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Despite the fear constricting my heart, I found his words oddly comforting. I was not as alone in this nightmare as I had thought. Here was someone fighting in my corner of the ring, however dark and dirty the match had become.
Professor Bishop studied me intently, steepling his fingers under his bearded chin. “Tell me, Seraphina—do you have any rivals here at the academy? Anyone who harbors enmity towards you?”
I bit my lip, hesitating. Then, I confessed reluctantly, “Well, Drazhan and his friend Cassius have been giving me a hard time this term...”
The professor nodded thoughtfully, but did not seem surprised. “We shall have to keep an eye on those two.” He patted my hand reassuringly. “But do not despair. With truth on our side, the culprits behind these threats will not remain hidden for long.”
“Should we go to the Headmistress with this?” I asked shakily.
But Professor Bishop was already shaking his head. “Not until we know more. Accusations require proof, which we cannot yet provide. But I promise you, the truth will be brought to light… You need not fight this battle alone.”
He gave my hands one final reassuring squeeze before pulling me gently upright. “Now, return to your room and get some rest. The hour grows late, and you will need your strength.”
He walked me to the door, his concerned gaze following me all the way down the winding stairs. I still had no answers, only growing fear. But it helped tremendously knowing someone as skilled as Professor Bishop stood by my side. If dark conspiracies were brewing, we would root them out before they could strike.
I thanked him in silence and took my leave in a daze, even more uncertain than before. Could I trust no one fully? And what about Drazhan—could he be capable of such malice? And without proof, how could we stop him and this unnamed threat?
Until the truth was uncovered, it seemed suspicion stained every corner of Blackthorn’s halls.
CHAPTER7
Rhys
The night windbit cruelly as I soared back towards Blackthorn, icy shards that did nothing to cool my simmering disappointment. Scotland had been yet another fruitless search, the druids there promising salvation but delivering only lies veiled in honeyed words and my desperation. I was a fool to keep chasing these false hopes; and yet, hope was all I had left.
My body ached, wounds from the druid brotherhood still fresh. I had barely escaped their lair with my life when they turned on me, intent on harvesting my cursed gargoyle parts for their sinister spells. Even now, I could feel their dark magic gnawing at my stone flesh.
My monumental failure was a draught I was tired of swallowing. But no magic cure existed for this curse threaded into my very bones. I could rail against the injustice or sink gracefully into oblivion—either path led only to the same final darkness.
I had so little time left, each grain of sand slipping away inexorably. It was already the middle of October. Graduation loomed, ending my reprieve. Soon, I would take a post as Blackthorn’s silent sentinel, frozen in stone.
Banking low over the forest, Blackthorn’s towering spires pierced the moonlit mist ahead. Home, and yet not home—more a purgatory I was condemned to haunt.I should leave this place,I thought wearily.Let the curse take me elsewhere, among strangers.Watching those I loved slowly forget me would only twist the knife deeper in the end.
My wings faltered at the thought, and I nearly plunged into the forest’s grasping canopy. Righting myself angrily, I cursed my own maudlin thoughts. Lingering self-pity accomplished nothing. I could not change the curse, but I could still shape the days left allotted to me.
Perhaps I should make amends, take comfort where I could find it. My eyes were drawn unerringly towards the dormitory wing, and a familiar window on the fifth floor. Seraphina’s light always burned late into the night, an inviting beacon for wandering souls like me.
How strange that her presence should bring me solace when we scarcely knew one another. And yet, she stirred long slumbering desires in my stone heart, awakening hopes as dangerous as they were impossible. I could no more love again than grasp moonbeams in my monstrous claws.
No matter. Just seeing her shining face again would salve one wound, at least, among the many ravaging me, body and soul. My course set, I pressed onward through the night.
Her window was unbarred despite the late hour, an open invitation. Still cloaked in shadow, I perched outside the panes, peering within. There she was, my ethereal girl, sound asleep amid tumbled silvery hair.
Seraphina slept restlessly, her lovely features tense even in repose. “What phantoms haunt your dreams tonight?” I wondered sadly. The soft lamplight gilded her skin with luminous ivory, and my cursed heart ached at the sight. So perfect, so untouchable.
Uninvited, I was intruding on her vulnerable state. But concern for her clear distress rooted me in place. Those creased brows and restless murmurs signaled a soul pursued by inner demons.
As I kept silent watch over this gifted young witch, her presence soothed my tattered spirit like a healing balm. Here was something pure and good still left in this world. I must take greater care not to taint that light with the darkness that trailed me.
A muffled gasp broke the stillness—Seraphina shifting fretfully beneath her sheets. “No... get away...” she moaned, clearly in the throes of a nightmare. I stirred, unsure whether to intervene as she thrashed.
With a cry, her grey eyes shot open, staring sightlessly. I hesitated, pinned by indecision. But as she slowly focused on my shadowed form hovering outside her window, recognition dawned, chasing the last wisps of fear from her gaze.
“Rhys?” Her voice was scratchy with sleep. “You’re back.” Relief softened her face as she sat up in bed. My body relaxed in kind. She was unharmed, thank the gods.
I offered what I hoped translated as a reassuring smile on my beastly face. Seraphina’s lips quirked in response as she slid from the bed to unlatch the window. “Well, don’t just hover out there. Come inside where it’s warm.”
The invitation caught me off guard. I hesitated. “I shouldn’t…” I managed reluctantly. “You could get in trouble over this.”
