Chapter 22
“Let’s wait until we’re in the Lounge.” That’s what she said when Bane demanded to know what this was all about.
The first look we exchanged after that made me feel as if we had the same thing going through our minds — the incident at the gym earlier today.
With my eyes fixed on her back and in tense silence, I keep following Serra up the stairs with him walking by my side. His entire body seems to be radiating the harsh focus of an alpha, but whenever I throw a glance at him, failing to stop myself from bombarding him with silent questions… I find this calmness in his eyes. It helps ease the worry gnawing at me, the way they seem to be saying it’s too early to get myself this worked up.
The last look I give him is grateful, at least that’s how I hope it comes across.
Just as I do, we enter the Lounge and I see the clock on the wall across from us showing 01:58. My mind rushes to the Pull request and I frown. But the second I see there’s only Lorcan waiting for us here, it all slips my mind.
I come to a stop, turning to look at Serra again. “Now will you tell us what’s going on?”
“Patience, Miss Novak,” she says as she goes to take her own seat at the table. “Have a seat, you two.”
We listen, and the moment we do, there’s this sound followed by so many footsteps echoing against the seventh-floor landing outside.
Then people start filing inside, people I’ve never seen, all looking larger than life. A fae-blooded woman with dark skin and silver dreadlocks, a vampire man in a suit fit for a royal, a shifter man with a skull across half his face, and a dozen more trailing after them, but the rest look more like they’re some kind of assistants.
They’re all wearing the same symbol around their necks. An eye with sun rays shooting out of it. Lorcan’s wearing one, I notice. Even Serra.
In fact, Bane and I are the only ones who aren’t. Frowning, I turn to ask him, “Who are these people?”
“I don’t know,” he replies, obviously not pleased at the fact. It makes me more unsettled than anything else, how grave his voice is and how he’s barely looked at me while saying the words.
All in silence, the people take their seats around the table, the fae-blooded woman taking the one at the front.
She wastes no time on greetings. She clears her throat, takes a stack of photos out of her robe and starts passing it around, saying, “On December 7th, in an abandoned house in Harald, Norway, three people were found dead, killed using an unfamiliar type of magic.”
My eyebrows pull down. It’s that incident they were talking about on TV. I take a look at the photo that finds its way to me. It’s a photo of someone’s face, but it takes me a second to realize that’s what I’m looking at. It’s grim, possibly more than anything I’ve seen so far. The eyes are dead, the skin is grotesquely sagging, and the mouth is drooping in an expression of silent terror.
I notice no one other than Bane and myself is looking at the photos. It makes my frown grow deeper.
“The Authority eventually closed the case,” the woman says, “assigning the incident to a misfiring of Nature Magic.”
There’s a moment of silence during which I feel a dozen pairs of eyes fix on me.
Including the eyes of the fae-blooded woman. “What do you think about it, Miss Novak?” she asks.
My eyebrows shoot up. “Me?” I glance around the table. “Um, what do you mean?”
“Do you think it was a misfiring of Nature Magic?” the woman clarifies, a touch of impatience in her voice.
“Well, I don’t know how it’s relevant,” I say with an awkward laugh, “what I think about it.” I look at Serra when I ask, “Excuse me, but why am I even here? It was made clear to me that, as a part-time Librarian, I will no longer be participating in faculty meetings.”
“This is not a faculty meeting,” the fae-blooded woman cuts me off. “Does the name Baldur mean anything to you?”
“Don’t answer,” I hear Bane say and I turn to look at him only to find him staring at the woman with clear suspicion in his eyes. Then he shifts his focus onto me to explain, “There’s something going on here and you shouldn’t tell them anything until you find out what it is.”
I frown at him, uncomfortably aware of all the eyes on us. I don’t have to say anything. He lets out a scoff, but goes back to being an observer.
“Um,” I say as I turn back to the woman, “of course. He was this powerful vampire the Old Norse tribes thought to be a god.”
The fae-blooded woman nods. “Around eleven centuries ago, just as it was prophesied,” she starts matter-of-factly, “the vampire by the name of Baldur ascended to the throne, soon showing the world his mission was to enslave the Scions and take the Originals’ powers for himself. We don’t know what happened, but he failed in this and got blown to four pieces, each of which landed in a different place. The pieces were all dormant for many hundreds of years…”
It makes me frown. What nonsense is this?
“Until now,” the woman continues, “because we have strong evidence that the Harald incident is actually a byproduct of him waking from an eleven-century long sleep.”
She keeps looking at me. Before I even realize what I’m doing, I let out a laugh. “I’m sorry, who are you? And where’s the Pied Piper?”
“We’re the Order of the Dawn, Miss Novak,” the woman replies as she sweeps her hand around the room. “Our mission, for the last eleven centuries, has been to protect the world in case Baldur ever manages to return.”
