"I presume you are carefully screening everybody after your lax attitude," says Oskar. "We don't want any more security guards helping the Dominion enter campus."
"They took us by surprise," protests Theodora.
"It was you who allowed somebody to work here who didn't have sufficient clearance."
Theodora’s eyes flash. "I cannot be responsible for every staffing decision made. Especially when the security guard came with a recommendation from the Confederacy."
"It is dealt with," puts in Sofia. "Mistakes are made sometimes."
"And now the witch is at the school, we cannot afford to make any more."
Oskar’s tone adds an extra chill to the room and his unblinking stare brings on a familiar feeling. I hold his gaze. "Could you please stay out of my mind?"
Sofia’s mouth falls open and Theodora glances at Oskar in concern. Andrei sits forward and smirks, taking in the scene.
Oskar’s probing look continues, but he doesn't penetrate my thoughts. "I hope you're the answer to our struggle to stop the Dominion’s growing influence."
"I am sure she is," puts in Sofia.
He turns to her, mouth set in a thin line. "The witch spent her life fighting her gift. That is an extra barrier to her training, is it not?"
Sofia nods. "Maeve still has random visions she can’t control, yes. We are making progress though."
Am I? I don't feel as if I am. Perspiration grows along my back. Will Tobias tell people here what he saw in my mind? I catch Andrei looking at me too. Both glimpsed something—but how? What? I need to know.
"Hmm." Oskar finally breaks his scrutiny and stands. "Theodora, I would like to talk to you more about the situation. I do not want to reach the stage where we need to take the witch from the school."
"Maeve," I interrupt, unable to hold back my irritation. "My name is Maeve."
He ignores me.
"I assure you this academy is the best place for Maeve to thrive. You have my assurances of her safety," says Tobias.
Oskar gestures at the other students in the room. "You must not speak about what happened, but I also did not want you to worry."
Amelia and Ash nod, but their worry is palpable.
I relax when Tobias and Andrei say nothing about what they glimpsed.
They dismiss us. I’m less concerned now—the Dominion must be weaker than I imagined if the Confederacy dealt with them this quickly. But I’m uncomfortable how closely some at the school watch me.
I stand outside the front of the building with Ash, Jamie and Amelia. She looks the most shell-shocked over meeting a high-ranking Confederacy member, but the others faces soften with relief.
"I’m happy Oskar told us what’s happening," says Ash. "I’ve worried someone might attack again."
"Same," says Jamie.
"You never told me that," I retort. "Why?"
Ash and Jamie exchange looks. "We didn't want to worry you, that’s why we downplayed everything when we were around you."
"And do you believe I’m safe now?"
"Undoubtedly," says Jamie.
Ash sucks his lips together and looks away. "They can’t be a hundred percent sure, can they?"
The sick stomach I’ve had the whole meeting grows worse. If my friends have doubts, how can I be sure?
"Are you doubting my grandfather’s words?" Andrei hops down the steps and pauses. He’s amused, not annoyed.
"Do you?" asks Ash.
"I believe the Confederacy will keep us safe, yes." He tips his chin. "Maeve, those who tried to take you wanted to score points with the Dominion leaders. They were outliers who wanted to take you to them like a prize."
"How would you know?" asks Ash and narrows his eyes.
"Really? One future-sighted witch isn't the centre of the Dominion's plans. They have two main aims: disrupting the academies and gaining authority over the supernatural world. She's just a small part."
I rub my face. "I’m confused, but happy I’m safe."
We huddle together and Andrei hovers around the edges. Nobody speaks, as his presence ends our earlier conversation.
Andrei watches us for a moment. "Quite the little gang, aren't you?"
"You’d know all about gangs," retorts Jamie. "At least we don't bully others."
He scoffs. "I don’t have time for bullying people."
Ash crosses his arms, and everybody falls silent again. I almost feel bad for Andrei and how much they distrust him. Almost, until I remember what I witnessed. I don’t trust him either.
