Everlight Academy Book 2

by Tiffany Shand

  She hadn’t been lying when she had said it would be tough work. My back and arms were killing me by the time I had mopped the entire floor of the healing wing and gone backward and forward, changing all the sheets and bedding. They looked pretty clean to me already, but I had to find a way to get into the office. If that meant working my backside off, then I would do it.

  Leticia spent most of her time in her office, which gave me no opportunity to get in there and search around. She did come out a couple of times to check and see what I was doing. She gave me a disapproving look a couple of times but had said nothing.

  It took over an hour to get everything cleaned and changed the way she wanted it. What would it take to finally get her to leave her office for a while so I could snoop around? I pulled out my phone and sent a quick text message to Alec. I asked him if he could come and help me out so I could sneak into Leticia’s office. I had considered asking Mel or Tristen, but decided he would be the best option. I had no idea how to hack into a computer, although he had shown me a few ways of doing it. Still, I hadn’t put my potential new hacking skills to the test yet.

  To my surprise, Alec arrived a few minutes later and stumbled towards me. “I… Need… Help,” he muttered, and foam spewed from his mouth.

  Madam Leticia jumped into action. “How long have you had this? Do you have any other symptoms?”

  I stood there and stared at Alec for a moment, unsure of what to do. He had said he would come to help me, but I hadn’t expected this. What if he was really sick? I focused on his aura and noticed his colours didn’t look any different. There was no indication of sickness, so I had no idea what he had done to make himself appear sick.

  “My head hurts,” Alex groaned and flopped down onto one of the beds.

  Madam Leticia began examining him. “Silvana, go and get some potions from the store cupboard.” She then rattled off a list of names.

  I’ll keep her distracted for as long as I can, Alec told me.

  She had shown me where the store cupboard was earlier, and it had a sensor on it to only recognise her energy signature. She also had a special key that opened it. She tossed the key to me and I rushed off in the opposite direction.

  I headed straight for Leticia’s office, but instead of going to the store cupboard, I went straight to her computer terminal. She hadn’t told me anything about the computer system. No doubt she wanted to see if I worked out first.

  The room had beige-coloured walls and scuffed flooring. It looked nothing like the fancier parts of the academy that I had seen so far. Piles of paperwork were stacked neatly on a rickety old wooden desk, but the computer took up most of the space.

  I took out the gizmo Alec had given me and plugged it into the computer. Then I typed in the codes he had shown to me. I held my breath as I waited for the computer’s response. The words ‘invalid password’ flashed on the screen.

  I muttered a curse under my breath. Alec, it’s not working. What should I do? I could use your help here.

  No can do, Silvy. I’m kind of stuck right now.

  I gritted my teeth. Then tell me what to do!

  What does the screen in front of you say?

  Invalid password. What else should I type in? I tried a second code instead, but it came up with the same thing.

  Damn, I need to get in there and look at it myself. But I doubt Leticia is going to let me out of her sight now. She really thinks I’m ill.

  Would she keep paper files around? I noticed two filing cabinets behind me.

  I have no idea, I doubt she would keep stuff on Freya out in the open for anyone to find, though.

  Only one way to find out. I headed over to the filing cabinet.

  Whatever you do, don’t use your magic. It will leave an energy signature that can be traced. And that could get you into big trouble.

  I don’t need any magic. Just make sure you keep her distracted. I pulled out my lock picking tools and made quick work on the lock. There were hundreds of files and I fought back the urge to use my magic. But Alec was right. I couldn’t leave any trace. Instead, I went straight to the G section and finally found a file titled ‘Freya Goodwin’. I flipped the file open and to my relief, there was a file that mentioned her death. But I didn’t have time to read it, so I shoved it into my backpack. Next, I hurried over to the potions’ cabinet and pulled out all of the different things she had asked for.

  When I hurried back out into the other room, I found Alec sitting up in bed.

  “How odd,” Madam Leticia remarked as she ran her fingers over Alec’s face, then double-checked his pupils. “Your symptoms have gone. Strange, you looked like you were having a seizure.”

  I bit back a smile. Alec had put on a better job than I had thought. I got something. I found Freya’s file.

  “I told you, I feel fine now,” Alec told the hayloft. “Can I leave?”

  Madam Leticia frowned. “I would like to run a few tests to see what caused it. Just to be certain it won’t happen again. You were lucky you were here when it happened. Seizures in fae are very unusual and alarming.”

  Alec shook his head. “I’m sure I can prevent it from happening again. It was probably just something I ate.”

  I rolled my eyes at that. Madam Leticia wasn’t stupid, and I knew there was no way she would believe that.

  “Very well. But I would take it easy today if I were you.” Madam Leticia nodded and Alec scrambled up.

  I had to finish my entire shift in the healing wing before I got a chance to look at the file again. I headed straight for Alec’s room.

  “You took the file? Geez, Silvy, I told you just to take photos.” Alec gaped at me when I pulled the file out of my backpack.