“Is this you trying to poach me?” I ask with an awkward laugh. “I’m sad to say I wouldn’t be of any use to you.”
“Actually,” Serra speaks, for the first time since the people showed up, “you’ll be playing a vital role in our efforts.”
Our efforts?
“As the Aurora,” Lorcan says, sounding a lot less smug than usual, “it’s your job to protect the world when it’s in danger like this.”
“Excuse me?” I ask with a frown, sensing Bane tense up next to me.
Is this a dream, I think to myself.
“Have you ever read the Sleeping Beauty, Miss Novak?” the fae-blooded woman asks me.
“Of course I have,” I reply with a shrug. “That’s the Aurora you’re referring to?”
“Yes.”
She looks like someone you don’t want to mess with, but I raise my eyebrows at her. It’s in a mocking voice that I ask, “The damsel in distress who was preyed on by the old vampire woman driven by jealousy?”
She shakes her head. “No, that’s a more recent, twisted version of the fairy tale.” She leans back in her chair. “Our experts agree that it got confused with stories of an old vampire woman who enchanted a spindle to draw blood from young girls and put them under her influence.”
Serra cuts in. “The real story is much, much older, Miss Novak. The princess from the fairy tale, she is no real-life princess. Her name isn’t Aurora. It’s the Aurora, meaning the being embodying the cosmic will to live.”
“Okay,” I murmur, feeling more confused than before.
Serra leans to explain. “The Aurora is pure magic — vampire, shifter and fae, whose role in the universe is to keep it in balance.”
I let out a scoff. “But there’s no such thing as a being who’s all three in one.”
“There hasn’t been, for at least eleven centuries, “the fae-blooded woman says, “long enough for the legend to be forgotten, to survive only as a few muddled fragments in stories that tend to have nothing to do with the original.”
“Until now, that is,” Serra adds.
Are they saying what I think they’re saying? “Are you kidding me?” I demand, raising my voice without meaning to. “I’m not even a shifter, not properly at least.” And I motion at Bane. “Go ahead, ask him.”
When I turn to look at him, I find him narrowing his eyes at me, as if I’m the one who’s being suspicious here.
The fae-blooded woman clears her throat. “We’ve been analyzing your behavior, Miss Novak—”
I turn to Serra again. “Have you been talking to these people about me?” I demand.
She stays silent for a second. “Lorcan and I,” she finally starts hesitantly, “we’ve had our doubts ever since we found out you were a shifter.”
Lorcan clears his throat. He sounds as if he’s forcing himself to speak when he says, “It’s not something that normally happens, Miss Novak — a human turning out to be an Original. It goes against the laws of nature.”
I lean back in my chair and fold my arms. “I want to talk to the Pied Piper.”
“The Pied Piper doesn’t believe in this,” Serra replies with a shake of her head.
“Then why should I?”
“Miss Novak,” that fucking fae-blooded woman starts again, sounding as if she’s talking to a half-wit, “only hours ago, hundreds of students saw you destroy Academy property using a type of magic no living Original is capable of wielding.”
“How do you explain that?” Lorcan cuts in.
I frown, my mind starting to buzz uncontrollably. “I’ve been feeling strange, sure—”
Lorcan barks out a laugh. “Feeling strange, she says.”
“The magic you used wasn’t the magic of an ordinary shifter, or an ordinary vampire, or even an ordinary fae, including those who have experience in Divine Magic,” Serra explains patiently. She takes a book out of her robe, opens it and hands it to me across the table. “It was the magic of the Aurora, as depicted in this book right here.”
I look down at the illustration. It’s the same drawing Alaric showed me, just in a different book.
“In normal circumstances,” I hear the fae-blooded woman’s voice, “you would be someone who’s already awoken all of her powers, the powers of all three bloodlines. But since it is true, what you say about your skills being… lacking… and since, right now, you only seem to be able to wield the Aurora powers accidentally, not intentionally, we will need you to immediately start the preparations to complete your training.”
When she finishes, I find myself gripping the book tight, staring at the illustrations in absolute silence. Then I let go of it and look up at Serra. “What if I say no?”
“Miss Novak,” the fae-blooded woman starts in a harsh tone, “there are no laws regarding the Aurora and our intention is not to do you any harm. No one can force you to do this. But according to the last bit of the prophecy that turned out to be true so long ago, Baldur only needs to have his remaining three pieces awoken to lift the curse that was placed on him, and when he does…”
“Let’s just say we won’t be able to defeat him all over again,” Serra says as she takes another book out and slides it across the table to me.
I look at the old carving on the page she’s opened the book to. It’s one of those majestic depictions of a bloody battle in full swing, but in this one, everyone — humans and Originals alike — seems to be at complete mercy of a tall, black figure wielding an entire army of what I can only interpret as shadow soldiers. “Those are Baldur’s nightmares. It’s the most powerful Shadow Magic you can imagine and there is nothing he can’t do with it, ergo the Old Norse tribes deeming him a god.”
