"Magic accidents can be nasty, Maeve. Just ask Amelia’s sister."
My pulse races in anger. "I’m not scared of bullies. Move."
She slowly backs away and pulls an innocent face. "I’m only giving you a friendly warning. Catch you tomorrow, Maeve."
I glare after her as she stalks away, humming to herself.
Bitch.
But her comment about Amelia’s sister hit me hard. I’m unaware what happened to her, but the injuries are serious enough that she’s housebound. Is Katherine a harmless, cliché mean girl, or are her ambitions more sinister?
My heart thumps hard and I’m gripped with nausea. Why did I let Katherine get under my skin?
The day I arrived here, I was pissed off somebody had taken away my choices for the next two years.
I never realised they’d taken away my choices for the foreseeable future.
Pleading with the fates not to throw anything else my way tonight, I walk across the chequered tiles towards the open doors.
Katherine has vanished, and I hurry across the cloisters back to Walcott house before she reappears. The open door welcomes me home as warm light shines out.
"Maeve!" Jamie’s voice calls out from where he waits for me in the doorway. "I’ve been looking for you."
Those words. My mind blackens, and the images hit like a sledgehammer to my skull, tearing through my mind with a greater ferocity than ever before. I stumble and hold my hands either side of my head, but the future has a tight grip on me.
This image of Jamie isn't the same as all the others.
It’s worse.
Jamie lies on the ground, staring upwards through glazed eyes. Bloodied.
Dead.
As I shake my head hard, the images are obscured as if my mind is a snow globe. I turn my face to the sky. Please, let tonight end without any more pain. The tears come as suddenly as the vision. They trickle down my cheeks and dampen my ears, as I fight against sobbing out loud.
Nothing has changed.
Jamie will still die.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to ZL Morris at Zoe’s Author Services for helping me out with the last minute proofread.
Congratulations to Tessa Rivera for winning the character name competition. Maeve’s friend, Tessa is named after you.
NIGHTWORLD ACADEMY: TERM TWO
Copyright © 2019 by L J Swallow
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
v6
Created with Vellum
Chapter One
MAEVE
The rain batters the bedroom window, and as I stare at the water pouring down the glass, images flicker across my mind. Panic seizes hold and my chest constricts, but these aren't visions of the future. The images are yesterday’s memories.
I squeeze my eyes closed to push away the thoughts, then check my phone as I wait for Amelia to wake. There are messages from Tessa, including the one I waited for last night that reassured me she arrived home safely. I’m relieved she sent the message, but I stopped worrying about Tessa’s safety once I knew she was never the target.
After half an hour curled up in a chair listening to Amelia's gentle snoring, I give up waiting and grab my raincoat and boots, ready to brave the weather for a walk. The rain slowed, but dark clouds cover the November sky.
We arranged to meet Jamie and Ash later, and also need to talk to Andrei, but until Amelia wakes, I’m taking time to clear my head. After scribbling a note to her, I leave the room.
My walk takes me along the academy’s fenced perimeter to the edge of the woods behind the buildings. Students sometimes hold parties in a nearby clearing, and I’m told one is planned for later in the week to celebrate Guy Fawkes Night. Seems strange that a bunch of supernatural kids choose to celebrate a strange, human tradition. Any excuse for a party, I guess. I skirt around the woods because I’d rather avoid walking anywhere I don't know.
Passing the sports hall towards the rugby pitches, I make my way back to the academy. I never thought I'd become intimate with the game’s rules, but the more I watch Ash play, the more I ask questions and learn. I’m a true rugby team groupie now, often watching the team with pride as they win against the local schools. Is it wrong that they have an unfair advantage since the other teams aren't shifters and witches? Probably.
I once asked Ash whether the team plays the other Nightworld academies, and Ash told me rarely. The Confederacy keeps the schools separate, which makes little sense to me. Shouldn't the academies be unified? Apparently, the Confederacy avoids grouping too many of us together as we’re all potential targets for the Dominion. Occasionally, teams meet for friendly matches, although judging by Ash’s stern face, they’re never ‘friendly’.