Andrei drags a palm across his mouth then heaves a sigh. "Ignore me then." He zips his hoodie. "Next time you need my help, don’t bother asking. But you’re dumber than you look if you think your little gang can protect Maeve without help."
He saunters away.
Chapter Twenty-Five
JAMIE
There are places in the academy few people go. The library is one of them, but I know others too. My connections to Theodora, and exemplary academic record, allow me access to areas on campus that others aren't allowed, in order for me to take time out.
Recently, the migraines I started experiencing around sixteen have intensified, and I'm annoyed because they interfere with my concentration. I've discovered that moving away from the classrooms and people eases them, especially if I stay away from other witches.
Magic gives me a headache.
One place I tend to go is the old gatekeeper's house, tucked into a corner of the estate. When this place was an asylum, the head physician and his family lived here too. None of the current teachers want to, despite its cosiness, because many believe in ghosts, which I think is ridiculous. Besides, if any were to haunt the estate, they'd choose the rooms in the academy that were once wards and treatment rooms. I shudder to think what horrors happened in there.
Visitors to the academy stay here on occasion but as most are Confederacy dignitaries, the small stone cottage with three rooms is beneath their level of required comfort.
Over the last couple of weeks, I've sensed Maeve grow more accustomed to the academy, but she often spends time outside, once telling me she feels she can't breathe in the academy's claustrophobic surroundings. Often, I see her on the rugby side lines watching or chatting to Ash, and they’re friendlier again.
I sense a protectiveness and saw it once, the day he thought Andrei had upset Maeve. They certainly spend more time together, and this draws attention. Especially from Katherine, who believes she should be the school’s paragon, and I've heard her loudly comment exactly who Maeve thinks she is walking in and pushing her way into Ash's life and the position this gives her.
I'm happy because this position means more accept Maeve, but I'm jealous.
Yeah. Jealous. There's something about Maeve I can't explain, but isn't that what attraction is? I've had girlfriends before, but they distracted me. I have enough to do, keeping up family appearances and slogging to maintain my high grades. My aim is achieving a place on the Confederacy council and making our family name relevant again.
Girls are hard work, even when they do all the pursuing. With Maeve, I naturally gravitate to her and can relax. Is that because of the connection we discovered in Sofia's room the other day? Or more?
I'm keeping Maeve close, partly because I love being around her and partly because I still don't believe she’s told me everything. I know when people are holding back. Maeve is.
Amelia occasionally comes along to the cottage, bribing me with promises of baking. The food at the academy is good, but becomes repetitive after a few weeks, and Amelia's cooking is worth the incessant chattering that comes with it. Ash comes too, but generally sits upstairs and stares across the moors. I can't fathom why. Does the popular guy enjoy the peace he can't have inside the academy? Although, he once attempted to persuade me to hold one of his parties here. I explained this is my space and only the lucky few get to join me.
I look out of the window in the small lounge as I wait for the flames to grow in the fire
place. The smoky smell from the wood fire fills the room and reminds me of home. Ash and Maeve walk across the field towards the house, her figure tiny beside his hulking frame. They walk close together but don't touch; both have their hands buried in pockets.
Hope rises. Maeve and Ash haven't crossed the line I thought they might. Maeve has only been here three weeks, and I'm glad Ash is keeping his hands off. She’s confused enough without dealing with more.
Air mists in front of their faces as they approach the door, and Maeve comments on the cosiness when she steps inside.
She pulls off her black gloves and drops them onto the table before unbuttoning her coat. She pulls down the hood and her white-blonde hair is mussed. Ash smooths it down and she swats his hand away. Jealousy bites again.
Ash drops his large frame into the tatty armchair close to the fire and Maeve sits on the sofa beside me. Amelia places steaming mugs of tea on the table.
"I hope there aren't any tea leaves to read in there," says Maeve with a smile as she picks up a mug. "I’m having a day off."
"No chance. This is relaxation away from all things Nightworld, right?" I say.
