Chapter 17
Were they demons or angels? I found them to be neither. They were something else. Something more than we could have ever imagined…
FIRST CONTACT MEMORANDUM (VAULT ARCHIVES)
The Main Building halls were quiet as we made our way to the first floor, where History of Nightsbridge was taught. The place was a maze of corridors and smaller rooms, and although I had a pretty good sense of direction, I was soon overwhelmed.
I’d need help making my way out. Hopefully, another student, or maybe a map of the building. Either would work.
“Don’t be nervous,” Drayven said, mistaking my silence for apprehension. “Constance is a ball-breaker, but once she hears what happened—”
“No. I don’t want everyone knowing what Viola did.”
“Fine, I’ll ask Selethis if we can speak in private. But there should be repercussions for what Viola did.”
“Oh, believe me, there will be.” I preferred to serve my revenge over several courses, with a little added garnish for presentation.
He eyed me warily, and I realized I was wearing what my mother liked to call my murder grin. I quickly rearranged my features into a relatively normal expression and shrugged. “Karma, you know.”
“Yes…of course.” But he didn’t look convinced. Smart guy.
We stopped at a set of wooden doors carved with an ornate pattern of roses and thorns, the red wood gleaming from frequent polishing.
“This is it,” Drayven said. “Wait here.”
He ducked into the room, and my stomach twisted.
Damn, I hated this feeling. The nerves that dragged me back to my student days.
I shouldn’t be feeling them now. None of this mattered.
Not in the grand scheme of things. Not when it came to my true goal for being here.
I didn’t need Constance or anyone in this twisted place to like me.
But the nerves didn’t seem to understand this and continued to tie knots in my belly.
Drayven returned with Mistress Selethis in tow.
She closed the door and peered down at me over her perfect nose. She couldn’t be more than half a head taller than me, but in that moment, as she looked me over, I felt much smaller.
Her dark hair was pinned in a chic twist, and the navy skirt and blazer she wore over her cream blouse gave her a professional air while accentuating her slender curves.
She was too gorgeous to be real. Why would Vitra want to sleep with anyone else?
“You’re twenty minutes late,” she said. Trinity save me, even her voice was beautiful.
Soft and sultry, but not overly so. I bet she could turn up the allure if she wanted to.
Damn it, she was speaking. Focus. “I’m assuming you’ve convinced Mr. Thorn to advocate for you?
” She arched a brow at Drayven. “You should know better, Mr. Thorn. You took my class, albeit a few years ago, but you know the rules.”
“I do,” Drayven said. “But I also know there are exceptions. Miss Onyx was pushed through a portal that took her outside our wards into the northern borderlands.” Her brows lifted slightly, the only indication that she was perturbed by that information.
“She isn’t in the system yet,” Drayven continued, “even though she should be, and so was unable to return to the Academy. She succeeded in evading the ratakan and reached the wards. They repelled her—but also alerted us to a presence. We were able to get to her just in time to save her life.”
“Well…” Mistress Selethis said, pursing her lips. “That is an exception. You’re a very lucky woman.”
“You don’t need to tell me twice.”
“I’ll need the name of the student who pushed you.”
I’d learned a long time ago that ratting got me nowhere. Administration liked to pretend it cared, but nothing ever changed. The only result was that the bullies got more creative. Best way to handle a bully was to deal with them myself.
“I didn’t see who it was. I’m truly gutted about that.”
Beside me, Drayven tensed but didn’t correct me.
Selethis arched a brow. “I see.”
She totally didn’t believe me. “I really don’t want to miss the lesson.”
“You’re now thirty minutes late, but I will make an exception on this occasion. I’m sure your fellow students will understand—considering the circumstances.”
“I’d rather they didn’t know…the circumstances.”
“Oh?” Her perfectly plucked brow arched once more.
I shrugged. “Wouldn’t want anyone else to get ideas.”
The corner of her mouth twitched. “Very well.” She nodded at Drayven. “I can take it from here, Mr. Thorn.”
Drayven’s gaze dropped to me, warm and concerned. “Stay out of trouble.”
“I’ll do my best.”
Selethis pushed open the door. “Welcome to History of Nightsbridge.”
* * *
The lecture hall was packed with students, rows of elevated seats rising before me in a sweeping arc.