The drizzle becomes large splotches of rain, and I hurry across the fields back to the academy. I'd hoped to stay out walking longer in case Katherine is lurking to talk to me again. Or in case Tobias calls me in for another dressing down.
Has he told Theodora yet? Surely Tobias can't keep all this hidden.
A figure sits on the ground close to the rugby goal posts, his broad back hunched over and chin on his knees. Ash. He's jacketless—I can see his bare arms from where I pause to look. Why is he sitting alone in the rain?
"Hey, Maeve," he says before I reach him, and he doesn’t move.
"You're getting wet."
He turns his head, his face glistens with rain and hair flattened against his head. "I don't mind."
"You must've been here a while."
"I lost track of time.” He wipes his face with an arm. “Why are you wandering the academy grounds in the rain?"
"Clearing my head."
Ash looks to the ground and nods. "Same."
I crouch down beside him. "I don't often see you alone. Are you sure you're alright?"
Water shines on his lips as Ash turns back to me, and he pushes his hand through damp hair. I want to ask if not caring about the weather is a 'shifter thing' but am uncomfortable mentioning his shifter side after last night.
"Are you alright?" He's intense again, the dark eyes staring into my soul the way others try to stare into my mind.
Heat spreads through as I remember how close we stood last night, and his scent is stronger in the rain. My legs hurt from crouching, so I stand again.
"Last night—" I begin.
"There's a lot of crap to sort through." Ash stands too. "I've never found myself in that position before, Maeve. It was kinda scary."
I glance at his wrists where red lines mark his skin. “I bet. They tied your hands.”
"Not what they did to me, but because I totally lost my shit."
"Yeah, you did get a bit Hulk on them."
"Not funny."
I sigh and take Ash’s hand. His fingers are damp but unnaturally warm, and he looks down in surprise. “I heard you skip the classes that would help you control your shifter nature, Ash."
“I skip them because I don’t want to change what I am. If someone is under threat, I don’t want to stop and think, because that costs time. I can’t worry who’ll get hurt.”
But I worry, I almost say. I worry his brother’s death influences him too much.
Rain trickles from my hair onto my nose and drips off. Another drop rolls and Ash reaches out to wipe my face the way he wiped the flour away that day in the cottage. My heart thrums. The physical attraction I have to Ash is unlike anything I've come across.
At first, I thought I was attracted to his raw power and killer looks—which undeniably is a big reason—but I’m falling for something more. He's gentle and thoughtful and, like many others, I thrive on the sunshine that Ash’s nature brings to this gloomy place. Ash’s other side is dark and stormy, which scares me."I wish I understood," I tell him.
<
br /> He gives me a rueful smile and drops his hand. "I worry about a lot of things. I spend time overthinking and then the indecision stops me. Or I miss the moment. That's annoying too."
“What kind of things?”
His gaze drops to my mouth before his dark eyes meet mine again. “I can’t decide whether to tell you, sorry. Indecision sucks, huh?”
I push him in the arm and pout. “Funny.”
Sighing, Ash winds an arm around my shoulders and hugs me close. "Come on."
I allow him to guide me across the fields towards the main building. Ash confuses the hell out of me. The friendly arm around my shoulders and hugs are the same as those he gives others. He's tactile by nature but stops people growing too close to him by not singling out anybody for his affection.
Is the indecision he's talking about linked to me? The possibility feels greater after last night, but the idea both thrills and scares me. What girl wouldn't want to be the centre of Ash's world?
As we reach the steps to the building, I spot Katherine. She stands at the top and glares at the rain as if the weather is a personal insult, and shakes open a large pink umbrella. I duck away from Ash's friendly embrace, but I'm too late. Katherine pauses, umbrella half open, and turns her glare from the rain to me.
Ash keeps striding forward. Do I follow him or hang back?
