Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
It’s noon when I finally check my phone.
A month ago, Tobey was my biggest concern. She was new in a school full of supernatural beings, and there was a killer on the loose. Caldwell changed things. I didn’t think there was a need to worry about her, but… that quickly proves untrue.
Tobey
Are you coming home tonight?
I guess not. Have fun!
That’s not supposed to be passive aggressive, I swear.
It’s more like wink wink.
The texts are normal until the last one—
Tobey
H ELP
My heart races as I read the singular word. If the roles were reversed, it would be easy to assume dramatics, but Tobey doesn’t have the same flair I do. She’s not one to cry wolf. If she’s asking for help, she means it.
“What’s wrong?” Jun asks before I can voice my concerns.
“I don’t know…” I toss him my phone, wrapping my arms around myself. “Something may have happened to Tobey.”
Without responding, Jun lifts the phone to his ear. He waits, lips pressed together…
“Straight to voicemail,” he mutters.
I snatch the phone from him and open my tracker app. Tobey and I always share our locations—always. Her name is still on the app, but her location won’t update. The last update was at eleven o’clock at night.
When she sent that final message.
“She was in our dormitory nine hours ago.” I pry myself from bed and slip on my shoes. “Let’s go.”
Jun is coming with me; we don’t even have to discuss it. Strength comes in numbers. If something happens to Tobey, I need all the help I can get.
What if Tobey is the next to go? Amelia said they had a plan for Tobey, after all.
The alarms haven’t gone off… yet. It’s the only sliver of comfort I can find. She may still be alive—or we may be the ones to stumble on her body.
Outside, everything is normal. Peaceful. The courtyard is free of investigators. It’s almost eerie how calm the gray morning is. While my world ends, students shuffle into their classes without a care.
“I don’t think anyone died,” I say. “Not yet.”
“Good. Then we have time to find them.”
My dormitory building is as eerie and serene as the rest of campus. We walk up to the room, and I fling the door open, praying for Tobey to be on their bed. They’re not—but Caldwell is.
“Did they text you?” I ask.
Jun shuts the door behind us.
“Yes. Please,” Caldwell says, “tell me you’ve seen them.”
“I haven’t,” I say. “The last thing they texted me was asking for help.”
“Me too. It was nearly midnight, and I’ve been here ever since. They left the door unlocked.”
“Fuck.” Jun grunts from behind us.
“How could you have left them alone so late?” My voice breaks, and I squeeze my eyes shut, shaking my head.
“I could say the same to you.”
“Stop,” Jun says. “Fighting with each other won’t help us find Tobey. We need to focus, to come up with a plan.”
While the room is empty, there’s no sign of a struggle.
“I already swept the room,” Caldwell says, sounding downtrodden. “There’s nothing here—no clues, no secret notes.”
“No sign of a struggle?” Jun asks.
Caldwell shakes his head.
“Then we have to check the rest of the campus,” I say. “My phone said this is the last place she was. They couldn’t have gone far.”
We spend the day searching, but find nothing. No one has seen Tobey—and we ask nearly everyone.
The alarm never goes off, but I’m on edge as I wait, expecting to hear the blaring warning sound…
The day ends, and it still doesn’t come.
She’s only been missing for one day and, as always, no one takes our concerns seriously.
I understand how Tobey felt the month before, but I won’t go through the heartbreak of losing another friend. I will find her. I have to find her.
Night falls, and we return to my dormitory without a single clue.
Until…
“Look,” Caldwell whispers, pointing to the floor.
A matte black envelope, one I know so well. Blood freezes in my veins, and I exchange a look with Jun.
The Order of the Bitter Hunt. After a day of searching for Tobey, the hunt certainly feels like a bitter one.
Jun bends to pick up the envelope and clears his throat. Over the thick piece of parchment, he peers at me. “Another trial. Tonight.”
“Hell.” I pace in circles, close to ripping my hair out.
What are the odds that Tobey disappears right before the next trial? It must be related. The order has already tricked us with a secret test once…
Is this another?
There’s no option but to go. It’s the only lead we have.
“I’m coming,” Caldwell says. “I know I wasn’t interested before, but… we’re all thinking it, yes? Tobey’s disappearance is likely related to this.”
They may have Tobey—my father may have Tobey. Caldwell doesn’t say it in so many words, but he’s right.
“I hope not.” My voice shakes like a leaf.
“But if it relates,” Jun says, “they won’t get away with this shit. This is what it’s all been for. We’re going to end this, and we’re going to get her back.”
After weeks of preparation and two trials, I still feel off. There’s so much we don’t know, but… the watch in my pocket is an anchor, and as I look between the three of us, I know we each have the charmed item to protect us.
Tobey does not.
“Professor!” I don’t lose my breath easily, but as I barge into Professor Connolly’s office, I’m struggling to catch it.
Caldwell got left behind. As annoyed with him as I may be for not taking care of Tobey, it was an accident. He’s not fast enough to keep up with me, but Jun is, standing in the doorway behind me.
Professor Connolly looks up at me with wide eyes, her reading glasses sliding down her nose. “Margaux.” She’s on her feet in an instant. “I wasn’t expecting you. What is it?”
It’s easy to forget how strong and fast Professor Connolly can be, but she’s a demoness, and a powerful one at that. There’s a sharpness about her now. Her eyes narrow, as alert as can be.
“It’s Tobey,” I say. “She’s gone.”
“And we got a letter about the last trial,” Jun says. “What are we supposed to do?”
Professor Connolly lets out a steady breath. “You go to the trial, of course.”
“But Tobey—” I start, but I never get to finish the sentence.
“That is why you must go to it,” she says. “This is the only trial I don’t know a lick about, but the timing is no coincidence. If Tobey is missing, and you received a letter on the same day, there is a good reason.”
“You really can’t tell us anything?” My eyes shine as I look at her, moments from spilling bloody tears.
“I would if I could, but I cannot. Even Professor Luna could not tell me about this trial. They put a spell on her. It was strong magic, choking her every time she tried to get the words out. And no student willing to work with me has made it this far.”
“Which means,” Jun says, “we need to be the ones to live through this.”
I meet his eyes, and we share an understanding—but it hurts. How can I care about the Order when my best friend is missing and begging for help?
“Precisely,” Professor Connolly says.
“How?” I ask. “How can we make it through and save Tobey?”
“That’s what we’re going to figure out,” Jun says.
He’s the calm in my storm. He looks so sure of himself that I almost believe it’s true—almost believe in us as a team. Not just him and me, but Tobey… and even Caldwell. We’re all a team.
“If there is anyone who can do this, it is the two of you,” Professor Connolly says. “Give yourself some credit. You made it this far.”
Making it through the trial isn’t my worry. Saving Tobey is.
What if I can’t do both?