He sits down next to me and whispers under his breath. “Not a word.”
I quickly sit and stew on his words. Typical, he takes credit for the work of others and makes promises he doesn’t know he can keep. I decide right then, regardless of the consequences I will not let him see anything I can do.
The room erupts into a roar of speech, so many people talking I can’t make out a single word. I can feel eyes on me as they sneak glances. This is going to be an exceedingly long night.
The food arrives, ushered out by the staff, starting with soup. I am not a fan of the formal dinners with different courses. I quietly sit and make my way through each new one they bring out until dessert is finished.
People get up and start mingling as they finish eating. I want to go see my aunt so badly, but I don’t think Coventry will let me. As people start approaching him and asking him questions about his plan, I see my opportunity. Before he can say anything, I slip out of my seat and walk as fast as the stilettos on my feet will allow.
I make a beeline to where Benedict and my aunt are sitting and plop in the now empty seat next to her.
“I’ve missed you.” She wraps her arms around me.
“I’ve missed you so much too. I haven’t told him anything.” I whisper in her ear. “He still just has me reading old books.”
“I figured as much.” She shakes her head as she pulls away. “I’m surprised he allowed you away from his side.”
“He didn’t have much of a choice. I waited until he was occupied and couldn’t say anything.” I grin at her.
“Just be careful. You can’t take anything at face value.” Benedict glances over at me.
A fat Empyrean walks up to us and Benedict clamps his mouth shut.
“Miss Lawrence, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Are you enjoying the evening so far?” The asshole leers at me, making my skin crawl.
“As much as a teenager can enjoy a party with old men.” I smile sweetly at him, though there’s more bite in my words than I intended to let slip.
He throws his head back and laughs as he walks off. At least he’s gone.
“Just be careful,” Aunt Nellie’s forehead creases as she examines me.
“I’m always careful.” I wink at her as Coventry approaches our table.
“Excuse me, but I need to steal Miss Lawrence away.” His nostril raises as he sneers at my aunt.
“Of course. Call me soon, Whisper. I’ve missed hearing your lovely voice.” Aunt Nellie smiles demurely.
“But they…” I start to remind her about my missing phone.
“I’ll make sure she does.” Coventry scowls at me and I shut my mouth.
He grabs my arm and leads me back to the front of the room, where a group of Empyreans stare at me like I’m a plate of food on a desert island. Gag me with a spoon.
I suffer through their pleasantries until finally the crowd dissipates. I fight a yawn that wants to escape, but it’s no use. I cover my mouth. Coventry glares at me, but then smiles at the remaining people.
“It looks like I need to get Miss Lawrence to bed. She’s been working extremely hard, and I don’t want her too tired to keep up the pace.” He excuses us and then leads us out the door.
When I get back to my room, the first thing I do is throw the stupid stilettos in the closet. My feet are throbbing from being at such an unnatural angle for so long. Why do people think that this is acceptable footwear? I slip out of the dress and carefully hang it up. It’s too beautiful to toss on the floor.
Once I slip into my pajamas, I wash the thick spackle of makeup off. I’ll worry about washing my hair in the morning. I’m too tired to do it now. It doesn't take long after crawling into the bed that I find myself drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter 15
The next morning, I wake up before the maid arrives. I feel refreshed and ready to start the day, but part of me is sad that I missed out on seeing everyone. I must have really needed a deep rest.
After showering and dressing, I find myself sitting at the vanity fighting the mass of red hair atop my head when the maid enters the room.
“I’m shocked to see you up, miss.” She raises her eyebrows.
“I slept well last night for a change.” I shift in my seat so I can see her better. “Can I ask you something?”
“What is it?” She gazes at me with a leery expression.
“Why do you work for Coventry? He doesn’t seem like a genuinely nice employer.” I bite my lip when I see the scared expression on her face.
“Don’t say such things in THIS house. I do what I must for my family.” Her eyes brows raise. “Do you understand?”
I let her words sink in. Is she trying to say her family is in danger if she doesn’t work here? We obviously can’t talk here, but maybe I can confront her in a dream. “I understand. I just realized I'm the rudest person in the world. I never asked you for your name. I’m sorry I’ve been such a brat since I’ve been here. For some reason I lumped you together with your employer, and that wasn’t fair.” I stare down at my hands feeling ashamed.
“It’s ok, miss. I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same if I was in your position. My name is Elenore.” She gives me a small smile. “Trust me, you aren’t as much of a brat as you claim to be, just a surly teenager.”
“Thank you, Elenore.” I return her smile.
“I came to let you know you’re going back to the academy. The Praesidium has been called away on urgent business and wishes you to continue your studies with Mr. Ashborn while you are there.” She shakes her head. “He will be here to escort you back after breakfast.”
“Thanks!” I jump up and skip out of the room past her.
I arrive at the breakfast table to find Mrs. Coventry sitting there. This is unusual. She’s never around in the morning.
“Good morning, ma’am.” I say as I take my seat.
