Chapter 13
I had no idea what to think or who to believe.
What did Kaito mean that I had more than one mother?
He couldn’t possibly mean that biologically, so did that mean my parents were a lesbian couple and had a sperm donor?
Not that it would be an odd family unit, but I still didn’t get how a silver card was going to help me meet one of them.
Thoughts of Jess’s revelations filtered through my mind. She said that I had demonic lineage, but this didn’t feel demonic. It felt somehow… holy.
I flipped over the Fortune card that had the school’s icon on the back. It shimmered with an internal sparkle that said it was definitely a magical artifact. It warmed my otherwise cold fingers and had a slight jingle to it when I shook it.
I stuffed it in my pocket and marched down the pathway.
Only the occasional student was out this early, as most of them tended to go to the Sports Arena or hang out in dorm parties on our days off.
I, instead, had spent last night washing off Kaito’s blood all the while feeling like a turd and hardly gotten any sleep.
Sleeping in was so off the table for me.
It was stupid to feel guilty. Kaito was the one who was using me, but I hated hurting him and not trusting him. That was the downside of the Virtue connection. I couldn’t think straight.
I needed help and there was only one person on campus I could trust with my life, and that was Olivia.
She’d be at the library studying like the overachiever she was. It was supposed to be our day off, but Olivia wouldn’t rest until she was just as good as the other Dark Mages.
I often caught her studying anything she could get her hands on when it came to the library’s collection of documents and testimonies that covered memory loss suffered by the supernaturals.
She had started to remember what she was, but not who she was.
I didn’t blame her for trying to seek out answers.
Just like the rest of the buildings at the Academy, the library was both magical and impressive.
Looming statues garnished the exterior, reminding me of Roman columns.
Each figure held up their hands as if keeping the library’s top floor aloft.
It was symbolism that knowledge came with a heavy burden that was best lifted together. That only made me feel more lonely.
The musky scent of worn books enveloped me the moment I was inside.
It made my shoulders relax a trifle, but it wasn’t until I found Olivia that I cracked a smile.
There she was in her standard spot, far in the back on the top floor surrounded by piles of books.
As always, she preferred to sit next to the shelves instead of at a table so she could make herself a little nest of literature.
She didn’t peek up at me until I came up from behind her and poked her in the ribs.
“Yikes! Lily!” she said, grabbing her side and choking on her surprise. “Don’t do that to me.”
I chuckled as I pushed aside enough books to make a spot to settle next to her. The carpet on the top floor was like plush velvet and I sank my hands into it, squeezing lightly with my fingers. “You need to be more aware of your surroundings,” I insisted. “What if I had been Melinda?”
Olivia’s cheeks reddened and she frowned. I didn’t often see her angry, but it was cute when she was. “The bitch already bombarded me today.” She held up a torn book. “She’s going to get me in trouble, you know! This one had to have been expensive.”
All laughter swept out of me in an instant.
“Oh, I was joking. Is she actually bullying you?” Melinda should know better than that.
Olivia and I were allies, and as far as the campus was aware, I belonged to Hendrik.
Even if I was a pet, Melinda should know better than to piss him off by messing with me or my allies.
Olivia scoffed. “Every single fucking day. I haven’t told you about it, but you know what, this crosses a line.” She blew out a hard breath as she held up the mangled cover. “I can’t tolerate such desecration.”
I smirked. “It sounds like she’s been a pain in your ass for a while, but this?” I indicated the book remains. “Clearly, this has crossed a line.”
She scoffed. “Uh, yeah?”
Olivia was a total book nerd and I loved her for it.
“Do you need backup?” Olivia didn’t like for me to defend her, but she was my friend and if there was something I could do about it, then I would make it a priority no matter what was going on with me. The end of the world could wait.
She tapped her lip. “What about Hendrik? Make him useful for something. He’s all about that alliances shit.”
It was true, but I wanted to deal with this personally.
Olivia picked up on my unease and sighed. “I can handle myself, Lily.” She straightened, as if mentally brushing off her irritation and smiled. “Why don’t you tell me why you’re here? Usually you’re blowing off steam at the Awakening Arena on our days off.”