"Yeah." Ash takes a mug before leaning back and setting his heavy boots on the table. "Maeve wants you to persuade Theodora to let her leave the academy over half term."
I brush my fringe from my face and pick up a mug too. "I don't know if I can wangle that one. Everybody's supposed to stay here."
"Yeah, apart from the rich kids and those of us whose parents are forcing us to work." Ash pulls a face.
"Do you miss home, Maeve?" Amelia sits on the sofa arm and smiles kindly at her.
"I need to be with her," she whispers.
"Where?" I ask.
Maeve pulls her phone from a coat pocket. She scrolls across the screen then hands it to me. "There's an event on Halloween at my old school, and she's going. I saw her in costume at a party, but the surroundings weren't clear. The party must be at my school."
"You could leave campus anyway, even without permission?" suggests Ash. "I'm working over half term and could head back that evening. I could drive us all to Maeve's town? I'll ask my dad for the night off and join you. If Maeve thinks something will happen, I want to be there."
"Me too," I add. "We have a connection."
Maeve gives me a sharp look and I instantly regret my words. We haven't mentioned this to anybody yet.
Amelia's mouth drops open. "What sort of connection? I thought—" She stops herself, but I don't miss her look between Ash and Maeve.
"Not that sort of connection, Amelia. Because we're both spirit attuned, I can sense things too."
I rub an eyebrow. "How do you know something will happen to your friend, Maeve?"
She stares into her cup. "Because if I have visions, something happens. Always. This time, I heard my best friend scream. Something awful will happen to her."
Acid fills my stomach, but I say nothing more. Maeve never mentioned this.
"You should come too," Maeve tells Amelia.
Her open-mouthed expression switches to one of glee. "Yes! Oh, definitely. I'd love to see how normal people live."
Maeve's gives her a bemused smile. "Why? Don't you live near 'normal people'?"
"No. In a family home dating back years. Don't look impressed, it’s basically an old farmhouse in Scotland."
"That's why she likes staying here. Home away from home," says Ash with a smile.
Amelia pokes her tongue out. "I'm fascinated to see a normal human town. That's all."
Maeve doesn't say anything, but the small crease created between her brows when something bothers her is back. To me, Amelia's reaction is normal. To Maeve, drinking tea with two witches and a shifter isn't, and Amelia just pulled her out of the illusion we are.
"Do you think you could persuade Theodora to let us leave for a weekend?" Maeve asks. "I’d rather not sneak away."
"I can try. You'd need your parents’ permission too." The crease returns to Maeve's brow. "Do you think they’ll refuse?"
"Probably."
Amelia nudges her. "We'll organise something, don't worry."
"Invisibility cloak?" Maeve suggests.
And she's back again—the Maeve who makes jokes to stay on top of her fear and stress. "I left mine at Hogwarts," I say with a smile.
Maeve brought her history assignment to work on. She finds this subject hardest, as everything is a world away from any history she understands. I read through the work she's completed while she laughs and jokes in the kitchen with Amelia and Ash, as the pair help Amelia bake a cake.
"You'd better not add any special ingredients!" I call as I scroll through Maeve's document on her laptop. I'm impressed; she's a smart girl and her work is good. "Amelia sometimes bakes to 'traditional recipes'."
"What do you mean?" Maeve reappears and sits beside me. Flour dusts her nose and I resist the urge to wipe the powder away.
"Amelia's family includes witches with nature affinity. They're skilled in creating unusual potions and know a few secret recipes too. Sometimes Amelia slips a few unusual ingredients into food."
"I do not do that!" Amelia calls from the kitchen.
"Uh. You do," retorts Ash. "Remember the time you added goldwort to your cupcakes and gave them to members of the Gilgamesh house?"
"The ones who bullied the little kids? Okay, I'll admit to that. They deserved it."
"What happened?" asks Maeve.
"They couldn't talk for twenty-four hours," I say.
Maeve blinks at me. "You can create food to do that?"
