Chapter Eleven
Audrey
D inner with Brenden turns out to be a great idea. I love being around him and have officially dubbed him a psycho golden retriever—something he finds hilarious, thankfully.
As I return to my suite later that evening, I feel a little bad that I haven’t checked in with Diana or any of my other suitemates. I also didn’t think to get anyone’s numbers before we ventured off in separate directions—something I plan to rectify tonight.
“Audrey! Where have you been?” Diana shrieks as soon as I swing the door open, and I only have a moment before she’s hurling herself into my arms.
“Oof.” I barely manage to remain on my feet as my friend clings to me. “Uhhh... is everything okay, Diana?”
“I thought you’d been sent for judgment when you didn’t come back to the suite!” Diana sniffles as she pulls back, revealing the tears in her eyes.
Wincing, I glance around the room and realize not everyone else is here. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that. My guide invited me to have dinner with him in his building and we were just hanging out.”
“So, you ditched me for a guy?” Diana huffs, but a smile is tugging at the corners of her mouth. “I see how it is.”
Shaking my head, I let go of the hold and head into the living area. “Daphne, Grace, and Willow?”
“Our guide sent Grace to be judged,” Diana says quietly, all hints of her smile gone. “Violet and Celeste were with Willow when one of their professors sent her away. You and Daphne were the last two unaccounted for.”
“I’m sorry I worried you,” I tell them, looking around as the others shrug. We started with eight of us in our suite and less than twenty-four hours later, we’re down to possibly five of us. That’s definitely not great odds.
Diana pulls me down onto the couch and starts badgering me for information on Brenden. It’s not like I have a lot to tell her, but it seems to distract all of us as we wait to see if Daphne will show up.
Once the clock hits nine, I sigh. “I need to check out my syllabi and go to bed. I’m meeting Brenden at like seven to go to breakfast so I can avoid the crowd.”
“Yeah, I should do the same.” Madison pushes to her feet. “We need to exchange numbers. At least if someone doesn’t answer, then we’ll know they’re gone, I guess?”
The five of us quickly exchange numbers before heading to our separate rooms. I wince when I realize Diana and I are the only ones still sharing a room. “This kind of sucks.”
She snorts. “It does, but it’s better than the alternative, right?”
She’s not wrong. I’d much rather be training to be a reaper than wandering around mindless as I wait to be reincarnated.
Pulling my laptop from my bag, I set it on the desk and boot it up before digging for the four flash drives. It doesn’t take long for me to review the syllabi and see what we’ll be studying and what is expected of us. Overall, it doesn’t seem that difficult. With a sigh, I close the laptop and turn to Diana, who is already climbing into bed.
“We can do this, right?”
Her smile is tight when she nods. “We absolutely can do this. In fact, we’re going to rock it.”
“Right.” I nod, pushing to my feet and turning off the light before pulling on my pajamas. By the time I crawl into bed, Diana is already snoring away. Gods, I wish it was that easy for me to fall asleep.
Lying on my back, I stare up at the ceiling as the day plays on repeat through my mind. I’ve been here for nearly twenty-four hours, and I still remember nothing about how I died or the life I lived before I was murdered. I think what’s bothering me the most is not knowing. It makes me feel out of control, and I’m not a fan.
Sighing, I roll over as frustration washes through me. Everything about this place makes me feel out of control. There are so many unknowns, so much I can’t do a damn thing about. It’s driving me crazy, and now I can’t fall asleep.
Just fucking great.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I try to focus on the enjoyable parts of the day. I was hit on at least once by that Donovan guy. Then there’s Brenden, who I can’t wait to spend more time with. There’s just something about him that draws me in.
Tension falls away as I allow myself to relax. At least one good thing that has come of this place so far. No, that’s not right. Two good things—Diana and Brenden. Now, I just need to make sure that we all stick around long enough to become reapers. Simple enough, right?
And with that happy thought, I drift to sleep.