Thick drapes covered what must be floor-to-ceiling windows.
A couple of wall lamps at the back of the hall cast a weak amber glow, leaving the room in relative gloom, but even the dim lighting couldn’t hide the ornate wooden moldings that braced the ceiling.
None of the students looked over the age of seventeen. At almost twenty-two, I was the oldest of the bunch, which made sense, considering this was an introductory class.
But still, it was bloody embarrassing.
I took a spot at the front, closest to the exit.
As Selethis fiddled with the slide projector, and the class waited for her to resume the lesson, it hit me—I’d forgotten to grab my bag this morning.
Just as well, it would probably have gotten lost or damaged out in the borderlands.
But now I had nothing to take notes with.
Someone tapped me on the shoulder and passed me a notepad with an ink pen clipped to it.
“You can keep them.” The girl behind me pushed her glasses up her nose and smiled. With her wild, curly chestnut hair and round face, she looked too young to be here.
“Thanks.” I took the items.
The room went dark, and the wall at the front lit up, along with the white crystal embedded in the projector.
It pulsed slowly, siphoning magic from the air to power the machine.
Machines usually needed to be connected to a grid powered by magi-generators, but now, new inventions with built-in crystal siphons were being developed.
They were pricey though, but from the looks of it, Nightsbridge could afford them.
“As you all know, we have a new student with us today,” Selethis announced. “Let’s take this opportunity to briefly review the pertinent facts that we’ve learned over the past few weeks. Who would like to explain The Overshadowing?”
Hands shot up, and Selethis pointed to a boy in the back. “Mr. Robin.”
“The Overshadowing was an event that occurred three hundred years ago. Resulting in the barriers between worlds thinning, causing a merger of worlds. This allowed Horrors and Echoes into our world. No one knows exactly what caused it, though.”
I knew this much already. How The Overshadowing had warped technology and mutated certain creatures and insects. I needed to know more.
“And how did we stop it?” Selethis asked another student.
“We didn’t stop it,” the girl said. “The daeva did. Beings from another world. Guardians of sorts. They helped the humans and supernals of Nova Terra seal the breaches and restore balance. But the Horrors and Echoes—creatures from other worlds—bred, evolved, and took over the land. It’s why the Covenant is so important. ”
“You’re jumping too far ahead,” Robin said. “You haven’t explained the Covenant yet.”
The girl drew back her lips, baring her fangs to hiss at him.
“Enough.” Selethis didn’t raise her voice, but her command echoed throughout the chamber. The silence that followed rang in my ears.
Fang girl dropped her lips back over her teeth and fixed her gaze on her desk.
“Miss Pouvoir,” Selethis called on another student. “Explain the Covenant.”
A pale girl with bright purple hair sat up straighter.
“The Covenant was a pact formed by several supernal bloodlines and covens. The same bloodlines and covens who fought at the Apex Breach, working together to seal it. When they succeeded in closing it, they vowed to provide adolescents from their own bloodlines to cull the threats spawned by The Overshadowing. Thus, the Covenant was formed.”
Selethis gave her a nod. “Good. And what was the location of the Apex Breach?” Selethis asked.
“Here,” Pouvoir said. “In what is now known as Nightsbridge. It’s why the Horrors and Echoes remain. The daeva were able to draw them here with their otherworldly power, but failed to eject them all from this world before the breach was closed. So, the Arcanus built wards to keep them penned in.”
There was no mention of daeva in any of the history books that spoke of The Overshadowing.
The public accounts focused on the event’s impact on our world’s technology and infrastructure, skimping on the details of what had occurred during the event.
And when it came to the question of what caused The Overshadowing, all we had was conjecture.
“Carter, name the houses, covens, and packs,” Selethis asked, moving on.
A girl with a sleek bob rattled off a list of names.
“The Haematophage houses of Damascus, Vayne, and Moon. The sorcerer bloodlines of Reign, Ironhart, and Onyx,” Her gaze slid my way briefly before she continued.
“Packs are Thorn, Indra, and Pouvoir, and covens are Embercrest, Silverthorn, and Evergreen.” She sat back with a smug smile.
“You forgot Blackthorne,” a voice piped up from across the room.
All eyes turned to me—descendant of the Blackthorne exterminator. Great.