"I can't. Some witches can, but usually it's a potion, because that's easier. Just slip them into people's drinks."
"Plus, cakes get squashed if you carry them around in your pocket," calls Amelia with a laugh.
Her mouth parts. "I've heard of drink spiking, but that's ridiculous."
"Vamps aren't the only ones who have the means to influence others' minds," I tell her.
"I'm never accepting a drink from anybody at the academy now." Maeve rubs her face and the flour spreads across her cheeks. She takes her laptop from me. "How bad is my assignment so far?"
"It's good!" I enthuse, but she looks doubtful. "I think it'll help once you understand the timeline around the Purge and learn the background to the Confederacy creation."
"I get so confused, though." She lowers her voice. "And the more I read about the Dominion, the more worried I become."
"Don't be. You're safe. Oskar assured us, and he’s a man of his word."
I'm aware how concerned Theodora is, and how Sofia's extra lessons with Maeve are to fast track the ability to help the academy, the Confederacy, and herself. Has Ash been asked to keep Maeve in public view? Pushing her front and centre makes her unpopular in the academy, even if it makes her safer.
"The Dominion is a concern, but we can't bring fear into the academy."
"Are you frightened?" Her big blue eyes meet mine and I want to tell her yes. Yes, I'm frightened to know the truth about what she saw in my future.
"No." I reach out and brush away the flour on her face with the back of my hand.
Maeve's mouth parts in surprise and her cheeks flush pink. I show her my fingers. "Flour."
"Oh." She swallows and laughs to herself. "Right."
Maeve's focus shifts to her laptop. "Can you check I have the locations right? I found the Transylvanian connection, which has totally freaked me out because I didn't realise that was real."
I stare as she continues to talk quickly, and the heat doesn't leave her cheeks. My chest tightens. Did Maeve like that I touched her? I'm crap at reading signals from girls, but I've seen how they react when I'm close to the ones who want to be with me. My mind fills with images I've held back. Touching and kissing Maeve. Holding and protecting her, the way I failed to do when she was attacked.
Her delicate fingers move across the keyboard and even in her shapeless blue jumper and leggings, I can picture the curves that distract me.
"Maeve."
She looks back at me and at this moment I wish to hell I hadn't invited anybody else to my hideaway today, because something clicks. Her eyes are open to me, and no longer guarded.
Someone lands on the sofa the other side of Maeve and the whole thing creaks. "Amelia's bloody bossy," says Ash. He slings an arm across the back of the sofa, centimetres away from Maeve’s shoulders, and shifts closer to read her laptop screen. "Why are you two working on a Saturday?"
"I'm helping Maeve with an assignment."
Ash ignores me and licks his thumb as he peers at Maeve's face. "You're covered in flour."
I can't see her expression as he rubs the flour away, but I can see his.
I have competition I could never hope to beat.
Chapter Twenty-Six
JAMIE
The heat from the fire fills the room with a cosiness not found in the academy's large classrooms. The dorm rooms have radiators that keep us warm, but nothing beats a crackling wood fire.
The baking smell still hangs in the air even though there's little left of Amelia's carrot cake, apart from crumbed plates and a small slice that Ash has his eye on. That guy can certainly shovel his food away. Shifters are lucky with their super-fast metabolisms, and they burn energy even when they sit still. You'll never find an overweight Gilgamesh kid.
Ash stretches and looks out of the window. "Aww. Amelia, make the rain stop."
"Don't be ridiculous. I can't stop the weather."
"Yet." I say.
She huffs at me. Amelia has little faith in herself, which doesn't help her.
"I need to go." Ash stands. "There's a team meeting this evening. Are you guys coming back now?"
Maeve stands and looks through the window, where the rain grows heavier and splatters across the glass. "I'll wait. My coat isn't waterproof, and I don't want a soaking."
"Same," I say.
Ash checks his phone. "Crap. I can't wait for the rain to stop. I’m already late. Are you sure?" Maeve nods. "Amelia?"
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