“Good morning, Whisper.” She glances over her shoulder and then narrows her steel blue eyes at me. “You really should take your time and learn carefully.”
“Huh?” I stare at her confused.
“You don’t want to make mistakes by rushing through your studies. You should slow down and take your time.” She smiles, then her eyes glaze over as if she’s having a seizure or something.
“Mrs. Coventry?” I stand up and walk over to her.
I touch her shoulder and she doesn’t respond. “Goddrick!” I shout, hoping the butler is nearby.
He pops his head into the dining room. When he sees Mrs. Coventry, his face relaxes. “It’s quite alright, Miss Lawrence. She’s prone to these spells. They are nothing to worry about.”
I open my mouth to argue when she grabs my hand. “Follow me please.”
“Ok,” I reply, unsure of what is going on.
I glance at Goddrick as she stands up and he just nods before leaving the room. She leads me out the front door and we begin walking down the sidewalk, breakfast forgotten. When we are far enough away from the house she stops in her tracks. “This is far enough.”
“I’m not the airhead wife everyone thinks I am. But I have my part to play.” She sighs. “You witnessed my ‘spell’ as my husband calls them.”
“I did.” I nod, unsure of where she’s going with this.
She nods as she finishes her appraisal of me. “I think I can trust you with my secrets.”
“You don’t even know me.” I shake my head.
“I know you better than you may think, but not personally, no.” She smiles and glances at her watch. “We have a little time before young Mr. Ashborn is supposed to show up.”
She grabs my hand and before I can protest, we are teleported away to a quiet park. A cool breeze blows through my thick dress making me shiver.
“I needed to make sure no one could overhear what I’m about to tell you.” She sighs as we make our way over to a park bench and sit down.
“This sounds serious. Are you sure you should be telling me?” I glance around the park ne
rvously.
“I’ve never been surer of anything.” She stares down at her hands. “You could destroy me with this information, but from what I’ve seen you are better than that.”
“Listen I wish I could say that I wouldn’t do that, but it really depends on what you’re going to tell me.” I bite my lip. This conversation is so strange and surreal. She’s acting nothing like the vapid woman I’ve had dinner with so many times.
“That’s fair.” She wrings her hands together nervously in her lap. “I am not what I appear to be. My parents always wanted a child but were unable to have one of their own. Adoption is nearly unheard of in our society. It’s quite different than the human world in that regard. They were in contact with a woman who worked to keep track of babies born as sevenths. When they got news from the woman of a poor family having their seventh daughter, they saw their opportunity. They booked a ten-month vacation and went away. They used their connections to falsify human documents and legally adopted me. When I was born, my mother was there to whisk me away.”
“So, you’re actually a Dissident?” My eyes widen as I stare at her.
“Technically yes. On paper no.” She gives me a sad smile. “It’s not uncommon for Nightmares in any house to have children of different ones so when my Fury parents had an Empyrean daughter no one questioned it.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I still don’t understand why she’s telling me her secret.
“I thought it was important you understood where I came from to understand why I think I’m so different.” She sighs. “I didn’t learn from my parents about my heritage. When my gifts kicked in, they raged with vengeance. I can do things that normal Nightmares can’t. It’s how I learned of my adoption. When I was seventeen, I was sitting at the academy working on my homework one evening when I had what felt at the time like an out of body experience. It felt close to astral projecting to feed, but different somehow. I ended up in a hazy place, like the world was covered in fog. I watched the younger version of my parents as if on fast forward sign the adoption papers, attend my birth, and take me home.”
“You have foresight!” I gasp and cover my mouth.
“I do.” She nods. “I didn’t understand what I saw at the time, but I knew that no one else experienced it. I confronted my parents and they were devastated. I figured out their secret. I thought it was another baby that maybe didn’t make it. My world was turned upside down when they admitted it was me.”
“That doesn’t explain why you are telling me this.” I lean forward, now eager to hear what she has to say.
She takes a deep breath. “I also have visions of the future. Sometimes they come true, and sometimes I can change them. I had a vision last night about your little uprising. Very clever on using the dreamworld to keep it hidden by the way.”
I feel all of the blood rush out of my face and the world begins to spin. In all of our planning, we had never accounted for someone seeing what we were doing remotely.
“I…” Words escape me as my mouth dries up and my tongue feels like it weighs five pounds.
“Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. I think you are what will save us all.” Her face is so serious I want to believe her, but can I? “I had another vision while you were sitting there. This one was horrible, Whisper.” A tear falls down her cheek.
“What did you see?” I clench my hands together and brace for the worst.
“I saw the barrier between our world and the human world fall. The Baku invaded and... and…” She chokes on her words and closes her eyes.
“And begins killing people in the shopping district; methodically hunting them down as they panic in the streets and try to escape?” I supply thinking about my own vision.