It was true. What can I say? I have rage issues.
I leaned against her and propped my chin on her bony shoulder.
Olivia was so cute and tiny, but she made for a poor pillow.
“Orion left campus just to get away from me. Logan is trying to dominate me like I’m just another member of his pack.
Dante goes on a year-long mission and comes back as if everything he’s done has been for me.
Kaito acts like I should be grateful for everything he does. And Hendrik wants me to be his pet.”
Olivia chuckled. “And I thought I had guy problems.”
“I feel like everyone is out to get me,” I said mournfully. Normally, I didn’t want to whine about my problems, but Olivia was always a good listener.
Her smile dimmed as she glanced around the library. “Gee, what would give you that idea?”
“I just told you—”
Olivia shifted out from under me, making me fumble. “Lils. Look.”
I blinked up for the first time to see that we were no longer alone. Hundreds of students had appeared and stared at us with glazed looks as they slowly shuffled closer.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I dove into that cold pit in my chest. My Blood Stone reacted, creating an equilibrium of power in my body that hummed to life.
Then I sensed it. Everyone here had been spelled.
“What should we do?” Olivia whispered as she slowly got to her feet, ready to bolt.
Not that we had anywhere to go.
There was only one staircase down and there wasn’t a window in sight on this level. A wall of students formed in front of it, their emotionless expressions creeping me out.
My nostrils flared. “Melinda,” I growled.
Olivia nodded in confirmation. “She’s nearby.”
I knew a Muse was powerful, but this kind of show took the cake.
A line of thralls parted to reveal a smug-looking Melinda as she waltzed towards us, hips swaying with confidence.
“Well, well, well. I finally have the both of you in one place.” She chuckled and flicked a curl of her hair over her shoulder.
“Really, how stupid are you guys? I’ve seen your little roommate coming to study here for ages, and it’s such a perfect place for an ambush.
” She grinned, the gesture verging on maniacal. “All I had to do was wait.”
She snapped her fingers.
Each student produced a weapon ranging from silver flashes of daggers to sharpened pencils held in white-knuckled grips. One of the thralls without a weapon looked stressed, then bent down and picked up a heavy book to hold over his head, ready to strike.
“You’re crossing a line,” I warned Melinda. “The Dean will expel you if you force them to hurt us.”
I knew that the cliques were encouraged to develop supernatural relationships and abilities, but outright killing students was forbidden. I hoped that maiming would be off the table, too, but given what I’d seen on campus so far, I wasn’t so sure.
Melinda’s laughter chimed through the library with an irritating echo of power rushing behind it. Her eyes glowed with a soft azure heat that smoked pleasantly around her face.
Where had she gotten so much power?
“Really? Because from what I’ve heard you are a stubborn dud that refuses to Awaken.
I might have convinced the Dean that a real life-or-death situation would do wonders for you.
And if you were as strong as Hendrik thinks you are, then a little fun with thralls could hardly do you harm.
” She shrugged her tiny graceful shoulders.
“Professor Payne also backed me up, saying that with your fighting skill at such a high level, this is the kind of challenge that might just work. I mean, you faced your little Hunter and lived to talk about it.” She flashed me a grin. “Consider me extra credit.”
Her thralls moved in, shuffling like zombies as they readied their weapons.
Olivia grabbed my hand until all feeling left my fingers. Thoughts raced in my mind, but I couldn’t think of a way out of this one that wouldn’t wind up hurting or killing half of the students here.
“They’re innocents,” I growled. “The Dean is okay with their blood on her hands?”
Melinda snapped her fingers, sending two of the thralls to impale themselves in the stomach with their weapons. They fell to the ground with a soft thud and blood pooled around their still forms. “Does that answer your question?”
“She’s a psycho,” Olivia hissed, pulling me back against the wall. Her frantic eyes darted as her breath came in quick gasps. “I’m going to have to use my magic.”
“No,” I snapped, the word a command. “That would kill you.”
Olivia pleaded with me with her gaze. “What other choice do we have?”
There was another choice, but it meant trusting Kaito.
Damn it all.
I brought out the Fortune card and broke it in half.