Chapter Two
Brigid
Fiona .
My feet root to the floor. Brain misfires. Breath catches in my throat.
It can ’ t be.
Fiona, here. In this hidden archive room deep within Grimstone Academy flanked by stern-faced Council guards in their silver-embroidered black uniforms.
Impossible.
Fiona belongs to my old life, my human life. The boisterous woman who shelved books at the library. Who snuck me sips of her “ special tea” on her break and whispered raunchy jokes when the supervisor wasn ’ t looking.
Fiona can ’ t be part of this supernatural world. She can ’ t be aligned with the Council. It has to be a trick, an illusion.
But it ’ s her. Same elfin build, same choppy white hair. Same thick glasses and loud, mismatched jewelry. Same purple corduroy jacket.
It ’ s Fiona. But wrong. All wrong.
I blink hard. Room spins.
“ Brigid? You know this woman?” Lochan ’ s gruff voice in my ear. Steadying hand on my elbow. That ’ s new.
“ Yes. No. I mean, I thought I did...” I trail off.
“ She ’ s with the Council.” Callan ’ s ice-blue eyes narrow, assessing this new threat.
Tiernan steps forward, placing his body between me and Fiona, while Marius lingers in the shadows behind the shelves. Watching. Waiting.
The clashing realities make me dizzy.
Fiona removes her glasses with a slow deliberateness—the calculated movement strips away another layer of familiarity camouflaging my old friend—transforming before my very eyes into someone else.
“ Brigid, my girl.” The familiarity of it hits me like a gut punch, knocking the breath from my lungs.
Memories flood back—laughter spilling over shared secrets, late-night confessions, and her soothing presence during those dark days before everything changed.
I want to recoil, but I ’ m frozen in place, caught between nostalgia and betrayal. The warmth of our past friendship feels like it ’ s smothered under ice now.
“ Look at you,” she continues, her gaze sweeping across my face as if trying to peel back the layers of my defenses. “ You ’ ve grown into something… formidable.” A predatory glint sparks in her eyes. “ This is where you ’ ve always belonged.”
Fiona tucks a strand of her messy white hair behind her ear. “ As for me, I ’ m the new dean of Grimstone. A little promotion, if you will. Though I ’ m sure you and your circle of friends have a better way of describing it.” Her eyes flicker over Tiernan and Marius. “ And I know what you ’ re thinking. It ’ s true, I work for the Council, but I ’ m on your side—”
“ Bullshit.” Lochan mutters.
I still can ’ t speak.
Callen ’ s cool voice echoes in the cavernous room. “ Speak your piece, and then we ’ ll decide whether to believe you.”
Fiona ’ s admission leaves me shell-shocked, but I make my expression blank, as I have learned to do so well. Whatever her motives, she ’ s not my friend. Was never my friend.
No friend would ever do what she ’ s done. The tears gather in the corners of my eyes, thinking of how I opened up to her. Of how she was the only person I could truly trust.
I want to throw up.
“ I know you all have questions, but now isn ’ t the time. The Harrowing draws near, and Brigid here,” she smiles, “ is right in the crosshairs of some powerful forces. The Council has been… observing her progress.”
“ Is that what you call tossing her into the dungeon? Observing her progress?” Lochan spits.
“ An unfortunate overreaction.” Fiona cocks her head and arches an eyebrow. She ’ s smiling, and it ’ s so familiar it makes my heart ache. But it doesn ’ t look as warm and friendly as it used to be. Now it looks…predatory.
I can ’ t stop staring at Fiona ’ s face. Every expression, every gesture I once found comforting now is like a knife twisting in my stomach. The grief over Rory ’ s loss, still raw and bleeding, mingles with this fresh betrayal.
I realize I ’ m shivering. Tiernan ’ s hand finds mine, and his warmth is comforting.
Lochan ’ s voice breaks through my haze. “ Staying at the academy seems stupid. The Council ’ s intentions are suspect at best.”
“ Suspect?” Callen scoffs. “ They ’ re fucking dangerous. We ’ d be walking into a trap.”
Fiona ’ s smile doesn ’ t waver. “ Boys, boys. Such paranoia. The Council only wants what ’ s best for—”
“ Save it,” I hiss, finding my voice at last. “ You lied to me for months. Years. Everything was a lie.”
Her eyes meet mine, no trace of remorse. “ Not everything, Brigid. Our friendship was genuine.”
I laugh, and it ’ s a harsh sound. Bitter even to my ears. “ Fuck you.”
Tiernan steps closer, his presence solid and grounding. “ Even the forest would be safer than Grimstone ’ s walls,” he murmurs to me. “ At least there, nature is honest in its dangers.”
The guards shift behind Fiona, readying themselves.
“ And where would you go?” Fiona laughs, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “ You can ’ t hide forever,” Fiona says, her tone light but with an undercurrent of something harder. “ Grimstone is where Brigid belongs. Where you all belong.”
I sense the shadows stirring around me, responding to my distress. Fiona ’ s eyes sharpen.
Fiona ’ s gaze flicks over our group, lingering on each face. “ I ’ m curious. What exactly was your plan after breaking Brigid out? Surely you didn ’ t think you could just... disappear?”
Callan ’ s laugh is all sharp edges. “ Wouldn ’ t you like to know?”
“ We ’ re not idiots,” Lochan adds, voice cold. “ We don ’ t owe you explanations.”
“ The Council only wanted to help Brigid. To understand her power. Locking her up was a precaution, nothing more.”
Liar. The word screams in my head but doesn ’ t leave my lips.
I scan the faces around me. Doubt etches deep lines in Tiernan ’ s brow. Lochan ’ s jaw tightens, eyes hard. Callan ’ s smirk doesn ’ t reach his eyes.
And Marius...
He lurks, silent. Watchful. The surrounding air feels charged. Dangerous.
Our eyes lock. His lips curve, just slightly. A promise. A threat.
I shudder. No. No more. Not after what happened to Rory.
Fiona ’ s voice ends the silence. “ Come now, Brigid. Let ’ s put this unpleasantness behind us. The Council and Grimstone can protect you. Train you.”
Control me, she means. My fingers clench.
Without even thinking about it, I look behind me, seeking Marius, then I blink, realizing he ’ s gone. When? How?
Fiona claps her hands. “ Alright, everyone. Back to your rooms. We ’ ll sort this out properly in the morning.”
The others hesitate, exchanging glances, waiting for me. I nod, throat tight. They file out, tension coiled in every step.
Fiona turns to me. “ Well, that was exciting! Reminds me of that time we snuck into the library after hours.”
What the fuck?
“ Remember? You nearly pissed yourself when that chair creaked.”
I stare, bile rising. This can ’ t be real.
“ We should grab coffee soon, catch up. Maybe a scone even! I haven ’ t been able to find anything that rivals Georgie ’ s cherry cake, not even here.”
My mind reels. Coffee? Cherry cake? Like we ’ re not standing in a secret archive surrounded by guards, like she didn ’ t just reveal herself as my jailer. Like she didn ’ t just show herself to be someone who lied to me for years. Betrayed me for years.
“ Fiona, what the hell is going on?”
She laughs, light and carefree. “ Oh, Brigid, always so serious. Come on, I ’ ll walk you back. You can fill me in about your new boyfriends on the way.”
The disconnect is nauseating. My best friend turns out to be a completely different person, and now she ’ s blathering about coffee dates while my world crumbles.
I turn away from her, hurrying to catch up with the guys, not daring to look back.