Nightworld Academy: Term Two

by LJ Swallow

  There’s more to Andrei, and the last obstacle I have before I can look at him without judgement is the blood drinking. He can’t help who he is any more than I can, but some things are hard to get past.

  If my future prediction is correct, I get way past this attitude to him, and into his arms.

  Andrei wears his usual personalised version of the academy uniform—scruffy—but he’s more dishevelled than usual. His hair’s tousled and eyes duller. I’m surprised when he steps forward and greets me with an uncertain smile.

  “What’s the matter?” I ask him, pausing in surprise.

  “Are you feeling better today?” he asks.

  That’s another thing cute about Andrei—his concern when things go wrong for me.

  “Yes.”

  He cocks his head. “You sure?” I catch the spearmint scent on his breath, and I stare at his mouth. “Maeve?”

  Blinking, I smile instead. “We have class.” I resume my walk along the hallway, past the early professors’ portraits and noticeboards, with identically dressed students milling around.

  “I’ll walk with you?” Instead of a statement, he’s asking for permission, and I nod at him.

  “Do you want to talk to me about the hunters?” I ask quietly.

  “Kinda.”

  “Did you see what happened?”

  Andrei scrunches his face up and keeps walking.

  “Andrei?”

  He halts and a girl behind almost bumps into him. Andrei shoots her a look when she mutters, and the girl veers around him instead.

  “I’m in a really shitty position. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Tell me?” I suggest.

  His harsh laugh takes me aback. “You have no idea, Maeve.”

  “Clearly.” Annoyed, I stride away.

  “Maeve!” he urges. “Come here.”

  I glance over my shoulder. “Please don’t try to boss me around. I’m grateful that you helped me and Tobias with the hunter, but not grateful you’re dodging my question. Why look for me, say that you know something, and then refuse to tell me?”

  Raking his fingers through his fringe, Andrei reveals his eyes and the look punches me in the gut.

  Fear.

  Hesitantly, I approach him. “What’s happening, Andrei?”

  “Mr. Tepes, have you forgotten about our meeting?” I startle at Tobias who’s standing close behind.

  “I didn't know we planned one,” he replies.

  Tobias briefly looks at my face. “How are you today, Ms Foster?”

  “Very well, thank you, Professor Whitlock.” I mimic his formality and he looks at me impassively. Oh, so we’re back here again.

  “I have spoken to Sofia and Theodora about last night’s events, and Sofia would like to speak to you after class tonight.”

  “I don't have much to tell her,” I reply.

  “Yes, a shame you can't remember,” mutters Andrei.

  Tobias blinks but doesn't look at him. “Indeed.”

  “Maybe one day Maeve will,” Andrei continues.

  Stiffly, Tobias turns to him. “Maybe.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  I frown at their exchange. What was Andrei about to tell me?

  “I’d like to see you in my office, Andrei. Now. I have something to discuss with you.”

  Students passing throw curious looks at the three of us together.

  But not as curious as the look on Sofia’s face, as she stands along the hallway, watching, arms folded. As I catch her eye, she crosses to us.

  “Is everything alright here?” she asks. The tall woman wears a floral skirt and flowing white shirt, her hair loose around her shoulders, the gentle image at odds with her expression.

  Sofia and Tobias lock gazes. “I’m enquiring about Maeve’s welfare,” he says.

  “Let’s be thankful you brought her home safely after your failed little field trip.”

  Hell, the tension between these two is tight. Andrei loiters with his hands in his pockets, looking down the hallway with his mouth turned down. Sofia teaches the vampires, but rarely speaks to any outside the classroom. Recently, she’s come down harder on them in class.

  “Indeed,” repeats Tobias.

  A muscle twitches in his jaw; Tobias is skilled at formality to the point he hides how he feels from everybody.

  “Andrei, come with me.” He jerks his head, and Andrei’s shoulders slump.

  As they walk away, Sofia makes a soft sound of disgust. “I don't appreciate my students exposed to danger off campus. That man has explaining to do.”

  I give a small smile. “I often pass out when I have visions.”

  Sofia’s eyes remain on the retreating figures. “Indeed.” She snorts to herself at mimicking Andrei’s words.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  ANDREI

  What the hell did I see last night?

  I slump down in the chair in Tobias’s room, legs outstretched, and arms crossed. I’ve waited here an hour—I swear the guy left me to squirm deliberately, because he has ‘something else to deal with first'. Sure, he does. This was all to keep me away from Maeve.

  But I’m not squirming. I’m not leaving until he tells me why he used his power on Maeve.

  How he could use his power on a future-sighted witch.

  I’m sick with nerves. Challenging the guy who helps me stay safe could lead to trouble, but if he’s attacking students, that’s a whole different matter.

  Did the hunter tell the truth? Did the man die from his injuries on Halloween? These questions cycle around and around in my head and have done since last night. What a fucking mess. I dropped concentration long enough for his retaliation—lucky for him I landed awkwardly and smacked my head.

  Not that an injury like that lasts long on a vampire.

  Maeve impressed me how she reached through her fear and worked her magic on the hunter, but I saw her faltering. She wasn’t prepared to use her powers alone. She isn’t strong enough.