  I shook my head. “There was no time for that. If I stayed in there much longer, she would have come in to see what I was doing. I would have been caught.” I laid the file on his table. “What did you do to bring on that seizure? Because it looked pretty convincing to me.”

  Alec laughed. “I took a potion that caused me to foam at the mouth. The seizure part was all me acting. I checked out a video online first. I think she was pretty convinced too.”

  I opened the file and checked out the page that mentioned the death report. Madam Leticia had written extensive notes on how she had gone to Freya’s room and examined her body. As much as it hurt to read it, I forced myself to keep going. I had to know what she had found out.

  “It says here she showed classic signs of moon flower poisoning. Including discolouration around the lips and fingernails.” I winced as the image of seeing Freya on the floor flashed through my mind once again. “Freya didn’t have any discolouration around her lips when I found her.” I should know, as I had replayed that a thousand times before. “Or would that have set in after she died?”

  Alec spun round in his desk chair and clacked away on his keyboard. “No, it says here the effects of moon flower always show up before the victim dies.”

  “How reliable is that information you just pulled up?” I leaned forward.

  “Pretty good. This is an article Madam Leticia wrote herself. Although it’s a couple of years old.”

  I furrowed my brow. “Then Madam Leticia must be lying. I was right there with Freya. I think I would remember something like that.”

  I read through the file further. It detailed some of Freya’s medical history but didn’t give me any more answers. Now I had even more questions than I had had before. Like who was covering up Freya’s death and why were they doing it?

  Chapter 11

  I met with Tristen in his room that morning before class to go over our suspect list and everything else we had come up with so far — which wasn’t much, unfortunately. I had already told him everything I had found in the healing ward, but he hadn’t been able to give me any answers either. Part of me wanted to go to Zoe and show her what I had found, but somehow, I doubted she would be of much help. That would only get me into more trouble fo
r stealing the file in the first place. I had made copies of the original file and put it back to avoid arousing suspicions. If Madam Leticia had noticed the file was missing, she hadn’t mentioned anything to me. I doubt she would have kept me around if she had known. I hadn’t wanted to prove her right in thinking she couldn’t trust me.

  Two months had passed since Freya’s memorial and we were still no closer to finding her killer. It was one of the few times we got to spend together. I had carried on working in the healing wing and found that I actually enjoyed the work. I had only gone there originally to snoop around and to get access to files. But working there made me feel useful and provided a much-needed distraction from my grief.

  I had still been having sessions with Lucas, and he had managed to convince Forrest to not expel me. I had gained more control over my powers, but there were still times when I lost control. Especially whenever I got upset and angry. But at least I hadn’t attacked anyone else during PE class.

  “Our list of suspects still hasn’t changed,” I remarked as I flopped onto his bed.

  “Maybe you will learn some more at the legacy reading,” Tristen said.

  “I never said I would go.” I had been glad the legacy reading had been delayed so far. It wasn’t something I looked forward to.

  “Elsa asked you to go.” Tristen leaned over and stroked my hair off my face. “You don’t want to disappoint her, do you?”

  “Yeah, I couldn’t say no. Not after she was so nice to me at the memorial. It’s weird.”

  Tristen sat down and put his arm around me. “What is?”

  “People being nice to me. No one is ever nice to me.”

  “Not everyone hates you.” He kissed my forehead. “I don’t.”

  “Most humans did. They feared I would turn out like every other faeling who went mad and killed innocent people with their powers.”

  “But you’re not like them. You’re special.” He grinned at me.

  I smiled, reached up, and kissed him. He was the one person who did make me feel special. “I don’t know how I would get through any of this without you. Especially after everything that happened with the council.”

  “Please don’t mention my mother. She still keeps sending me letters saying I shouldn’t associate with you.” Tristen rolled his eyes.

  “Okay, how about your dad? You never talk about him.” I couldn’t say I had any love for the king after what he had done to Mel.

  Tristen sighed. “I don’t know him that well. King Gerard despises my mother, and he has ignored me for most of my life.”

  “How did they… End up having you?”

  He shrugged. “They had a secret affair for a while before politics got in the way. They were only together a few months after they graduated here at the academy. It must’ve been a teenage fling.”

  “At least you know who your parents are.” I sighed. “Freya… She said she’d help me find mine. She never —” Tears filled my eyes again. I blinked them away.

  “Maybe you should talk to Lucas more.”

  “Why? I told you things aren’t going well with him. He is not Freya.” I didn’t enjoy my sessions with Lucas very much. They were so repetitive.

  “He knows about the other courts. Find out what he knows. I still say given the strength of your powers, one of your parents had to come from a noble family.”

  “Okay, I’ll try.” I gave him a quick kiss. “See you in class.”

  Lucas had decided we had to have a session, so instead of PE I got to spend more time with him. From what Lucas told me, he had convinced Forrest to let me stay on until the end of this term — unless I got into trouble again — which meant I only had a few weeks left.

  Every time he saw me Lucas asked the same question, “What are you really angry at?”