“Why do you always have to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong?”
I groan, trying to lift my hand to my pounding head, but I can’t seem to move it. Turning my head, I realize my hands are bound to the chair I’m sitting in.
What the hell?
Blinking, I try to focus on the figure before me, but everything is blurry.
“You’ve always been a pain in the ass, Audrey. We’ve been planning it for too long, and there’s no way I will allow you to ruin it for me—for us.”
Unable to see the face of the person speaking, I focus on their voice instead. A part of me recognizes the voice, but I just can’t seem to place it.
“This complicates things, but it’s fixable. You just won’t be around to see what comes next.”
The voice is cold and calculating, almost devoid of emotion. A shiver runs down my spine at the implications of the words.
“Time for a nap, Audrey. I don’t have time to deal with you right now, but when I get back? I’ll have so much fun taking care of you.”
I cry out at the jab of a needle to my neck, my eyes feeling heavy almost immediately.
As darkness threatens to overwhelm me, I only have one thought—Wren.
Wren. Wren. Wren. Wren.
Jerking awake, I gasp for breath as memories of my nightmare flash through my head. Only, I don’t think it was just a nightmare. No, that was a memory.
Not only was it a memory, but I think it was what led up to my murder. If only I could’ve made out the face of the person threatening me, or if I could figure out why the voice sounded so familiar. Nothing comes to me until I remember the name from the end of the memory.
Wren.
My twin.
Holy shit.
I have a twin. Or, I guess, I had a twin? No, she’s definitely still my twin, even if I’m dead.
How could I have forgotten my own twin?
Lifting a hand to my chest, I wince at the sharp pain there. It’s like I’m missing a part of myself, and I hadn’t even noticed.
Tears spill down my cheeks as memory after memory of Wren slips through my mind. When we were five years old and some kid thought they could bully my quiet sister, I’d knocked him out even though he’d been twice my size. At ten, we’d gotten lost in the woods behind our house and when it got dark, we’d used our magic to light a tree on fire so our mom could find us. As teenagers, navigating high school and mean girls—Wren had been the popular one while I’d been the anti-social outsider. Going off to separate colleges and learning to live away from one another for the first time.
Love for my sister fills me. She was always my reason for living, even when things got hard. Now I’m gone, and she’s still there. Would whoever killed me go after her next? Even without knowing the details, I know I wouldn’t have dragged her into whatever mess I’d gotten tangled up in, but would my murderer know that?
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Brushing away my tears, I glance at the phone to see it’s just after five. There’s no point in going back to sleep now—not that I think I could. I head for the bathroom and take the hottest shower possible, as the tears continue to fall. I’m glad I remember Wren, but this is going to make things harder for me. Being away from her has always been hard, but knowing that I’m in the underworld while she’s still on earth? That’s just too much distance, and I don’t have any way to close it.
I don’t know how long I stay in the shower, but the tears eventually dry up and my skin is all pruney, so I turn off the still hot water and climb out. My entire body aches as I dry off and dress, trying to remain as quiet as possible so I won’t wake up Diana. Not that I think anything can wake her up from the sleep of the dead she seems to be in—pun fully intended.
Packing my bag, I realize it’s after six, so the dining hall is open. I might as well head there and fill up on coffee because after this night, I’m going to need it.
Me:
Woke up early. Heading to the dining hall now.
Hopefully, my text won’t wake him up. I’m not sure that I’m really up for company, but we have plans, so I’m not going to just blow him off. This sudden hole in my heart isn’t his fault.
No, the only person at fault for this is the asshole who decided to murder me, and based on what I’m remembering, it’s clear there was a lot more to my death than someone just wanting me dead. They wanted me quiet, so I couldn’t tell what I knew. If only I could remember what I’d known. Then maybe I’d be able to make it right.
Dwelling on it isn’t going to do me any good, so after leaving a quick note for Diana, I head for the dining hall.