It’s when I look up at her that she adds, “Without the Aurora, we don’t really stand a chance. And we’ll need you to at least master one of your three bloodline powers.”
They don’t give me time to react. “You have until the winter break is over,” the fae-blooded woman concludes as she gets up, making everyone else but Bane and me follow suit. “We’ll be leaving now, but we ask that you take the following month to think about our proposition and come for a meeting with MacArthur and Naehorn on the first day of the second term. We’re looking forward to hearing your decision.”
I don’t say anything. My mind is buzzing too much for my mouth to observe niceties. I just watch them all leave the room, everyone but Bane, Serra and Lorcan.
I can tell they’re about to launch into a discussion with me, so I beat them to it. “Sorry,” I say as I get up and start making my way to the bathroom, “I’ll be right back.”
***
I’m sitting in the bathroom stall, staring at the tiles in front of me when I ask, “Did you know about this?”
It surprises me, when she actually replies. I did. And so did you.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I order. “What is that thing I do when I touch people, what are those visions I keep having, and why is all this so difficult for me?”
She lets out a laugh. Sure. Just tell me what happened to your last incarnation.
At this, I feel such a violent rush of guilt, shame and pain that I can barely breathe. I put my arms around myself and grit my teeth. “How am I supposed to know that?” I finally squeeze out.
You could if you wanted to.
“Why are you like this?” I ask, this desperation starting to suffocate me. “What have I done to you?”
It almost makes me jump up, when she snarls, You know what you did, child. You just don’t want to admit it to yourself.
For a moment, I stay silent, my breathing heavy and my face flushed. “You’d rather watch me get myself killed than talk to me?”
She lets out a scoff. What does it matter? You’ll just get reborn again.
“It doesn’t work like that,” I grit out. “It doesn’t make death any less scary.”
It’s in a voice dripping with mocking poison that she replies, I know.
And with that, she slinks back into the shadows, leaving me sitting there in absolute silence, fighting not to start crying.
***
It’s in a haze that I step out of the bathroom, finding only Bane left waiting for me, standing in the middle of the landing with his arms folded. Good. It’s him and only him I want to talk to right now. Still, I ask, “Where did they go?”
“You took longer than you think,” he says as he watches me approach with this caution in his eyes. There’s no reprimand or saltiness in his voice though. He’s just stating a fact. “They said they’ll see you after the winter break, eight AM sharp.” He lowers his arms to his sides. “Listen—”
“Is there anything you can do to make my wolf talk to me?” I cut in, the desperation threatening to gnaw its way out of me. “There are questions I need answering and she’s refusing to answer them.”
For a moment, he just looks at me, something flashing through his eyes. “I understand,” he starts slowly, “but it’s never a good idea to try to force your animal into anything, so if she doesn’t want to talk to you…”
The desperation gnaws its way a little closer to the surface. “What do you think about all this?” I ask.
I don’t know what it is, but I need something from him and I need to get it before the cracks start showing.
He takes a deep breath, his jaw clenching. “What do I think? I think you should put it out of your head and go straight to bed.”
“Put it out of my head?” I echo with a frown. “That’s the only thing I can’t do.”
“Well do it anyway,” he replies forcefully. Then he relaxes a bit and leans a little closer, seeming to hesitate before he says, “You’re struggling as it is and if you start—”
“Got it, thanks,” I coldly cut him off, needing him to shut up as quickly as possible. I only register his eyebrows shooting up before I tear my eyes away from him and take a step back, fighting to keep my cool because of the burning pain the words cause me.
Struggling as it is...
“I only meant to say you have enough on your plate,” I hear him say with this caution in his voice, but now, all I want is to get away from him as quickly as possible.
I have to force myself to look him in the eye again and put on a smile. “No, you’re absolutely right. I’ll be going straight to bed,” I lie. “Thanks for the advice and good night.”
He’s very obviously not buying it, his frown only growing deeper, but I just throw him a nod, turn on my heel and start moving out of the Tower.
When I sense him fall into step with me, I shoot him a look, to which he says, “I’ll walk you to the Tower.”
“I need to be alone right now,” I say in the lightest voice I can muster.
“I don’t think that’s a good—”
“I don’t care,” I snap. And I can”t take it back, but… I come to a stop, I turn to face him and I blow out an awkward laugh. “Sorry about that. Just go back to the party and have fun, alright?”
I don’t wait for his reaction. I turn around again and start rushing down the stairs and straight to Lycan Tower, determination making my blood pump faster. The winter break is officially starting and I know exactly what I need to do right now. I’ll grab a few essentials, I’ll use the emergency Pull Pass and I’ll get the hell out of this place well before all this madness makes me break into a million pieces.