"Katherine," he says in greeting as he walks by.
I hurry up the steps behind him and Katherine finishes opening her umbrella. A metal spoke almost pokes me in the eye, and I rub my cheek where the metal touched me.
"Sorry, Maeve," she says sweetly.
I narrow my eyes and keep walking, tense against another snide comment or sneaky poke from her umbrella. Katherine says nothing, but the weight of her displeasure rests on my shoulders as I hurry inside.
Chapter Two
MAEVE
The four of us arrange to meet in the cafeteria, the most neutral place we can find. I sit with Jamie and Amelia while Ash searches for Andrei. Early evening, post-dinner, means most other students have left, but a small group of girls from Gilgamesh sit at a table towards the back of the room, chatting. Our group have a lot to talk about too—so much that we don't know where to start. Hopefully the girls won’t hear our conversation.
Amelia left her usual exuberance behind today. She’s jittery, tapping a coffee stirrer on the table. Irritated by the noise, I take the plastic stick from her.
"Do you think Tobias told Theodora yet?" she asks me.
“Tobias told me he wouldn't," I reply.
"I don't believe that," says Jamie. "He's a professor and we broke academy rules."
I cast my eyes down. He's right, but I have to hope not.
Jamie wears the academy uniform white shirt, sleeves rolled up, and his lean, sun-browned forearms rest on the table. His blazer is hung over the chair behind him. Jamie is calmer than I expected today, but he’s focused on his hands, spinning the signet ring around his finger. His hair dips into his eyes, hiding his expression.
Has he put on a front for us? Jamie ran to me when I cried outside Walcott house last night and asked why. We agreed no more secrets, and I told him. Jamie hugged me, said not to worry, and assured me he would cope.
Like me, he wanted to believe Halloween was the vision I had of his future. That I’d changed events and saved his life. But if we’re honest, Jamie and I both knew there were too many inconsistencies between my original vision and what occurred.
The closeness to Jamie that I’d lost snuck back in that moment, and I sit beside him now, fighting against taking his hand and sharing comfort.
I'm struggling to keep the truth from the others, also worried I might blurt something by accident. Theodora needs to let me tell them, because sharing the secret would share the burden.
Amelia sips her coffee with wide eyes. "I've never been in serious trouble before. What do you think Theodora will do?"
I shake my head. How can any of us guess?
"I think Andrei has the most to be worried about," says Jamie. "He almost killed somebody last night.”
"So did Ash," I put in. “They both injured a hunter.”
"Are you defending Andrei?" Jamie frowns at me. "Him and Ash are nothing alike."
"Everybody here is capable of killing someone." I'm aware I echo Andrei's words. "He helped us."
"Don't argue. Please," says Amelia.
"I'll take the blame." I curl my hands around the cup filled with hot chocolate.
"We've had this conversation. Me and Ash chose to go with you, Maeve. You didn't force anybody."
The situation is a tangled mess and I am the one to blame.
Ash and Andrei appear and sit at opposite ends of the table. Ash is dressed for class, but Andrei wears his personalised version of the academy uniform—top shirt buttons unfastened, never wears a tie, and his blazer always unbuttoned. I’m sure heavy black boots don't count as uniform shoes either.
But the stony expression in his pale face matches Ash’s. He meets my eyes a moment longer than comfortable and triggers the hairs on the back of my neck. With a half-smile at me, he turns his attention to the others.
“We need to discuss how to deal with last night, as a group,” says Ash gruffly. “Not only the shit we’re in at the academy, but because people were hurt.”
“Whoa. Is injuring a human the key to a place in your gang?" Andrei asks with a smile. I glare at him. "Like I said to Maeve last night, you guys need to pay me for my bodyguard services."
Ash tenses and opens his mouth to say something, but I interrupt. "Lose the cockiness, Andrei. This is serious."
He slumps back and takes out his phone, which I snatch off him before he can distract himself. "Hey!"