  I’m preoccupied and don’t notice the door open until Tobias speaks.

  “I apologise for keeping you waiting.” Tobias pulls off his black jacket and slings it onto the chair next to me, face impassive. “Were you having an interesting conversation with Maeve?”

  I stay slumped down as I look at him. “Until I was interrupted, yes.”

  “You would be unwise to discuss last night's events with Maeve, wouldn’t you, Andrei?”

  “She needs to know that you wiped her mind. Why? What did she do?”

  I scrutinise his face for a reaction. One thing that’s always impressed me is how well Tobias can hide himself—he’s a bigger chameleon than I am.

  “Are you questioning what I did?” He lowers himself into an armchair opposite and rests his boots on the table.

  “Yes.”

  “Andrei, as I’ve always told you, I’m here to help you. That includes keeping secret that you killed somebody on Halloween.”

  “I did not,” I protest. “That was an accident.”

  “Accidentally ripping major arteries open? What did you expect to happen?”

  “You told me you took that hunter to hospital.” I swallow. “You never told me he died.”

  “I never knew until the Confederacy told me. The man lost too much blood.”

  “And you kept that to yourself, why? To use when you needed a hold over me?” My stomach is sicker than when I saw him wiping Maeve’s mind. I killed. If anybody discovers this, I’m dead.

  “I find secrets are always good bargaining tools.”

  “Yes. They are,” I retort. “Such as mind controlling a student to the point she forgets.”

  Tobias laughs. “Do you think you have any hold over me? You are unimportant.”

  “I saw something. Did you try to kill a hunter and Maeve saw you? He was injured, and I heard her shout at you not to kill.”

  “Don't be ridiculous. The hunters were both alive when we left, weren’t they?”

  “And now?”


  Tobias leans forward and pours himself a drink from a carafe set on the table beside two glasses. I wait, but he doesn’t offer me one.

  He sips then rubs his lips together. “They’re dead now, but not by my hand.”

  I pull myself upright in the chair.

  “Killing hunters—humans—is forbidden.”

  “As I said, I did not kill those men.”

  “I don't know what you're hiding, but I know it was bad enough that you had to wipe Maeve’s memories. Why let me see?”

  “I didn’t wipe your mind, Andrei, but I’m not telling you anything else.” He knocks back the contents of the glass and sets it on the table. “You’ve always known my methods are unorthodox, Andrei. Last night was a lesson for you. I need to teach you how powerful I am, and what you’re facing if you cross me.”

  “Is that a threat?” I growl.

  “The Confederacy asked me to watch you,” he continues. “To keep you under control. You are Gabriella Tepes’s son—your powers are greater than you know.”

  My mouth parts in realisation. “You didn’t wipe my mind because you can’t. Can you?”

  He fixes me with a steel gaze.

  Tobias stands and places the glass down. “Maeve made a mistake I needed to fix, in the same way you do on occasion. I can’t have her causing me problems.”

  “Promise you won't hurt her,” I blurt.

  Tobias’s eyes widen. “Is this concern for Maeve due to a bigger reason than wanting her blood?”

  The amusement in his voice pisses me off as much as him seeing through me. “We both know how special Maeve is, don't we, professor?”

  He runs his tongue across his teeth. “We do, which is why you’re going to stay away from her, aren't you? I don't want to see you with Maeve again and you are not to tell people what you saw. This subject is closed.”

  “And you?” I retort.

  He walks over to open his study door. “I can assure you that I want nothing to do with Maeve. I will not have any contact with her outside of my lessons. Goodbye, Andrei.”

  I pause. “You're under suspicion, aren't you? I saw how Sofia behaved towards you.”

  He leans forward. “Then we have something in common, don't we, Andrei? The difference is, I’ve never had a human’s blood on my hands.”

  As I step outside, I pause and rest against the wall. How stupid that I thought I could join Maeve’s world and help her. I don't belong amongst people like her.

  I’m a killer.

  I stare up at the wrought iron candelabra hanging from Tobias’s classroom ceiling where the melted candles flicker.

  And Tobias isn't the friend I thought.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  MAEVE

  I’m not surprised when I’m called to Sofia’s room after lessons finish. I expected the interrogation about what happened to me last night, and I’m unsurprised by her disgust that Tobias didn't bring me straight back to the academy.

  When Sofia resolves to ‘have words’ with him later, I’m genuinely scared. What happens when house professors clash?

  “I have something else I’d like to discuss with you,” she says once her anger subsides.

  A large brown book takes up much of the small table between us, and Sofia opens to the first page. Square photographs are mounted inside, attached by the corners like an old-style photo album. Names of people and places are written in tiny letters below the images.

  “Take a look.” Her silver charm bracelet jingles as she gestures. “Tell me what you think.”

  I tuck a strand of hair behind an ear. “I don’t normally sense anything from objects, the way Jamie does.”

  “No. That’s not what I’m interested in. I’d like you to study their faces. Touch the pages. See who the Dominion are. Our greatest fight is against the Dominion and you’re a secret weapon.”

  Weapon?

  Nice.

