Chapter 39
39
Raze
R avenshurst’s winter semester kicks off with nearly half the admission rate they started with in the fall. Hatchcroft’s face is permanently beet red, and I could swear that his hairline has moved back another inch. He looks like he’s going to spontaneously combust at any given moment. The few students who were brave enough to attend are under a new, stricter set of rules than ever before.
They are not allowed to congregate in the quad.
They are only permitted in the dining halls, the main library, or their classes.
And under no circumstances are they to leave the campus to enter Nocturne Valley or the woods.
Everyone knows about Sonny and her friends. They whisper their names under their breaths—too afraid to voice them aloud and be caught speaking of the enemy, but too curious not to gossip. I’ve heard some of the most horrific rumors being spread for the sake of entertainment and clout.
They’ve been so brainwashed by the Syndicate’s propaganda, they don’t even care that their freedoms have been stripped away or that they’ve been turned against their own friends. They truly believe that the university—this enormous institution that they are paying to attend—has their safety and best interests at heart by taking away basic freedoms. It’s indoctrination in its purest form.
It takes a concentrated effort for me not to scream into their faces how backward they’ve got it, but I manage to bite my tongue.
Now that the Syndicate is convinced that their prisoners are being harbored by rebellion members, they’ve doubled down on their efforts to force us out of hiding. Random home raids have begun on top of the interrogations. Those who don’t comply are arrested and brought into the police department to be interviewed. Curfews have been implemented to ensure no one is out once the sun sets—which, in the winter, is around five o’clock. Businesses have been forced to modify their hours and schools have had to cut down their days to allow everyone time to get home by the time the police begin their patrol. Like the students, absolutely no one is allowed to go into the woods surrounding the town.
It’s hostile and backward and has done nothing to convince Nocturnians that the Syndicate prioritizes their safety over everything else. In fact, if anything, it’s sent them running into the arms of the rebellion.
They’ve brought every Primaris they can think of to comb the woods and hunt Sonny down, which has made visiting the safe house that much more difficult. Constance and Carter allowed her friends to take a ride through the woods that almost led a whole search unit back to the house if we hadn’t been able to redirect them. They certainly paid for that mistake.
Griff is the only one taking the risk of visiting, and that’s just because he’s convinced they need physical training to defend themselves, since Ravenshurst has done a shit job at teaching them how to properly wield their gifts.
I’ve been an anxious, irritable pain in the ass to everyone I’ve encountered. Being away from Sonny and not knowing her every move has me on pins and needles.
They’ll never find the house. We know they won’t. It’s been intentionally built into the side of a mountain and warded off by the most talented Luminaras and we’ve got our best members watching over it and all the others. It’s getting through the woods without detection that poses the greatest risk.
Me and my little nightmare haven’t had time to talk since the night she broke her bed. I replay the events of that night in my head every time I’m in the shower, jacking off to it like some hormonal teenager. I’ve never used my shadows on a woman—never could. But holy shit, does it make things interesting.
I know through random gossip between rebellion members that her parents have tried to explain the situation to her, but she’s maintained her stubborn stance against forgiving them. Naturally, they were on Constance and Carter’s sides, but none of them witnessed the hurt on Sonny’s face when she realized she had been betrayed by her own blood.
I don’t care how great of leaders they’ve been to us. Their daughter deserved better.
It’s only a matter of time before the Supremes catch on that I’m working with their enemy. They’re growing more paranoid as time passes, realizing that they’ve got quite a few leaks in their sinking ship.
Although the energy it takes to run my classes without a TA, conduct their nightly interrogations, and attend their meetings has stretched me so thin, I’m hardly able to take part in anything the rebellion is doing. The end of this is creeping in on us, and we’re all starting to feel the effects.