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I trail behind him. His scent is crisp and earthy, like crushed autumn leaves or old tomes on a rainy day. Warmth spreads through my veins and my Shadow hums quietly in my soul, something sad and longing.
“How long have you been here?” I ask as we walk down the dim hallway.
He keeps his stride steady, hands clasped respectfully behind his back. “Hmm, since I was eighteen, so six years.”
I lower my head with dread. “That’s a long time.”
He turns to look back at me. Light from the common room illuminates him. His gray eyes soften. “Yes, I suppose it can seem like a long time, can’t it?” He speaks with melancholic weight. How does one describe the heaviness that others imbue into their words? It cannot be done; it is felt through your marrow and veins.
Arthur continues his steady walk down the stairs and I’m left sorting through the thoughts in my head. There’s way too much to take on at once. I can’t think of how Edgar stared at me like a stranger. I refuse to think of Finn and the betrayal that gleamed in his eyes as I threw away our past. And gods, I cannot think of Raine and his death sentence.
So instead, I focus on the soft half grin Arthur gives me as we reach the bottom of the stairs. I want to touch his lips and feel how soft and aching they are. My Shadow pulls closer to him but I remain at a distance.
Some things are better left yearning.
We’re the first back to the common room, so I sit on one of the couches and wait. A few minutes pass before Raine circles the couch and sits beside me. His warmth bleeds through his shirt as he presses up against me. I tuck stray hairs from his forehead behind his ear and he gives me a sleepy smile. I’m relieved he seems to be feeling better after some rest.
Voices echo from down the hall as more people arrive. I’ve never seen them before, besides the white-haired girl who let us in Edgar’s room earlier. They all look around eighteen. Arthur motions for them to sit and they take the couch across the large coffee table. They look at me with the same curiosity that I do them.
Another young man takes a seat on the empty sofa adjacent to us, and by the way the others stare at him, I’m guessing he’s a sight to behold. Everyone’s eyes are filled with shock but they don’t dare utter a word. His eyes are gray; he’s the youngest person I’ve seen whose eyes are completely turned like Elias’s and Arthur’s are. His hair is dark gray, like soot, and he’s dressed as we all are in our Nova uniforms, black tactical gear and white cloaks. Battle ready every second of the day.
Edgar is the last to join us. He remains standing. The blue flames of the fireplace flicker across his emerald eyes as he glances at me. He holds my stare long enough for me to feel uncomfortable, then looks away.
Everyone I knew before the Skyfell is now a stranger.
“Right then. This is our Nova House—as you can see there aren’t many of us so we’ll stay tight-knit. Terra is Edgar’s sister.” Arthur gestures and everyone looks at me. I nod with acknowledgment. “She came to Alkrose with Raine. Edgar and his group come from Za’Afiel: Alani, Lucina, Tamaris, Rowan, Aervin, and Vinnie.”
I observe each of them as Arthur introduces them. They are focused on the last member of our Nova House, not me.
“And this is Ash.”
The silence that follows is unsettling.
“You’ve been here… all this time?” Aervin is the first to speak, his voice trembling with emotion as he stares at Ash. “We thought you were dead.”
Ash keeps his icy gaze on the fire, unfazed. Edgar eyes him curiously. He seems not to know him either.
Arthur clears his throat. “You’ll have plenty of time to catch up after the banquet. Now, when we arrive I expect you to remain silent unless spoken to by myself or another professor. I’m the reasonable one, so don’t believe you’ll get away with bad manners because of your status. You aren’t stronger than the professors, and you certainly are not stronger than the headmaster. Am I clear?” He eyes each of us until we’re all nodding.
As the others follow Arthur out, I catch Lucina’s gaze. She stares at me meekly. She’s beautiful—hair as white and iridescent as Elias’s but eyes as blue as Raine’s once were. A fracture of turquoise breaks through her irises like shattered glass.
She’s been blighted—by Edgar, I’m assuming, since his eyes hold the same fractures. Beside me, Raine notices her eyes as well. Lucina flinches and turns to follow the others, leaving me and Raine as the last two in the common room.
“If she’s the only blighted one from Edgar’s group, then why are the others with him?” he grumbles, crossing his arms tightly across his chest.
Something unsettling tugs at my heart. It takes me a second to realize it’s my Shadow that feels so discomposed. “I don’t know, but it can’t be good.”
We leave the Nova House and walk slowly behind the others. Our cloaks wave in the wind behind us like sails caught at sea, the frigid air stinging my cheeks as I glance up at the grim sky.
I wonder what Elias is doing right now.
7
Elias
Breaths roll in the air as I let out a long sigh. I only killed two of them, two that would never survive the second-semester exam anyway. The message was clear though: I don’t have a problem killing students.
Blood drips from the tips of my fingers and Velis purrs inside my chest with satiated glee. The remaining students stare at me with wide, frightened eyes—except for Finn. That defiance in his gaze makes me want to take him apart piece by piece, slowly, until he begs for death only I can grant him.