  Every day I told him the usual answers. The question was getting so tiresome. What did he expect me to say? I’d already told him the truth. His aura still remained closed off to me. But I was getting used to that. I knew the man had secrets. Not only that, but people’s auras seemed to be getting dimmer recently. I had no idea what it meant. I didn’t know enough about the ability to know what might be causing it. I had considered telling Lucas about my aura reading ability, but I still didn’t trust him. I had mentioned it to Tristen, but he said it probably had something to do with my repressed emotions. I had blown off that suggestion.

  “Aren’t you tired of asking me that?” I demanded. “Can’t you think of anything else to ask me?”

  He smiled and nodded. “A little, yes. But you still keep refusing to acknowledge your true emotions.”

  I paused. “Well, you pretty much know the answers by now.”

  “Silvana —”

  “Silvy.” That was another thing. He still refused to call me Silvy. It was always Silvana, and that drove me mad.

  “Who gave you that name? Do you know what it means?”

  I shrugged. “A social worker gave it to me when they found me. I got named after the woods that I was found in. They thought the name Silvana sounded fae.”

  “So, your parents never gave you the name?”

  I scoffed. “Pay attention, Lucas. I got dumped as a new-born. No one named me. They threw me away as though I meant nothing.” I had clung to the memory Isla had shown me. Sometimes I wondered if it was even true. Or if it was something the dryad had made up because she had felt sorry for me. I still didn’t have any answers as to why my mother had abandoned me, or what she had been protecting me from. None of it made any sense.

  “So that’s it.” Lucas waved a finger. “You’re angry at them, aren’t you? At your birth parents?”

  “I… Damn right I am angry. What kind of person dumps a baby in the woods with nothing but a blanket?” I demanded. “That’s screwed up. Who abandons their kid, even if it was to keep me safe? I wonder now if that’s just an excuse.”

  “Keep you safe from what?” Lucas frowned.

  “How should I know? That’s what my mum told a dryad who led the humans to find me.”

  “When did you find this out?” Lucas leaned forward and looked interested.

  “We are supposed to be working on my magic, not discussing my life story. None of this is going to help me control my magic.”

  “Were you not listening to anything I’ve said?”

  I sighed. No, because you’re not qualified to help me. And you are still damn suspicious. I just want the sessions to be over with, so I don’t have to put up with you anymore.

  “You are angry at your parents, aren’t you? That I think is at the root of your problems. You need to learn how to move past your anger. Otherwise, you will never truly trust anything including yourself.”

  “I’ve learnt to rely on myself over the years. I can’t say I trust my powers completely. They are too out of control for that.”

  “You don’t trust me,” Lucas realised. “That’s it, isn’t it?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “Are you reading my mind?”

  He chuckled. “No, that’s not my power. But it’s easy to tell.”

  “I don’t trust easily. It has kept me alive.” Growing up in dodgy foster homes and living on the streets had taught me that. If you trusted the wrong person, you ended up dead.

  “Good, now use that anger to use your power,” Lucas instructed.

  I sighed and held up my hands. A cool breeze blew my long hair around my face.

  “Concentrate, Silvana.”

  I let my anger take hold of the whirlwind and it danced around me.

  I liked this feeling.

  “Excellent.” Lucas beamed, and the wind faded.

  “You think I may have killed Freya,” he added. “Or that I’m a spy for the council too, perhaps?”

  This guy must have mind-reading abilities. He didn’t know me well enough to know what I was thinking or feeling. I have never been able to figure out his powers so far. Mainly because his aura remained hidden from m
e.

  “Well, aren’t you?” I crossed my arms.

  “I’m not. In truth, I don’t have much love for the council either,” Lucas said. “They destroyed my family. Now I’m the only one left in the Melrose line.” He paused. “Would it help if I showed you why I went to Freya’s room that night?”

  I hesitated. What was this guy up to? Was he trying to trick me? “Okay.”

  Lucas held out his hand. I reluctantly took it. Energy jolted between us.

  I found myself standing in Freya’s room with nothing but a small glowing orb to light the way.

  It was early morning when we had begun our session. How had it gotten dark so fast again?

  This must be the night Freya had died.

  I gulped when I spotted Lucas standing beside me. Holy crackers, this took some serious power. I watched as he removed the seal on the door, then headed inside.

  He conjured a glowing orb which cast shadows around the room. Fear and the need to hurry washed over me — Lucas’s emotions.

  He moved through the room, only sparing a quick glance over to where Freya had lain only a few hours before. Her magic had left an outline of her body there. My heart twisted at the sight.

  Lucas headed over to the desk and grabbed a book — Freya’s organiser then turned and grabbed a vial off the shelf where she had kept her herbal remedies.

  My stomach dropped. That blue coloured vial hadn’t been there when I had searched Freya’s room a few weeks ago. That had to have the poison in it.

  I yanked my hand away from his. “That’s it?”

  “I showed you why I went there.”

  “You took the bottle of poison. Why?” I demanded. “You covered up her death, didn’t you?”

  “Silvana, if you just let me explain.”

  I leapt to my feet and backed away.

  Magic flared between my hands. I wanted to kill him. Wanted to make him suffer for what he had done.