Page 64 of Evergreen

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I just nodded and watched as they filed out of the room with Professor Paulson. The moment the door closed behind them, I felt the weight of everything that had happened come crashing down on me all at once.

“Are you okay?” Linden asked softly, his arm wrapping around my waist from behind.

“No,” I replied, turning and burying my face in his pecs.

“I know it’s hard right now,” he said, his hands running up and down my back. “But I can tell they love you. That they want to make this right.”

“Well, they’re gonna have to wait,” I shot back. “I don’t want to forgive them right now.”

“That’s okay,” he cooed, kissing the top of my head. “Take all the time you need.”

We stood there like that, letting the silence of the room wrap around us. Outside campus was still chaotic, but winding down. I glanced out the window, catching a glimpse of Tex hustling across campus with his mother and father toward the teleportation circle. Several others were filing out of the frat house too, either alone or with parents in tow. I even saw my own parents walk arm in arm toward the school gates.

I felt a pang of guilt in my chest watching them go. They came to get me. They wanted to make sure I was safe. They accepted Linden without a second thought. That counted for something and I hated them for it. It would’ve been easier if they were awful. But now, because of their graciousness, I would have to wade through weeks or months of uncomfortable feelings and situations to heal that wound. Maybe it would never heal. Time would tell I supposed.

But right now, there was only one thing to do.

Wait.

Wait for the world to go back to normal. To end. To change irrevocably.

But I had Linden, and that was what mattered.

Chapter 28

Linden

Idon’t think Cass or I slept all night. We stayed holed up in my room, sitting side by side on the bed, mostly in silence. When the morning light finally began to creep through the dorm window, the dawn fell on a world I didn’t recognize.

Widdershins Academy was almost completely abandoned. The vast majority of the student body was gone along with more than a few of the professors. In fact, the only people I could see outside were the astounding number of security personnel patrolling the wards. And judging by the silence throughout the dorm, it was a very real possibility that Cass and I were completely alone.

I wasn’t sure if that was a comfort or a terrifying prospect. Part of me wanted to believe that everyone had just gone home, that things would eventually settle down and we could go back to our normal lives. Like this was nothing more than a spring break of sorts. But the rational part of me knew better. The Purity Front had attacked the Elder Council itself. They’d killed at least one Council member that I knew of, possibly more. And they’d done it with what seemed like inside help.

Nothing was going back to normal.

“We should try to contact Elder Briar Hall,” Cass said quietly, breaking the silence that had settled between us sometime around three in the morning. His voice was hoarse from disuse, and his green eyes were fixed on some distant point outside the window. “Or Elias. Someone who can tell us what’s happening.”

“I don’t know how,” I admitted, running a hand through my hair. It was matted and disgusting, still covered in dust from the Elder Council chamber. We’d both been too emotionally wrung out to shower, too afraid to let each other out of sight for even that long. “My magic doesn’t work that way. I can’t just summon people through telepathy like Elias can.”

“Right,” Cass said, and I heard the frustration in his voice. “And I don’t know how either. So I guess we just sit here and wait for someone to tell us what’s happening?”

Before I could respond, there was a knock at the door.

We both tensed immediately, Cass’s hand finding mine while my magic flared instinctively beneath my skin. After everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, any unexpected visitors felt like a threat.

“Who is it?” I called out, not bothering to move toward the door.

“It’s Dean Thornfield,” came the reply, and I felt some of the tension drain from my shoulders. Not all of it, but enough. “Professor Paulson said you were still here. I need to speak with both of you. It’s important.”

I exchanged a glance with Cass before getting to my feet. My legs were stiff from sitting all night, and I had to stretch briefly before crossing the room to unlock the door. Dean Thornfield stood in the hallway looking like he hadn’t slept either. His usual impeccable appearance was disheveled, his gray hair mussed, and there was a weariness in his dark eyes that spoke of a long and difficult night.

“Come in,” I said, stepping aside to let him enter.

He did, closing the door quietly behind him. He didn’t sit, just stood there for a moment, seeming to gather his thoughts. When he finally spoke, his voice was heavy and slow.

“I received word from Elias and Elder Briar Hall,” he said.

“They’re alive?” I asked, my eyes going wide.