56. Chapter 56
Arwen
The last few weeks have been, against all reasonable expectation, the best of my life—which is a thought so dangerous I almost don’t let myself think it, like saying it out loud might tempt the universe to smack me back into place.
After what felt like endless rounds of tense, circular conversations where I had to keep convincing Maddox and Atticus—in various states of near- panic—that no, my other three bonds aren’t secretly scheming together or planning to ruin everything…
things finally settled. Not perfectly. But enough.
Enough that my life has felt almost… stable.
Not perfectly. Not like some fairy tale. But enough. Enough that I can almost pretend this is normal.
Even Holly and Sly seem to be working on things, although getting updates from her on it is like trying to squeeze blood from a stone. Brix is even coming around more after our conversation, albeit slowly.
The creepy messages from Maylo have stopped, causing some concern…
but maybe he has just been implementing some healthy boundaries like I requested.
I’ve also somehow dodged Alexi and Ryker.
The former I’m grateful for. The latter, I wouldn’t mind running into, if only to practice my right hook for what he did to Brix.
Somehow, it works.
I’ve been training more consistently than ever, splitting my time between mental shields with Atticus and power control with Maddox. My Pride ability is still unpredictable in its edges, but its feeling less like something happening to me and more like something I can reach for.
Dean Bellows gave me no choice but to take on extra potions tutoring sessions with Maddox, who has enjoyed torturing me about how the tables have turned in our study dynamic.
Maddox, meanwhile, has gone quiet on the political front in my presence, though I know he’s using whatever dark channels he prefers to search for any sort of record about dual faction powers.
For the first time, I’m not the only one holding the pieces.And honestly, I should have known better. Because that’s the exact moment the universe decides to remind me I’m its least favorite—and everything goes spectacularly, inevitably tits up.
I wake to pounding on my door.
An urgent, relentless force that snaps me awake so fast that my body is already moving before my mind wakes up. I sit upright, disoriented, heart already kicking hard against my ribs.
“Holly?” I call. But her bed is empty.
The pounding thumps again. “Arwen. Open the door.”
There’s panic in Maddox’s voice, and it slices straight through the fog of my half-sleep. I’m up before I know I’m moving, dragging a sweater over my head, tripping toward the door. The lock fights me for a second before it clicks and I haul the door open.
Maddox stands in the doorway, bracing his white-knuckled hands against the frame, breathing hard.
“It’s Amaya,” he says. The name alone sends vibrations of horror through my body.
“She has them. Holly. Tabby. Cleo.”
The world tilts as the breath leaves my lungs. The sudden, sickening horror of it settles into my stomach like a weight.
“How?!” I spit out.
“There’s no time to explain everything,” he says, voice tight. “We need to go. If we leave now, we can still catch them.”
That snaps me into motion. Survival instinct overriding everything else.
I’m already pulling on jeans, grabbing my boots, my sword from combat class, my dagger from under the mattress. My hands are steady, but my mind isn’t. Picturing all the ways Amaya could hurt them on repeat. I shove the thought down hard as I follow Maddox out into the corridor.
We move fast. The academy is eerily quiet, corridors dimmed under lockdown protocol, everything echoing. Maddox leads me through side passages I’ve never been through before. When we break through the last exit, the site of the forest behind the academy stretches out ahead of us, dark and endless.
For a moment, my mind drifts back to last year. Running through these same woods.
I push the memory away, following Maddox, who is already moving toward the tree line. He’s got a small flashlight in one hand, barely enough light to carve a path through the dark, but he doesn’t hesitate. We run for several minutes before he slows to a walk towards a large shadowy object.
Maddox flashes his light over it, and I see it’s an ATV.
“Maddox, how did this get here? How are we getting out of the academy lockdown? Where are we going?”
He meets my eyes, and I struggle to read his expression. “There’s no time. Just trust me, Arwen,” he says. “We need to go. Now.”
He revs the engine, and the ATV lurches forward so fast that I barely have time to grab the side bars before we’re flying down the trail.
Trees blur past us in dark streaks. The air whips against my face, stealing my breath as we race toward Academy Hollow.
My pulse pounds harder with every passing second.
Maddox’s jaw locks tight. His hands are rigid on the steering wheel. Something about it feels wrong.
I glance at him again. “How do you know we’re going in the right direction?”
No response. Not even a glance in my direction. The uneasy feeling in my stomach grows.
The path ahead forks just before Academy Hollow comes into view. Instead of continuing toward it, Maddox veers sharply left as my grip tightens on the handlebars.
“Maddox? Tell me where we are going right now. I need to know the plan,” I say firmly.
Still no response.
The moment we breach the academy wards a cold, biting wind whips through my hair. The familiar sense of protection disappears and leaves my skin prickling with unease.
A few moments later he slams on the brakes, and the ATV skids to a stop. “Get out here,” he says.
I stare at him. “Tell me what’s going on right now.” I demand rage building.
“Just get out,” he says darkly.
Every instinct I possess starts screaming ‘danger’. Cautiously, I climb off the ATV.
“Maddox, where is—”
A massive crack explodes against the back of my head as my vision goes blank and pain erupts through my skull. The world tilts as my knees buckle and I fall forward.
I reach for my power on pure instinct, but nothing answers. I only find emptiness and the evasive vapor.
Which means—
Maddox isn’t here.
My pulse moves into my throat. The palms of my hands scrape across gravel as I struggle to push myself up. I wrench my eyes open and my vision swims. The toe of a combat boot grinds into the dirt just shy of my nose.
A figure crouches in front of me.
My vision comes back slowly, and the details of him sharpen one by one. Hair bleached white, silver teeth reflecting in the harsh light of the ATV… ink like blood drops.
Vex.
My heart hammers against my ribs in pure terror. I try to scramble back, but my arms buckle like dead weight. My legs drag through the dirt, not cooperating.
Behind him, a woman’s voice cuts through the darkness. “You need to get her out of here now. They’ll be by to patrol this area in fifteen minutes.”
I know that voice. Even through the ringing in my ears.
Daphne.
That bitch.
Understanding crashes into me. The strange urgency. Maddox’s behavior.
None of it was real. She got into my head again while my shields were down and vulnerable through sleep.
Vex glances over his shoulder. “Oh, we’ll be long gone by then,” he drawls. “Give my regards to Councilor Willshire. I’ll let him know your work has been good this year. We’re square now.”
His attention returns to me as his grin widens.
“Nighty night, Angel.”
Something sharp pricks the side of my neck as I jerk away on instinct, but my body is already failing me.
The drug burns through my bloodstream as my vision blurs again. The trees above me melt into shadows.
“Not again...” I think desperately.
Stupid Arwen.
Darkness rushes toward me.