She. “You have the gift too. I should have suspected. I’m telling you this because you have to stop him. He will be the destruction of us all if he succeeds. If I see something that will help you defeat him, I will try to get word to you. I can’t risk my position at this point. I so wish I could help you.”
“I’ll keep your secrets. I just hope we don’t fail. That’s a reality I don’t want to see happen.” I reach out and grab her hand.
She pats my hand back and gives me a sad smile. “I wish my Alexis would have turned out more like you. I failed her by raising her in the way of the Empyreans.”
“She has a nice streak buried deep down. She took me to the nurse's office when she thought I was dead.” I offer, hoping that will make her mom feel less guilty.
“We should be getting back. Your escort will be arriving soon. We can’t have you late returning to the academy.” She stands up and straightens out her dress before grabbing my hand and teleporting us back to her street.
As we walk back up to the front of the house, Treyton comes around the corner.
“What are you doing out here? Am I late?” he glances between the two of us with a puzzled expression on his face.
“No, we decided to get some fresh air before we ate breakfast. Would you like to join us for a quick bite before you take off?” Mrs. Coventry smiles at the young man.
Treyton glances at me and I nod. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”
We enter the house as a group and take our seats at the dining table. Goddrick brings out waffles with fresh blueberries. We make quick work of our food before saying goodbye and returning to the academy.
When we arrive at the entrance point to the academy, Treyton stops me before I walk through.
“We are supposed to work on tutoring all day today before you resume your classes tomorrow. Do we want to go straight to the library?” He smiles.
“That sounds like a good idea. Maybe Finn and Lydia can join us?” I offer.
“We should definitely get them. The faster we sort through the books, the faster we can find what we need to learn. There has to be something that can help us accomplish our goals faster. Your tendrils give us an edge, but it’s not enough.” He sighs. “No offense.”
“None taken because I agree with you.” I smile. “Let’s get this show on the road, shall we?”
“After you.” He bows and holds out his arm in an exaggerated manner.
I chuckle as I step through with Treyton close on my heels. As soon as the academy is in view, he laces his fingers through mine and teleports us to the hidden library. The smell of leather and parchment make me take a deep breath and sigh. It brings up a sense of nostalgia every time I experience it.
The library has always been one of my favorite places. To get lost in the worlds of other people’s minds… But that’s not what we are here for and I need to focus.
“I’ll grab the others if you want to get started.” Treyton grins before disappearing.
I pick up the catalogue and walk over to the shelves. It seems like Finn and Lydia made some progress! I finally found where they left off and move the books to the desk. As I start checking them off the list, one of them catches my eye. I open it up and read the first few pages and get excited. It talks about how they created the throne we use to sort the houses. I set it to the side, wanting to show the others. I wonder if we could use the same principles to make something to test for gifts.
Finn and Lydia arrive with Treyton as I finish the first stack. I smile up at them, excited to show them what I found.
“Check this out.” I hold the book up.
Treyton takes it out of my hand while Finn reads over his shoulder.
“Can you translate the steps used?” Finn asks. “I understand parts of it, but it’s still over my reading level.”
“What is it?” Lydia asks.
“It’s how the throne that tests for our houses was made.” I waggle my eyebrows. “How exciting is that?”
“That is really cool. Finn, why do you want it translated?” She cocks her head to the side.
“I think that I can make something to test for gifts. That way we can focus on what to teach people. Then we can research how they work. It would make this process a lot mor
e efficient.” Finn grins from ear to ear.
“Is that the device you were tinkering with in that dream?” I have an aha moment.
“It is. I figured since we need to use it in the dreamworld, I might as well build it there.” He shrugs.
“You are so clever.” I stand up and move forward then wrap my arms around him.
“I want to stick around, but I have classes.” Indecision battles across Finn’s face. “I’ll come back when they are over.”
“Have fun.” I shake my head, feeling bad he can’t stay.
Lydia, Treyton, and I fall into an easy routine. By the time she has to leave, we are nearly done with the first half of the library.
“Time to go get my ass kicked.” She sighs, gazing longingly back at the book. “I wasn’t cut out for this kind of training.”
“I’m sorry you have to go through it.” I stare down at my hands, feeling guilty. I’m a Dissident too so I should be there with them. But part of me is glad I don’t have to be. That’s the part eating away at me.
“It’s not your fault, but you should really start combat training in our dream world at least, if not practicing in this one.” Lydia’s face grows serious. “You will be right there with us and I don’t want you getting hurt because you don’t know how to fight.”
She teleports out as her words sink in. Crap. With everything going on, I hadn’t even thought of it. I do need to learn to defend myself. I resolve to start training with our group every night until I know what I’m doing.
We work until nightfall, Finn and Lydia coming back with food when they return. When we finally call it a night, my muscles ache. I crawl into bed and drift off quickly.
When I arrive at Midnight Rising, it’s strangely empty. Only Ryland and Max are present.
“Where is everyone?” I ask, puzzled by the eerie quiet.
Obstruction By Nightmare (Academy of Broken Dreams Book 3) Page 14
