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“Seventeen,” I say and he frowns. I tense. “Is that bad or something?”
He wavers. “Most monsters start here when they’re sixteen, so you’re a year behind. That’s okay, though. You’ll just graduate a bit late.”
“If I stay here.” I lower my hand to my side as I sigh. “Mor and Sage made it sound like they weren’t sure if they’d let me stay here for more than a year.”
“It’s nothing personal.” His boots scuff against the floor as we slow to a stop in front of a fork in the hallway.
“It sounded personal,” I mutter. “I mean, they basically don’t want me here because I’m a maddening, which I still don’t know what that is.”
"It's not just because you're a maddening." He motions for me to take the left path that leads to a thick wooden door with various locks covering it. "The academy is known for accepting creatures from very prestigious families. And most of these families donate a lot of money." He stops in front of the door then turns to look at me. "Occasionally, we accept charity students, but those cases are rare."
“So am I supposed to be considered a charity student then?”
"Maybe… Honestly, I'm not sure what they're going to say about you. But like Sage and More said, it's very important you avoid telling others what kind of creature you are."
I release a stressed breath. “But what if someone asks?”
He wavers. “For now, just tell them you’re a witch. We’ll figure out something better before classes start.”
I’m supposed to tell everyone I’m a witch?
So weird.
Then again, all of this is weird…
“When do classes start?” I tuck a strand of my hair behind my ear. “And what sort of classes will I be taking? And what am I even supposed to be learning?”
He chuckles, smoke hissing from his lips. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll download some info on a handheld for you to read that should explain a lot of that to you. And while I’m here to help you, I think the Death Triplets will be able to answer the questions you have related to your classes.”
“Okay.” I chew on my bottom lip as he reaches to unlock the door. “But you still haven’t really told me what a maddening is.”
He pauses mid-reach. "I know. I know." He sighs, lowering his hand. "I've been procrastinating that part, but I guess I probably need to tell you before I let you walk into the dorm." He rakes his flame-kissed fingers through his fiery hair. "A maddening is a very, very rare creature that a lot of other creatures fear, mostly because their powers can become deadly, depending on which path the maddening chooses to take.”
I swallow the lump wedged in my throat. “Are maddenings the only creatures with deadly powers?”
He shakes his head, but then hesitates. “But they’re one of the few creatures that can kill just by a touch. And the kind of death they inflict…” He releases a smoky exhale. “With a simple touch, maddenings can curse a creature—or person—to go insane. And when they decide to use their powers to kill, they sentence the person or creature to a torturous after-death, their soul sent down to the Underworld, which is a realm ran by Shadow Demons. And those demons thrive on torturing souls. So if a maddening decides to kill a creature with their powers, they’re sentencing that creature to an eternity of painful torture.”
“Oh.” That’s all I say—can say.
My chest feels tight, like I can’t quite breathe properly.
“But that’s only if the maddening chooses to go down that path,” Jude stresses. “You don’t have to choose that path, Haven. And from what I’ve seen so far, I don’t believe you will.”
“I won’t,” I assure him.
But I can’t help thinking about Tim and Mia and how for a brief moment, I wanted to hurt them. How I had felt some sort of darkness stirring inside me when the thought flickered through my mind.
But I decide to keep that to myself since everyone already seems edgy around me.
“Is there anything else I can do?” I ask as Jude reaches for the locks.
He shakes his head, but avoids my gaze, making me question if he’s lying. “No, not really.”
“Oh.” I watch as he begins to twist and unblock the locks, feeling nervous and restless, tons of questions cramming my mind. But one in particular is begging to be asked. “You said that maddenings are rare… Will that… I mean, if I try, could I be able to find my parents?”
He rubs his lips together, reluctance flashing across his face. “I don’t want to upset you, but I feel like I should probably be honest with this.” He rotates a clock-shaped lock and gadgets inside the door click. “Maddenings are very rare because they’re usually killed, either out of fear or because they’ve committed a crime. And since you were living in the human realm as an orphan…” He swallows hard, not finishing.
But I get the gist of what he’s saying.