I place the phone under my hands. “I don't care if you want to stay away from us after this, but we're in serious trouble and need to straighten our story. Pay attention."
His mouth drops open. “Our story?"
Jamie lowers his voice. "There weren't any bodies. Two of the hunters ran and I think Tobias took the third to hospital. We can take the punishment for leaving academy grounds without permission, but we don't need to mention the attack."
"Unless Tobias does," adds Amelia, voice rising.
"He won't." Andrei kicks a chair into a position to rest his feet on it. “Tobias is cool with this shit.”
Curiously, Andrei avoids my eyes. Has Tobias covered up for Andrei’s attack again?
“With you maybe, because you’re Petrescu. I always suspected Tobias looked after his own," says Ash, scowling. "Are the rumours true? Does he let a certain hemia kid feed and then covers his tracks?"
Andrei sneers. “Do you think he'd risk losing his position here by doing that?"
He still won't look at me. I'd never considered how dangerous helping Andrei could be for Tobias.
Amelia taps the table. "Don't start arguing. Please. Listen, we straighten our story to what we originally planned—we went to Maeve's hometown to visit her friend, Tobias discovered we'd left, he found us and brought us back to the academy. The end.”
I nod. "If that story is okay with you guys."
“Nothing else happened, did it, Andrei?” asks Jamie.
“Huh?” asks Andrei.
“He means, can we be sure you didn't touch a human at the dance,” Ash adds.
His face sours. "Give me some credit, shifter. I had an offer, but I turned it down."
"An offer to do what?" Jamie's response is sharp; suspicious.
"What can I say? My natural good looks drew attention. A girl wanted alone time with me." He chuckles.
"Omigod," half-shrieks Amelia. "Who?"
"I don't remember. What was her name, Maeve?"
Jamie looks at me in confusion. "You were there? What did he do?"
I tighten my mouth at Andrei. “Nothing."
I feel Jamie's scrutiny and he shifts away from me. Only a little, but enough to hurt. Does he think I hid something from him? Andrei's behaviour isn't rele
vant here—nothing happened.
Ash sighs. “Ignore him. Amelia’s right. We have our story. Can you stick to it, Andrei?"
"Yes. Don't embellish," says Jamie tersely.
Andrei takes his boots from the chair and leans across the table. "Do you honestly think I would? If the shifter keeps quiet about what I did, I won't mention that I saw him this close to breaking the guy's neck." He holds his thumb and finger a few centimetres apart, then snaps them.
"I wrestled one to take the gun from him," Ash retorts.
"Not the one with the gun. After the shots were fired, and before Tobias walked over, you had hold of a guy.” Andrei holds his hands around his neck. “You only stopped because Tobias yelled out to us to ‘calm down’.”
In the confusing aftermath, I didn't see anything through the dark and only heard a mix of shouts and screams. Who else at the academy heard? When I accompanied Tessa to the front of academy, we encountered a worried-looking teacher who asked if we’d seen or heard anything. Tobias had one of his 'special talks' with the middle-aged man, who walked away again.
But my stomach is sick, because the situation is bigger than I thought. I fooled myself we were a group of kids sneaking out of the academy, but I couldn’t see beyond myself. I put more people in danger by trying to help one.
Ash avoids my eyes, which answers my question: he lost more control than he admitted to me earlier.
The cafeteria doors swing open and a loud group walks in. I look over my shoulder. Katherine. Is this girl stalking me? She’s dressed in her uniform and blazer, looking every inch the model student, right down to the Petrescu-red ribbon in her hair. She carries a pink folder and sweeps past us before sitting at table with her three girlfriends. Katherine takes sheets of paper from inside the folder and spreads them on the table, a small smile on her face.
Andrei cranes his neck. "Are you actually working, Katherine?"
She delves into her small bag and pulls out a shiny purple pen. "Don't be silly. This is more important. Can I add your name, Andrei?”
Nightworld Academy Box Set 1 Page 22
