who naturally intimidates with his bulk brings me a shared comfort when we're together.
He can calm me as easily as any mental magic would, but for one reason only.
Because he's Ash.
Chapter Ten
MAEVE
Theodora calls me to her room, alone. Has she sensed by vision? No, she can't read minds from far away. I glance up in trepidation as I step back into the academy; the house banners hang in their rightful place and students wander by, some throwing me inquisitive looks as they do.
Jamie knows about my vision; Ash guided me to look for him, and his reaction matched Ash's. Shock. I could text Andrei, in case he's awake, but I will tell him face to face, otherwise he'll freak out that he can't come to me.
Nobody mentions telling Tobias.
I discovered that nobody confronted Tobias yet, apart from Andrei, who returned unscathed but hasn’t shared what happened. Ash told me he almost joined Andrei, and I could see the fury still in his eyes, but I’m relieved he didn’t attack Tobias. What good will violence do us? Jamie is tight-lipped about Tobias, but I sense confusion from him. He gave Jamie the pendant to protect him—and protects me. His anger bubbles below the surface too, but silently.
The two guys want me to stay with them, but when Theodora asks a student to go to her, there's no arguing.
Theodora calls me into her room, and I tense with surprise as she immediately walks over and rubs my arm, sympathy filling her face. She's never crossed from her role as my academy head professor, and this change in her demeanour scares me as much as it comforts.