  I rub my lips together. Once when I sat here, I met my aunt. What did I expect from Marie? Answers. Reassurance. But the woman can’t see reality, let alone help her niece. Since that moment, every word she’s said has played around in my head. Is it possible to avoid the same fate? I already experienced the future and present blur when I saw Andrei outside that day.

  Some photos are recent, bright and sharply focused. Others are muted colours and the edges tattier. I slowly leaf through the book. Many Dominion members are vampires; that’s clear to me, as I’m becoming familiar with their look. Lamia, hemia, or pneuma, they share the same facial bone structure, but with different eye and hair colour.

  “Are all Dominion members vampires?” I ask.

  “Most. A few are witches, but only a handful are shifters, and only those who are prepared to accept that the vampires will reign over the world.”

  My chest tightens. The world—my world—conquered by vampires. Each page I turn, the tightness grows and my breath comes shorter. A surging mix of anxiety and acceptance runs across my mind as the vision prepares to take hold.

  A photograph on the page cuts dead my descent into the future.

  The woman looks the same as most vampires, her dark hair and blue eyes worthy of a model or a movie star. Like a star, she didn’t want her photo taken, because the anger in her eyes is clear.

  But that’s not what halts me in my tracks.

  I read out the name beneath. “Gabriella Tepes? Is this woman related to Andrei?”

  Sofia doesn’t answer for a second, then nods.

  “Who is she?”

  Again, the pause before she responds. “Gabriella Tepes is Andrei’s mother.”

  My mouth falls open. “Andrei’s mother is a member of the Dominion?”

  “She’s the founder, Maeve.”

  I reel at her words. At the meeting with Andrei’s grandfather, something about his mother was hinted at, but the conversation closed down.

  “That makes no sense. How can Andrei attend the academy if his family is an enemy?”

  “Not his whole family. Andrei’s mother walked away a number of years ago and took his older sister, Ione. His father is a staunch Confederacy supporter, and Andrei is schooled to oppose the Dominion. Life is precarious for them all.”

  I stare down at the hard-eyed woman who left her son, and who stands for everything this academy fights against. This explains part of Andrei’s isolation and the trouble he hints at, and my heart hurts for him.

  The reason he rejects those who judge him.

  “Do many people know?”

  She sighs. “The Tepes family are one of the most notable, along with Theodora’s. They originate from long before the Purge and know a world where we lived more openly. This is partly where the conflict comes from. So, yes, people know because this family would be royalty if such things existed in our world.”

  “Poor Andrei,” I mumble. “He has a lot of weight on his shoulders.”

  Sofia turns the page, away from Gabriella’s image. “I need you to stay away from him, Maeve. Andrei is trouble.”

  “I don’t think you should say this about your students,” I say, annoyed by her prejudice.

  “I’ve noticed you becoming close to the boy but be aware you don’t understand what you’re dealing with.” Sofia speaks softly. “I’m concerned by Andrei’s interest in you and believe it’s only a matter of time before he attacks a witch. Andrei Tepes has his sights set on you.”

  Now I understand the real reason behind our meeting. The way she behaved towards Andrei—she thinks I’m under threat.

  “I don't think he does. We’re friends, that’s all.”

  “I suggest you choose your friends more carefully.”

  I shake my head at her. “Do people think Andrei wants to join the Dominion? Do you think that?”

  She sighs and places a palm on the book. “He’s watched closely, but nobody can predict what the Dominion might do.”

  “But you think I can?”

  “The most we hope is that you can predict the near future, such as D
ominion plans. We will work on a way to focus the randomness of your visions.”

  I touch the photograph as Andrei’s mother and Sofia’s words niggle. Is Andrei’s interest in me more? And how is Tobias connected? Andrei told me we left the hunters unconscious last night, but how can I be sure Tobias didn’t carry out his plan to kill them?

  I promised to myself I wouldn’t keep any more secrets. If I hear anybody has died, I will report him.

  Chapter Forty

  MAEVE

  The final dance preparations come around sooner than I expected as the term rushes on towards the Christmas holidays. The meetings have intensified and so have Katherine’s stress levels—which means she’s the ball-organising equivalent of a Bridezilla.

  I would not like to imagine what her wedding would be like.

  Life has been weird recently, although in a good way, as everything settled down. No more threats against me or the academy, harmony as we head towards the end of the academy term, and I’m feeling pumped about passing exams. These aren’t final year, but important enough to show the faculty that I’m progressing and accepting.

  Tobias has backed off, and we don’t speak outside of his lessons. Stupidly, this hurt at first; now I accept my place and his are at opposite ends of academy life.

  Andrei avoids me too—that does hurt, as I felt we’d made progress. He’s with Tobias a lot more. Tobias, who now treats me with the same distance as he does other students, and who now refuses to take part in the tuition Theodora asked him to give me.

  Sofia is happy about this, and instead, I practice with her. I don’t repeat the same mistake with her as I did with Tobias. I keep out of her mind, and instead I fixate on the task at hand rather than attempting to see or listen to anything else.

  Amelia allows me to practice on her too and she reacts with a mixture of awe and amusement as I make her eat and drink. Jamie once cautiously asked if I wanted to practice on him, but he obviously didn’t want me to. I didn’t.